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Guiding Questions
The following is a vertical timeline, of key reoccurring questions that guided our study of the mermaid, the content and creation of this website, and your exploration of this site.
Where can we find the earliest literary sources of the Mermaid and similar hybrid creatures, and how did this change over time?
Who does and who does not have a soul?
How can one without a soul obtain one?
What does it mean when one is obtained?
Where can we draw a distinction between reality and magic?
How does magic interact with different characters?
What roles does Magic play?
What connections can be made between the mermaid and concepts like nature and gender?
What happens when a mermaid is granted a soul through marriage?
What does this domestication say about the nature of the soul?
What can an ending tell us about previously discussed topics like the soul?
How do variations of the same stories serve different purposes?
How do ideas from major minds from the enlightenment apply to our questions of the mermaid?
How do major events like war change interpretations of the mermaid and reflect in literature?
How does a more recent example of the portrayal of the mermaid change from culture to culture?
How have previously studied texts influenced modern interpretations?
Disclaimer: I, Ariel Breazile, nor anyone cited in this website (i.e. professors, classmates, etc) own or claim any rights to any images or texts, not written for specific use in this class, found on this website.
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