The Mermaid of Magdalenes

A lobster: the sneakiest bug of the sea

Hello, reader. This week, our story comes from one of the First Nations in Canada. The Mermaid of Magdalenes is about a woman's love of fish leading to a transformative experience. Literally. Click the link above to read the story and then dive into it with me below.

I need to start this off by looking at the lobster. I thought he was going to punish this girl by snapping at her with his pincers. Instead he kidnaps her and sells her to be a merman's wife! That seems a little extreme to me. Also, I understand this punishes the girl for wanting to eat the sardines, but it does nothing to stop fishermen from catching them.

I'm also confused by the merman. He wanted a shore-wife, but he had to protect the sardines, so he passed on this girl with the beautiful voice. He also didn't think he could punish her, so he let her be. However, when the lobster kidnaps her, he suddenly decides he's okay with marrying her? And that he could keep her with him even if she wanted to leave? That had to be an interesting marriage. What do merfolk eat in this story? She loves to eat fish, so it might be helpful for her if merfolk ate fish. However, the merfolk can talk to fish so that would actually be terrible. But they use underwater plants for clothes. Do they eat the same stuff they use to make clothes? I have many questions.

Finally, we have the girl's father, the fisherman. He is completely absent from this story. Since there was just a huge storm that wrecked a cargo ship, would he be out fishing? Did he know his daughter was out walking on the beach? Did he care when she didn't come home? This story gives us absolutely nothing. I like to assume that he's a good man and he tried to find her. We need more good parents in fairy tales.

I suppose the moral of this story is don't ask sea creatures to help you open a can of fish. Alternatively, if a lobster offers to help you, don't let him get too close.

Thought of a different moral? Annoyed I didn't talk about the girl at all? Have a story you want me to cover? Comment below!