Startseite Altertumswissenschaften & Ägyptologie Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007)
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Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007)

  • Maciej Paprocki
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The Staying Power of Thetis
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch The Staying Power of Thetis

Abstract

The chapter takes on a Disney triad by looking at Thetis-like figures such as the evil Ursula in The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and the enigmatic Tia Dalma/Calypso in the second and third instalments of the Pirates of the Caribbean- franchise (2006 and 2007, respectively). While Ursula and Calypso seemingly have little in common with Thetis but for their association with the sea, Paprocki argues that these characters ultimately derive from a contrafactual, vengeful version of Thetis: a power-hungry, sexually active and subversive goddess. The scholarship on Thetis points to a dark undercurrent in all representations of Thetis, checked or unleashed at the author’s whim. Many contributions in this volume concern themselves with how Thetis’ power is configured, negotiated and channelled; in his chapter, Paprocki examines how postmodern creators are inspired by polarities out of which Thetis arose, such contradictions, in turn, inspiring subsequent recursive reinterpretations and remixes. As hypothetical re-incarnations of Thetis, the stories of Ursula and Tia Dalma in Paprocki’s view explicate what would have happened had Thetis fought against the divine establishment, if she had wrought instead of ‘warded off unseemly destruction’, as Thetis might in the epic tradition.

Abstract

The chapter takes on a Disney triad by looking at Thetis-like figures such as the evil Ursula in The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and the enigmatic Tia Dalma/Calypso in the second and third instalments of the Pirates of the Caribbean- franchise (2006 and 2007, respectively). While Ursula and Calypso seemingly have little in common with Thetis but for their association with the sea, Paprocki argues that these characters ultimately derive from a contrafactual, vengeful version of Thetis: a power-hungry, sexually active and subversive goddess. The scholarship on Thetis points to a dark undercurrent in all representations of Thetis, checked or unleashed at the author’s whim. Many contributions in this volume concern themselves with how Thetis’ power is configured, negotiated and channelled; in his chapter, Paprocki examines how postmodern creators are inspired by polarities out of which Thetis arose, such contradictions, in turn, inspiring subsequent recursive reinterpretations and remixes. As hypothetical re-incarnations of Thetis, the stories of Ursula and Tia Dalma in Paprocki’s view explicate what would have happened had Thetis fought against the divine establishment, if she had wrought instead of ‘warded off unseemly destruction’, as Thetis might in the epic tradition.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. List of Tables and Figures XI
  5. Introduction: The Power of Thetis, 30 Years On 1
  6. Part I: The Powers of Thetis - Strife, Succession, and Cosmic Balance
  7. The Power and Failures of Thetis in Early Poetic Traditions and Beyond 19
  8. The Rape and Binding of Thetis in Its Mythological Context 43
  9. Divine Even If Not Olympian: The Mobility of Thetis in the Iliad 75
  10. Suggestions and Themes in Thetis’ rhesis in Euripides’ Andromache 87
  11. Thetis in Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo: Dynasty and Succession 107
  12. Secrets and Lies: The Power of Thetis in Roman Culture 147
  13. Neque ... sine numine uincis: Thetis, Medusa and (Literary) Creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses 181
  14. Part II: Thetis’ Family Matters
  15. In the Bosom of the Goddess: Thetis and Dionysus in Il. 6.130–140 207
  16. Motherhood and Shapeshifting in Depictions of Thetis 225
  17. Forging Families with Thetis: “Tentacular Thinking” and Queer Kinship in Homer’s Iliad 257
  18. Mourning Mothers and Premature Deaths: Thetis’ Example in Greek Funerary Epigrams 277
  19. Part III: Material Culture
  20. ‘A Dread and Revered Goddess’: Thetis and Other Gods in Attic Vases 299
  21. Saviour Mermaids of the Ancient Mediterranean: Thetis and the Nereids as Patrons of Ancient Greek Mariners 315
  22. Part IV: Reception – Thetis’ Aftermaths
  23. The Wicked Witch of the West? Thetis’ Controversial Transformations in 14th- Century Middle English Vernacular Poetry 341
  24. Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles 369
  25. Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden 395
  26. Thetis of the Silver Screen: The Vengeful and Cosmic Goddess in Clash of the Titans 411
  27. Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007) 429
  28. Reception in Performance: Interview and Poetry 471
  29. Afterword to the Staying Power of Thetis 485
  30. List of Contributors 495
  31. Index Locorum 501
  32. Subject Index 519
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110678437-019

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. List of Tables and Figures XI
  5. Introduction: The Power of Thetis, 30 Years On 1
  6. Part I: The Powers of Thetis - Strife, Succession, and Cosmic Balance
  7. The Power and Failures of Thetis in Early Poetic Traditions and Beyond 19
  8. The Rape and Binding of Thetis in Its Mythological Context 43
  9. Divine Even If Not Olympian: The Mobility of Thetis in the Iliad 75
  10. Suggestions and Themes in Thetis’ rhesis in Euripides’ Andromache 87
  11. Thetis in Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo: Dynasty and Succession 107
  12. Secrets and Lies: The Power of Thetis in Roman Culture 147
  13. Neque ... sine numine uincis: Thetis, Medusa and (Literary) Creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses 181
  14. Part II: Thetis’ Family Matters
  15. In the Bosom of the Goddess: Thetis and Dionysus in Il. 6.130–140 207
  16. Motherhood and Shapeshifting in Depictions of Thetis 225
  17. Forging Families with Thetis: “Tentacular Thinking” and Queer Kinship in Homer’s Iliad 257
  18. Mourning Mothers and Premature Deaths: Thetis’ Example in Greek Funerary Epigrams 277
  19. Part III: Material Culture
  20. ‘A Dread and Revered Goddess’: Thetis and Other Gods in Attic Vases 299
  21. Saviour Mermaids of the Ancient Mediterranean: Thetis and the Nereids as Patrons of Ancient Greek Mariners 315
  22. Part IV: Reception – Thetis’ Aftermaths
  23. The Wicked Witch of the West? Thetis’ Controversial Transformations in 14th- Century Middle English Vernacular Poetry 341
  24. Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles 369
  25. Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden 395
  26. Thetis of the Silver Screen: The Vengeful and Cosmic Goddess in Clash of the Titans 411
  27. Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007) 429
  28. Reception in Performance: Interview and Poetry 471
  29. Afterword to the Staying Power of Thetis 485
  30. List of Contributors 495
  31. Index Locorum 501
  32. Subject Index 519
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Heruntergeladen am 20.9.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110678437-019/html
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