Liminality and Transgression

Spatial Analysis of Identity Formation in “The Little Mermaid”

Abstract

From the perspective of spatial theory, the present paper aims to analyze the construction of self in “The Little Mermaid.” The three spaces of the sea, land and sky are filled with intersections of liminal spaces and active efforts of transgression, which shapes the little mermaid’s self in the dynamic process. The body of the little mermaid, as the center of space power construction, not only reveals the mechanism of power control during spatial transformation, but also highlights her spiritual transcendence during her decoding efforts. In this process, community does not play the decisive role in the shaping of self for the little mermaid, rather, the self is shaped during her confrontation against community from the margin.