Chapter 62: The Little Mermaid – Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter is a very short poem titled “The Little Mermaid.” It opens by placing readers in a specific moment: July 3, 2019, when social media exploded with reactions to Halle Bailey, a young Black woman, being cast as Ariel in Disney’s live‑action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. The poem then offers two lines about Bailey: “She was present for her undressing / but not her unmaking.” These lines contrast the public dissection of Bailey’s body, identity, and worth (the “undressing”) with the fact that she survived that scrutiny intact—her spirit was not destroyed (the “unmaking” did not occur). The poem thus captures a cultural flashpoint and reframes the conversation around representation and resilience.
Key Events
- July 3, 2019: Social media erupts with debate after Disney announces that Halle Bailey will portray Ariel.
- The poet’s response: Mans writes a two‑line poem that acknowledges the public examination of Bailey while affirming that the scrutiny did not break her.
- The couplet: “She was present for her undressing / but not her unmaking” acts as the poem’s core—and only—narrative action.
Character Development
- Halle Bailey: Though a real person, she appears in the poem as a figure under public gaze. The poem shows her as both subject of objectification and survivor of it. She is present for the exposure but remains unmade.
- The implied speaker: The poet’s voice observes the event from outside, calling attention to Bailey’s experience without claiming it. The speaker’s distance underscores the collective nature of the scrutiny.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
- The gaze and objectification: “Undressing” symbolizes the way Black women’s bodies and identities are publicly picked apart—especially when they enter white‑coded spaces like Disney princess roles.
- Resilience and agency: The word “unmaking” suggests total destruction. By stating that Bailey was not unmade, the poem insists on her survival and continuing presence.
- Representation: The poem implicitly argues that visibility comes with cost, but that the cost does not have to be the person’s erasure. The Little Mermaid story itself—a tale of transformation and silencing—is mirrored in Bailey’s casting.
Why This Chapter Matters
This poem is a concentrated example of Jasmine Mans’ ability to turn a contemporary news event into a timeless meditation on race, gender, and public life. Its brevity forces the reader to sit with the weight of a single image: the Black girl present at her own undressing. The chapter matters because it documents a real moment of cultural reckoning—the backlash against a Black Ariel—and refuses to let the backlash have the last word. Instead, the poem centers the Black girl’s endurance. In the context of the full collection, it connects to Mans’ recurring themes of Black girlhood, visibility, and the fight to define oneself.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What specific event does the poem reference, and why is that event significant for the poem’s meaning?
The poem references the public uproar on July 3, 2019, over Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel in Disney’s live‑action The Little Mermaid. The significance lies in how the online backlash revealed deep‑seated racial biases about who can embody a beloved white‑coded character. The poem uses this moment to explore the extra scrutiny Black girls and women face when they enter historically white spaces.
2. What does the phrase “present for her undressing” suggest about the media’s treatment of Bailey?
The phrase implies that the public watched Bailey’s identity, appearance, and qualifications be systematically stripped away and examined—a form of symbolic violence. It suggests that the commentary was not about her performance but about her body and race. The word “undressing” also carries connotations of violation, as if the scrutiny was an unwanted exposure.
3. How does the poem’s extreme brevity affect its impact?
By using only two lines after the date, the poem forces the reader to sit with the contrast between “undressing” and “unmaking.” There is no additional explanation, no comfort. The brevity mirrors the swiftness of online judgment and the sharp, condensed nature of a viral backlash. It also empowers the reader to complete the meaning, making the act of interpretation itself a small act of resistance.