Webbed Skin and Scales: The Merrow Inheritance in The Sirens
What Are Webbed Skin and Scales?
In Emilia Hart’s The Sirens, webbed skin and scales are the tangible physical markers of the merrow bloodline—a supernatural aquatic heritage passed down through the female line. The webbing appears between fingers and toes, while scales shimmer on the skin of the hands, neck, and legs. These features are not permanent but emerge during moments of crisis, transformation, or connection to the sea. They signal a character’s descent into an aquatic identity, bridging the human world and the submerged realm of the tír fo thuinn (the land beneath the waves).
The symbol originates in the ancient Irish folklore of the merrow—a mermaid-like creature—and resonates through the novel’s dual timelines: the 1800s Irish convict sisters Mary and Eliza, and the contemporary Australian sisters Jess and Lucy Martin. Webbed skin and scales appear in both past and present, linking the women across centuries.
Where the Symbol Recurs
The motif first surfaces in the epilogue, when Robert Wilson (later Mike Martin) finds a newborn baby in a cave. The infant’s fingers are webbed, and silver shimmers around her ears and mouth (epilogue evidence). This is Jess, whose merrow nature is latent from birth.
In Chapter 28 (Lucy’s perspective), Lucy notices the rash on her legs peeling to reveal iridescent skin that shifts colour “green then blue, then the pinkish white of mother of pearl”—resembling scales. She recalls Jess’s painting of women with scaled skin and a snakeskin she had once given her sister.
Chapter 35 shows Jess sketching Mary and Eliza “with scaled skin and pulsing gills, with webbed hands”. She incorporates the childhood snakeskin into her canvas, linking the shedding of a snake’s skin to the transformation of the merrow women.
In Chapter 44, Mary’s transformation at sea is described vividly: her neck splits into gills, her spine bursts into fins, and her hands become webbed. She “feels her spine burst through her dress in spiked fins” and sees “her pulse beat in the webbing between her fingers”. This is the first full metamorphosis in the novel, marking Mary’s acceptance of her merrow self.
Chapter 45 (Lucy’s second cave scene) reinforces the symbol when Jess shows Lucy the webs between her own fingers, saying, “I remember your little hands … they were so tiny, but they seemed to contain all of me”. The webbing is now a physical emblem of their bond—literally tying them together.
Finally, in Chapter 48, Lucy decides to write the stories of the shipwrecked women, affirming her own transformation. Though not described directly, the earlier signs of scales and webbing have already reshaped her sense of self.
How the Meaning Changes
Initially, webbed skin and scales are markers of otherness and vulnerability. Jess, as a teenager, cannot swim; her cracked skin and inability to curl her tongue make her feel alien within her own family (Chapter 11). The physical traits are sources of shame and anxiety. Mary, too, is frightened when she sees her own body shimmer like a shark’s skin (Chapter 3). The symbols are first associated with fear, bodily strangeness, and the trauma of being different.
As the novel progresses, the meaning shifts toward empowerment and belonging. For Mary, the transformation during the shipwreck is a release: “She was no longer freakish, no longer stunted. Blooming into herself, at last.” Her webbed hands and gills become instruments of survival and connection to her lost mother. Similarly, Jess’s acceptance of her scales—expressed through her artwork—transforms a childhood secret into a source of creative power. By the end, Lucy sees the webbing on her own fingers as proof of her true origins and her bond with Jess, not as a curse.
The symbol also bridges the human and supernatural. The webbed skin and scales are not permanent in the way a fish’s scales are; they appear and recede, suggesting a liminal state. This reflects the novel’s theme of transformation and monstrosity—the merrow women are not monsters but beings who straddle two worlds.
Character and Theme Connections
Lucy Martin
Lucy first becomes aware of her scales in Chapter 28, after the storm. Her reaction is one of shock and denial; she tries to rationalize it as a skin condition. But as she learns the truth about her birth, the scales become a source of wonder. In the cave (Chapter 45), she touches Jess’s neck and feels her own skin split open, revealing gills. The symbol marks her journey from ignorance to acceptance and her integration into the merrow lineage.
Jess Martin
Jess has known about her webbed fingers since infancy. Her skin condition and her inability to swim define her childhood. Yet she channels her heritage into art, painting the scaled women. The snakeskin gift from Lucy (Chapter 35) becomes a talisman; she incorporates it into her canvas, literally weaving her history into her work. Jess embodies the theme of identity and self-discovery—she must reconcile her human upbringing with her merrow nature.
Mary Kissane
Mary’s transformation in Chapter 44 is the most dramatic. Her webbing and scales signify liberation from colonial captivity and reunion with the sea—and with her mother, who had long ago tried to lead her daughters into the deep. Mary’s story connects the symbol to colonization and oppression: the Irish convict women are doubly colonized—by the British empire and by the patriarchal violence of men like Byrne. Her scales are a reclamation of a stolen heritage.
Eliza Kissane
Eliza is the more protective sister; she urges Mary to “remember” the sea and to “believe”. In the shipwreck, she guides Mary through transformation. Her own scales and gills are implied but less described. Eliza represents the supportive role of sisterhood—she enables Mary’s change. The motif reinforces sisterhood and family bonds across generations.
Themes
- Trauma and Memory: Scales emerge when buried memories surface—Mary remembering her mother’s lullaby, Jess recalling the cave birth. The physical marks hold the memory of the past.
- Identity and Self-Discovery: The webbing forces each woman to question who she really is. It is a bodily answer to the question “What am I?”
- Transformation and Monstrosity: The novel reframes the merrow not as monster but as a natural, even beautiful, state. The scales are “iridescent”, “shimmering”, “like mother of pearl”.
- Colonization and Oppression: The Irish convicts’ transformation is a response to violence and displacement. Their scales become armor and a passport to freedom.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the webbed skin and scales motif reflect the novel’s treatment of sisterhood?
The webbing physically connects the sisters: Jess’s webbed fingers first held Lucy as a newborn, and in the cave Lucy feels her own skin split open under Jess’s touch. The motif symbolizes that the sisters share a biological and supernatural bond that transcends their separation. It literalizes the idea that they are “joined at the hip” (as Jess’s mother says) and that their love is encoded in their flesh.
2. In what ways do the scales represent both vulnerability and agency for the merrow women?
Initially, the scales appear during moments of extreme vulnerability: Mary’s assault, Jess’s panic, Lucy’s fear. They are involuntary and frightening. However, as the women accept their nature, the scales become a source of agency. Mary uses her gills to survive the shipwreck; Jess uses her art to reclaim the symbol; Lucy chooses to write the merrow story. The transformation from shame to pride mirrors the arc of self-acceptance.
3. How does the snakeskin that Lucy gives to Jess function as a parallel to the merrow scales?
The snakeskin is a found object—shed, papery, beautiful. It mirrors the merrow scales because both are skins that are shed and replaced. Snakeskin represents growth and renewal, just as the merrow women “shed” their human skin to reveal scales. Jess incorporates the snakeskin into her painting of the sirens, merging the two symbols. It also foreshadows Lucy’s own future change: as a child, she asked if she could “grow a new skin”, and the answer is yes.
4. Why does the epilogue emphasize the webbing on the infant Jess’s hands?
The epilogue shows Robert finding Jess with “webbed” fingers and “silver” shimmering on her skin. This early, unmarked appearance establishes the motif as innate—not acquired. It also links Jess to the merrow mother, Mare, who had scales and fins. By drawing attention to the webbing, the epilogue sets up the entire narrative’s central mystery: what is Jess, and how does her physical difference shape her life? It also foreshadows that Lucy will inherit the same trait, creating a circular pattern of inheritance.