The Fisherman and His Soul Summary & Analysis

As this is a fairytale, the fact that the mermaid is a supernatural creature is not presented as unusual. Rather, it is her beauty that entrances the Fisherman and makes him reluctant to let her go. Importantly, the Fisherman only agrees to release the Mermaid on the condition she returns to sing for him every day. Although they will later fall in love and the story will portray power of love to bring harmony to the world, it is notable that their relationship is built on a power balance and a promise the Mermaid is forced to make. Promises, as well as the repercussions of failing to keep them, will recur throughout the story.

The Mermaid’s song embraces all manner of creatures. This inclusive way of looking at the world will prove in stark contrast to the harsh, exclusivist beliefs of the Priest. Once the Fisherman has fallen in love with the Mermaid, he abandons his livelihood, which was previously the most important thing to him and the basis of his identity. The Fisherman handles so lightly his decision to give up is soul that is seems he has not fully considered the consequences. Importantly, the Mermaid does not return the Fisherman’s love at first; rather, she immediately makes it clear that they can only be together if the Fisherman makes this grand sacrifice. While the Fisherman previously held the Mermaid captive in a physical way, the Mermaid now holds the power because the Fisherman will do anything to be with her. Wilde’s decision to place obstacles in the way of their love is a typical trope of fairytales, but the Mermaid’s seeming indifference introduces an interesting degree of ambivalence around romantic love and the sacrifices people might feel compelled to make in its name. 

The Fisherman’s desire to give up his soul is handled in a very literal and matter-of-fact way. Considering that Christianity views the soul as the thing that separates humans from the rest of the creatures on earth, it is unsurprising that the Priest rebuffs the Fisherman. The level of aggression with which the Priest responds, however, is perhaps a critique of Christianity. Not only is the Priest shocked by the Fisherman’s decision, after all, but he refuses to engage in meaningful conversation over the Fisherman’s decision. Even when the Fisherman demonstrates genuine confusion, the Priest does not offer any explanation or spiritual counsel; he carries on in an admonishing tone and turns aggressive, expecting the Fisherman to simply do as he’s told. With this, Wilde is possibly suggesting that Christian values as outlined in the Old Testament, specifically blind faith and loyalty to God, often manifest harshly, and are incompatible with romantic love.

The value of the soul is again called into question matter-of-factly. The Fisherman cannot understand how the Priest can attribute such value to his soul while the merchants view it as almost worthless. Two kinds of value are being pitted against one another: immaterial, spiritual value and material, worldly value. While the Fisherman remains confused, Wilde seems to suggest that the value of the soul is relative and depends entirely on the subjective opinion of the observer. If the soul does have a value, it is an intangible one that the merchants and the Fisherman either do not understand or do not rate as important.

The Witch makes clear that she can provide the Fisherman with virtually anything he might desire, offering him both material and immaterial wealth so long as he can pay the price. Even the Witch, however, is reluctant to tell the Fisherman how to give up his soul, and again the soul is portrayed as having an inherent value the Fisherman has not yet considered. As far as the Fisherman is concerned, it is simply an obstacle between him and his love for the Mermaid. Although the Witch decides to help him, her decision has sinister undertones. Indeed, the reference to a male figure who will appear on the Sabbath suggests that, as she is a witch, her intention is to involve the Fisherman in some sort of Satanic ritual. In this way, Wilde reiterates that the Fisherman’s decision to part with his soul is a perilous one.

This passage strongly hints that the man in the suit is the devil—not only does he appear on the Sabbath to be worshipped by witches, he arrives on a horse and is dressed in black. It seems possible, given the nature of the ritual and the fact that the male figure is “weary,” that the Fisherman is being tricked into partaking in a ritual which will rejuvenate the devil. When the Fisherman is lead towards this man, his instinct is to make the sign of the cross and to call upon God. Even though the Fisherman has previously disavowed the value of the soul, he nonetheless displays an instinctive connection to Christianity and uses it to protect himself. The effect this has on both the man and the witches underscores their evil nature. Interestingly, despite the Witch’s seeming plan to trick the Fisherman, she is still hesitant to tell him how to send away his soul, implying that doing so would be unwise. As such, Wilde implies that if the Fisherman does manage to send away his soul, there will be drastic consequences.

The Soul now becomes a character in his own right, and begins to develop his own agency and desires, which are increasingly in conflict with those of the Fisherman. The Fisherman is unmoved by his Soul’s alarm at being sent away, especially without a heart. This underscores how consumed he is with love for the Mermaid, and how she has become his sole priority.

This section marks the beginning of the Soul’s drawn-out attempts to tempt the Fisherman into leaving the Mermaid. Wilde’s decision to dedicate so much of the story to the Soul’s recounting of his travels indicates both how desperate the Soul is to be reunited with the Fisherman but also how impervious the Fisherman is to temptation. This is emphasized by the level of detail and the lavish language the Soul employs; the Soul is determined to tempt the Fisherman, but he seems entirely immune to worldly and material temptation. Even after these prolonged descriptions, the Fisherman instantly replies that his love for the Mermaid is superior than anything the Soul might have to offer.

Given the detailed and sensual quality of the Soul’s previous descriptions, it’s surprising that the Fisherman is so quickly tempted by the image of a girl dancing in her bare feet. Indeed, it seems what truly tempts the Fisherman is the simple fact that this girl has feet and can dance, while the Mermaid has no feet and cannot. In this way, it is a superficial and carnal image that tempts the Fisherman, and Wilde seems to suggest that temptations of this nature are the most corrupt and alluring.

It quickly becomes evident that the Soul has not been entirely truthful with the Fisherman. In fact, the Soul has no qualms about leading his master astray and instructs him to commit three increasingly cruel and evil acts that ultimately culminate in murder. By showing the Soul’s repeated instructions and the Fisherman’s continuing compliance and confusion, Wilde makes clear that the Soul has become a corruptive force. In fact, the Soul is now so corrupt that he functions as a dark mirror image of the Fisherman, and might be interpreted as a kind of doppelganger. Given the story’s focus on the concept of the human soul, it seems the inclusion of pomegranates might be an allusion to immortality, as the fruit is generally understood to be a symbol of life and rebirth on account of its abundance of seeds. In addition, many biblical scholars believe that the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve eat in the Garden of Eden is not an apple but a pomegranate, thus infusing this passage with biblical undertones.

The Fisherman is now forced to reckon with his previous decision to send his Soul out into the world without a heart. As the Soul specifically states it is the absence of a heart that caused him to become evil, Wilde seems to be making a comment that the heart should not be reserved for romantic love alone. Rather, the heart should be thought of in terms of compassion for fellow humans, and so is important for all relationships. The Fisherman’s following realization that he cannot send his Soul away for a second time heightens the dramatic tension of this scene, as it becomes clear that the Fisherman is now irrevocably reunited with his Soul and so separated from his love.

The Fisherman is unable to accept the repercussions of his decisions and is determined to reunite with the Mermaid. His Soul’s continued attempts to tempt the Fisherman once more prove futile. It seems the Fisherman has learned his lesson, because he is no longer tempted by more carnal pleasures as suggested by the “Valley of Pleasure,” and the Soul cannot cease trying to tempt him away from the Mermaid. A kind of stalemate forms as both the Fisherman and his Soul are dedicated to their separate and conflicting tasks.

The Soul is so desperate to find some way to draw the Fisherman away from the shore that he attempts to tempt him with good deeds instead of evil ones. In this way, Wilde makes clear that it’s not the nature of the individual temptations, but the Soul’s unyielding desire to tempt the Fisherman away from the Mermaid that is important. After two years, it transpires that the Fisherman cannot even grant the Soul access to his heart. It is now entirely clear that his love for the Mermaid has caused him the Fisherman to lose control at a very fundamental level.

Wilde again treats the concept of heartbreak quite literally; once the Fisherman’s heart is broken, the Soul can gain physical entry and they are reunited. The fact that the Fisherman and his Soul are reunited only moments before the Fisherman drowns, and that the Fisherman and the Mermaid are reunited only in death, creates an effective tone of tragedy: the individual characters have attained their desires, but at a terrible price. The Fisherman has been reunited with the Mermaid and   the Soul has been reunited with the Fisherman, but only in death. This scene also brings several of the story’s themes to a close, as the effects of Fisherman’s banishing his Soul, and the Soul’s resulting temptation of the Fisherman have come to a dramatic climax.

Even the death of the Fisherman and the Mermaid fails to move the Priest, who is still driven by judgmental ideals and refuses to acknowledge the love between them. As the color white is generally understood to represent purity, the white flowers suggest some sort of cleansing process has begun to take hold. This is compounded by the almost magical effect the flowers have on the Priest, as he is overcome with a positivity that he doesn’t know the source of.

While the Priest has yet to grasp his own change in temperament, the reader understands that the flowers catalyzed this shift from “wrath” to “love.” When it transpires that the flowers have grown from the Fisherman and the Mermaid’s unmarked grave, the Priest realizes he has been affected by the love of which he was previously so judgmental. Seeing as he decides to bless “All the things in God’s world,” it seems he now accepts love in all the forms it may take, and so the story ends with a powerful statement regarding the enduring power of love.