I'm writing a book on mermaids and I need help with some details.?

Question

I'm writing a book about mermaids, but I was wondering if in other books, movies and shows, do the mermaids grow old?

Can you give me examples with your answers, please? Thanks =]

Answer 1

I would agree with the first person who answered. Its your book and mermaids are fictional beings so you get to decide how you want them to be. The most important thing in a fantasy type novel is to create the rules that govern thier world and stick to them. They do t have to be the rules that govern our world though.

As a subjective answer in my head mermaids are much like elves, in that they probably age, but not in the same visible way that people do and at a very slow rate. I imagine them to have very long lifespans.  

Answer 2

Make it up! That's the beauty of fantasy writing, YOU decide whether they grow old or not. Interpret it to suit your plot.

Answer 3

i don't think mermaids grow old...and in most books i have read mermaids are evil, but i dont think in your story you would want to make them evil. they shouldn't have the sense of love, and you should have something to do with it. they also should be very pretty and sing very well. good luck with your story :)

Answer 4

In 'The Little Mermaid' (the original short story by Hans Christian Andersen), the mermaids are said to live for three hundred years.  The Little Mermaid in the story has a grandmother, so presumably she is getting on a bit.

In most stories about mermaids though I think they are usually young and beautiful, I can't think of any other story that refers to them aging.

Answer 5

In the original The Little Mermaid, it says that mermaids live to 300 years. So, I guess their aging process is more gradual so that it seems as though they're not aging, but what's really happening is that they're aging very slowly. So yes, mermaids do grow old, but much slower than humans do. Hope I helped. =)

Answer 6

Well, obviously you know its your book and you can choose what you want. You mean traditionally, right?

In The Little Mermaid, the movie, King Tritan has a white beard. Ariel is said to be sixteen and she looks about that age in human years, maybe a bit older.

http://www.beautiful-mermaid-art.com/leg...

Scroll past the art, and you will see legends from all over the world. Hope that helps!!!

Answer 7

Yeah i think they do get old, maybe a bit slower though? in ariel the film her dad is old, in aquamarine theres the dad and the daughter and in the programme H2O theres an older mermaid that was part of a group a long time ago Lol, not that i watch a lot of mermaid stuff!!!

Answer 8

Do you think they should? Mermaids don't exist, so there are no rules about how they breathe, what they eat, how old they live to be, so you are the judge on that. If you want you're characters to live forever, let them, if you want a tragic ending due to old age, you can decide.