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Ariel’s story in Disney’s movie The Little Mermaid symbolizes Wyatt’s own struggle with his gender identity. When Wyatt is young, he becomes obsessed with watching The Little Mermaid, and Nutt makes the parallels between the character and Wyatt himself. Like Wyatt, Ariel “lives in one world but yearns to be in another.” She has the top half of a human female, but the bottom half doesn’t make sense to her. Wyatt, too, feels like a female and outwardly presents as such throughout most of his life, so his biologically male anatomy is confusing to him even from an early age. He understands himself as a girl, but the rest of the world doesn’t see him that way.
The parallel between Wyatt (who eventually takes on the name Nicole) and Ariel only grows stronger by the end of the book. When Nicole is finally able to have her sex reassignment surgery, a friend of hers texts her that she’s “like Ariel.” Like Ariel, who finishes her story where she belongs—with human legs and joining her prince on land—so, too, does Nicole transform herself and have a sense of true belonging inside her body.
The Little Mermaid Quotes in Becoming Nicole
The Becoming Nicole quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Little Mermaid. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
Part human, part fish, Ariel, with her shiny green scales, is decidedly a mermaid below the waist. But above it, with her long hair and luscious red lips, she is all girl.
Ariel’s problem, however, is that she lives in one world, under the sea, even as she yearns to be in another, on land. As she gazes at her image in a mirror beneath the waves, she feels comforted by the top half of her reflection. It’s the bottom that doesn’t make sense.
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Chapter 42
Quotes
Her good friend Lexie texted, “HOW U FEELIN?” And then, “YOU’RE LIKE ARIEL,” the little mermaid who emerged from the sea in the form she’d always longed for.
Nicole’s transition was now complete. She would still need to take female hormones the rest of her life, and she would never be able to have her own children, but she knew she wanted to marry a man some day and adopt.
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Get the entire Becoming Nicole LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Little Mermaid Symbol Timeline in Becoming Nicole
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Little Mermaid appears in Becoming Nicole. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Finally Ours
...Nutt writes, “Part human, part fish, Ariel, with her shiny green scales, is decidedly a mermaid below the waist. But above it, with her long hair and luscious red lips, she...
(full context)
Chapter 6: Things to Be Careful Of
...book called “Things to Be Careful Of.” The cover shows a man-eating shark and a mermaid perched on an underwater rock. Inside are drawings of things to avoid, like strangers, slipping...
(full context)
Chapter 7: The Pink Aisle
...knows that he is transgender. The next day she goes out and buys him a Little Mermaid playset, and every Wendy, Dorothy, and Cinderella toy she can find.
(full context)
Chapter 42: Transformation
...friend Lexie texts her, asking how she’s feeling and then typing “YOU’RE LIKE ARIEL” from The Little Mermaid . Nicole’s transition is complete. She will need to take female hormones the rest of...
(full context)
