The Sea Witch: Behind the Science

The Sea Witch: Behind the Science The Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid is someone I wouldn't make an agreement with even if I thought I'd checked every word. She has already shown how she works. Issoro asks for a way to become human, and she gives him one. The potion lasts a day. When he confronts her later, she points out that they never agreed on a duration. She technically delivered what she said she would, and now she still expects payment. It's a pretty effective introduction to the way she uses magic and the way she uses people. Her powers cover quite a bit. She can make a potion that changes a merman into a human, bring Elizabeth underwater in a protective air bubble, and watch Erica through a mirror. She also helps open the way out during Erica's escape. None of that makes her trustworthy. Helping someone can be part of getting them where you want them. That's especially clear when Erica finally reaches the sea. The Witch pushes her toward going back to fight rather than simply getting away. Erica decides to take her life back, and then we see the Witch watching through the mirror, pleased with the choice. She doesn't need to physically drag Erica into the battle if she can persuade her to go there herself. The biggest thing she gets is Issoro's unrestricted royal blessing. This is magical backing with consequences, not a compliment from the king. Proteus is horrified because there are supposed to be limits on what a blessing covers. The Witch has managed to get those limits left out. From a science perspective, there isn't an honest way to explain a blessing that changes the success of someone's endeavors as ordinary chemistry or physics. The potion has a visible physical result, but its mechanism is still magic. The mirror also goes well beyond a normal reflection. We can describe what these things accomplish without making up a laboratory explanation the story never gives us. I think the unsettling part is how much of her work doesn't require an attack. She knows what people are desperate for, offers access to it, and leaves them to discover the cost afterward.