When was mermaid Ariel born?

Answer 1

This is not entered into in the cartoon for two good reasons. L. it doesn"t have any direct bearing on the story, it is asumed she is sexually mature considering her dalliance with Eric. secondly Mermaids , according to the author Anderson, were supposed to have a life span of 300 years, three times the human maximum, I do not know where he got this idea from. at the end of this span, they dissolve(d) into the water, hence no mermaid fossils are ever found. It is a neat device to explain the lack of physical traces or remains. I would guess from props and settings that the story takes place in the late-sail era , say the early Nineteenth century.

Actually in the film it says she is 16 as it does in the original tale