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Sirens, originally winged creatures, have taken to the seas as an image of the seductive temptress, symbolizing, according to Patten, “the delusive fascinations of this world.” The fierce women in this category typify beliefs about human desires. Sirens and mermaids are the obvious examples of water women, but nymphs and fairies often possess similar aquatic and alluring powers.

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The definitions Patten has found on women and water are intriguing, if somewhat questionable. The first definition under “Water” reads, “Woman, the feminine or passive principle, is represented by water, all things sinuous, concave, curving, receptive.” The following definitions include broader explanations such as “cleansing, regeneration, refreshing, invigorating qualities of the spirit” and “healing, fountain of youth.” These definitions clearly contain different implications on women’s agency, whether women are passive creatures who exist to be filled or whether they have power and strength of their own. Under the entry for “Woman” Patten details: “Blue of the Seas which was looked upon as the mother of all things. Saviour was born of a Virgin called Maria - mare (sea).” One might assume that there would be immense awe and respect of water women if they were associated with the “mother of all things.” However, depictions often either infantilize or villainize these women, putting their power not in the women themselves, but rather in the men that they “torment.”

“Mermaid,” according to Patten’s entry, was: “At first a symbol of man whose speech is fair but whose deeds are treacherous. But many believed the mermaid –part women and part fish, was a symbol of the union of the divine and human natures.” He also includes more common meanings associated with mermaids, such as “the story of sailer dragged down to the bottom of the sea by mermaids,” “sea mothers,” “wisdom”, “mother of the world,” and “symbol of seduction.” Similarly, Sirens are described as representing virtues and vices of human nature, as well as showing the “delusive nature of human pleasures.” These beautiful women are repeatedly connected to death (dragging men to watery graves, entrapping souls to the sea, being actual “spirits of death”), which sharply contrasts and connects both beauty and despair, life and death.

Not all watery women are symbols of darkness, however. Some represent more general feelings around decisions and change. Scylla and Charybdis are Greek embodiments of tumultuous water and the tides. Water nymphs and nereids can help sailors as well as dragging them down. Just like winged women, there is a pervasive power to our watery women.

Below are representations of these aquatic women from our collection. While perusing, try to think of who you are seeing, what you think of them, and why.

Why are water women typically cast as the seductress? And why are water women portrayed as beautiful, yet winged women were often hideous and horrifying? How are these women interpreted when they contain so many clashing characteristics within them (light/dark, youth/death, beauty/despair)? Why are mermaids so popular in our current popular culture? Are the depictions we see in tv, books, and movies today different from the myths behind them? How can these women be seen as individuals outside their role as a “symbol of seduction,” outside of the male gaze?

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