Why all the Mermaids?

This image used by permission of David Delamare at daviddelamare.com

"And as for Mermaids... it is no fabulous tale that goeth of them: for look how painters draw them, so they are indeed..."
(Pliny the Elder)

So, what's the story with all these mermaids on this site, you ask? First of all, I just love them! The myth of the mermaid is one of the most beautiful I have ever encountered, and it may have more to do with breast cancer than you think...

Breast cancer is a very feminine illness, (although I do acknowledge that a small percentage of men are affected too), and you can't get more feminine a symbol than the beautiful mermaid. Losing your breasts can be a very emotionally traumatic experience for a woman, which makes breast cancer a particularly difficult illness to deal with. Not only do you have to worry about your health but also about your looks and loss of confidence. Furthermore, certain treatments for breast cancer, especially drugs which work on suppressing the production of eostrogen, and induce the menopause, will have an effect on your sexual relations. Problems such as vaginal dryness and atrophy can not only be embarrassing for patients to discuss, but also devastating on relationships. You need not however suffer in silence. Your doctor may not mention this to you, but there exists a non-hormonal gel called "Replens", which not only encourages natural lubrication, but also restores the acidity of the vagina, helping to put an end to unpleasant vaginal and urinary infections (also a side-effect of hormonal treatments). What's more, although it is freely available at any pharmacy in the UK, it is now also available on prescription, which makes it a lot cheaper. The fact that this gel contains no hormones is important, since you do not want to reintroduce oestrogen into your body, when you are already taking drugs to eliminate the latter!

Mermaids are ancient mythical creatures symbolising beauty, seduction but also mortality. The abundant flowing hair represents love. The duality between love and death is split between the mermaid, who protects sailors and seduces with her beautiful voice, and the siren who ensnares those who fall in love with her to her underwater kingdom. The thread which runs through all the mermaid legends is the theme of unfulfilled or frustrated love. In some myths, the mermaid is a soulless creature who needs to marry a mortal before she can gain a soul. The unions are invariably unhappy or unobtainable and the mermaid is forced to return to her underwater world. In others, the mermaid is the errant spirit of a drowned woman, who also needs to escape by seducing a mortal. In the case of sirens, love is equated with death and danger. The mermaid's water habitat is a metaphor for emotions, the subconscious and the afterlife.

Death of your partner, troubles in your relationship are all issues which are relevant to people suffering from breast cancer. Breast cancer will change you, physically, emotionally and psychologically, but hopefully for the better as it did with me. This in turn will affect your relationship with your partner, and it is therefore important to talk about how you feel and what you want with your partner before alienation and misunderstanding sets in.

Some famous mermaids:

• Aphrodite - Greek Goddess of love, beauty, fertility and fair sailing, who was born out of the sea itself and had a sacred dolphin for companion. She lost her fish attributes however, which were transferred to the Tritons and Nereids.
  
  
• Cliodna - Irish Celtic Goddess of the sea, beauty and the afterlife, who fell in love with a sailor but was dragged back to the otherworld by a wave sent by the God of the sea, Mannan.
  
  
• Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Mermaid", who traded her fish tail for a pair of legs in order to follow her mortal lover on dry land, but couldn't stand the pain of walking.
  
  
• The German Lorelei or Nix - a beautiful blonde siren who sat on a rock and lured sailors to their death with her songs.