One of the things that inspired me to start knitting was a really cute mermaid doll I saw at
Knit & Pearl Boutique. The pattern comes from
Dream Toys (thanks, Mom!) and there's an example of the
finished mermaid here (though I think Pearl is even cuter)...
So, cute mermaid dolls are definitely on my project list. But I have mixed feelings about mermaids, generally speaking, since for every little Ariel singing with her fishy friends under the sea, there is a mummified sea-monkey stalking swimmers from the kelpy depths. For Halloween, I chose to knit a little tribute to Barnum's vintage
Feejee Mermaid.
Before casting on, I reviewed the history of the Feejee Mermaid, which is really the history of believing what we want to believe and the perception of truth in the media.
The Museum of Hoaxes site gives a thorough history, including the critical role of newspapers in advancing Barnum's hoax.
In 1842, the body of the Feejee Mermaid arrived in New York City, immediately greeted by the prototypical paparazzi. She was introduced to the eager reporters by "Dr. J. Griffin," the newspapers bought into the fish story hook, line, and sinker. Barnum just happened to have some extra woodcuts of mermaids that he allowed the newspapers to run alongside their Feejee stories. The public fell immediately in love. Then they saw her dessicated monkey face. A reporter from the
Charleston Courier wrote
Of one allusion… the sight of the wonder has forever robbed us — we shall never again discourse, even in poesy, of mermaid beauty, nor woo a mermaid even in our dreams — for the Feejee lady is the very incarnation of ugliness.
Even then, maybe especially then, the public believed. Maybe the mythical buxom siren mermaid was too good to be true, but the Feejee was almost too ugly
not to be real. As the public, we have always been suspicious of perfection and quick to magnify shortcomings. It's as if a thing or person is not real without a flaw, so we are willing to believe the inverse: that flaws are proof of the genuine article. It's the Barnum Politik, a certain willingness to be had, under the right circumstances. Something to think about as the elections approach.
In any case, here she is, my little Feejee—a real fake, a hand-knit hoax, with a genuine simulated sepia print. I think she's kinda cute, in her own hideous way.
