The Mermaid’s End

Contrary to The Week (July 27), the Little Mermaid does not “live happily ever after” in the tale told by Hans Christian Andersen. The original tale is much stranger than the Disney adaptation. Because she refuses to commit a murder in order to save herself, the Little Mermaid goes to her death, expecting oblivion. But because she has won the love of a human, her corporeal life is succeeded by something like 300 years of sympathetic purgatory: “The daughters of the air fly unseen into the dwellings of men, where there are children. . . . Whenever we smile with joy at seeing such a good child, a year is struck. But when we see a naughty, wicked child, we must weep bitter tears of sorrow, and every tear prolongs our time of trial by one day!”

John D. Flanigan Winchester, Va.

Grandma’s Complaint

Joseph Epstein’s review “Philip Roth & Friend” (July 27) made me recall an incident from my youth. Shortly after publication of Portnoy’s Complaint, I was visiting my grandmother, a Jewish woman in her seventies at the time, and saw a copy of the book on her nightstand. I asked her what she thought of it, and her reply was, “Somebody needs to give that Mr. Roth a swift kick in the a**.” That remark inspired me to read the book, and it turned out Grandma was right.

Marshall Kapp Tallahassee, Fla.

The Rise of Hong Kong

Contrary to National Review’s The Week (August 10), Hong Kong did not manage to become a global hub of trade and finance in an autonomous region under China’s purported “one country, two systems” policy. Hong Kong achieved that status while it was under British control, long before the British ceded it to China. The “one country, two systems” policy enabled the city to maintain its commercial and financial status only temporarily, as the supposed policy clearly was only a pretext, a fictitious and transitory fig leaf, for the British abandonment of the city and its people.

Peter E. Taussig Lake Oswego, Ore.

Correction

In his story on One America News Network (“Don’t Watch One America News Network,” August 10), Jack Butler asserted that host Greta Wall interviewed conspiracy theorist and wannabe congressional candidate Laura Loomer on her show Wall to Wall. The interview did appear on the network, but Wall herself did not conduct or air the interview. We regret the error.