In the movie Ondine, two myths Ondine draws upon are the myth of the water nymph Ondine and the Selkies. The name Ondine is French and means "wave" or "water spirit." Ondine was also a water nymph in German mythology. This myth originated in the Orkney Islands. When Syracuse, a fisherman first catches Ondine, this is what she says her name is. Rumors soon pass through Syracuse’s little village that Ondine is his "water baby." Syracuse then begins to tell his daughter, Annie, stories of a man who one day while fishing, catches a Selkie. Selkies are mythological creatures that are found in Irish as well as Scottish, Faroese and Icelandic folklores. They are seals and are able to become human by shedding their seal skin and returning back to seals by putting their seal coat back on and soon returning to sea. Annie discovers that if a Selkie falls in love with a "landsman," they can stay on dry land for seven years because they have seven years that may be shed. She also found out that if Selkies buries their seal coat and forgets where it is placed, they can remain human forever.
Syracuse is a recently divorced man and a recovering alcoholic and his daughter Annie is in a wheel-chair due to kidney failure. This family does not always have the best luck, until Ondine comes along, which is why they both start to believe she is a Selkie, since those creatures are thought to bring luck upon others. The luck starts when Syracuse and Ondine are on his fishing boat, and as Ondine begins to sing, Syracuse notices that he has caught more fish than he usually does. A quote from the movie is from Annie and she says, "They don’t talk, they sing", referring to the Selkies. Although this is lucky, he feels at this moment that the better luck is that he is falling in love with Ondine.
When Ondine is teaching Annie how to swim one day, Ondine finds a mysterious bundle under the water. Annie has read about this and she believes this bundle is Ondine’s missing "seal coat". Since Ondine does not confirm or deny Annie’s assumption about the seal coat, this is the last proof Annie needs to believe this is Ondine’s Selkie husband, from whom she has run away. Since Annie believes this is Ondine’s "seal coat", they agree to bury it near a green house so Ondine can live on land for seven more years. Later when a mysterious man comes to their town, Ondine is scared of him and tries her best to avoid him. Annie believes this is Ondine’s Selkie husband, whom she has run away from. This family gets the best luck when Annie who has kidney failure and is in a wheelchair, miraculously is able to walk unassisted. After all these amazing miracles and good luck that seems to be happening to this family, I would also believe and hope that Ondine is a Selkie too, especially if I grew up in Ireland and heard about all the Selkie myths and stories that are told all over the country.
There is much Irish folklore about myths of Selkies and Mermaids and each fairytale is told differently. Some people believe that this legend comes from the numerous seals inhibiting the Irish coast and believe Selkies are brown seals by day and human by night. Sailors or fishermen who catch a Selkie at night in human form would marry and for the rest of the Selkie’s life they would serve as patient wives. This would be an example of what is told in the movie The Secret of Roan Inish when a Selkie marries a landsman and bears him children.
In the Faroe Islands, there can also be male Selkies, they are handsome and have great power when in their human form. If a woman wants to make contact with a Selkie man, she has to shed seven tears into the sea. This is similar to the seven years of human life, women Selkies can have as believed in the Irish myths. If a man steals a female Selkie’s skin, she is in his power and is forced to become his wife. This is similar to the movie Ondine when the mysterious men comes and wants what Annie believes is Ondine's seal skin. Annie does not want this to happen because she does not want Ondine to leave her and her father.
As I described, there are a number of versions of Selkie myths told all over Europe. This version is endearing, practical, and actually quite skocking.
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