Rictor Norton, in "My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries", theorizes that "The Little Mermaid" was written as a love letter by Hans Christian Andersen to Edvard Collin. This is based on a letter Andersen wrote to Collin, upon hearing of Collin's engagement to a young woman, around the same time that the Little Mermaid was written. Andersen wrote "I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench... my sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery." Andersen also sent the original story to Collin. Norton interprets the correspondence as a declaration of Andersen's homosexual love for Collin, and describes "The Little Mermaid" as an allegory for Andersen's life.