〈嬰寧〉與〈小美人魚〉的內容都改編自人妖戀傳說，就深層意義而言，更蘊含共同的問題意識。本文從性別、靈魂、溝通、合偶等四個面向進行比較，指出它們各自所提出的相同或相異的解決方式。一、人妖戀主角大都為男人與女妖，固然是男性中心社會的性愛想像，兩篇作品卻也獨具對女性處境與成長歷程的觀照。二、異類與人類結合為了追求靈魂的救贖，渴望將自身的動物性存在予以提升，是中西異類相同的目標。三、兩主角皆非以語言作為主要溝通工具，而是一以笑，一以舞，但外在環境條件的不同與所費心機的深淺構成其成敗之別。四、求偶故事可視為內心發展的象徵，但其中的三角關係蘊含特殊的對應結構，反映出人類對自然的恐懼，結局的不同則肇因於兩作品背後意識形態對異類接受程度的差異。

The contents of “Yingning” and “The Little Mermaid” are both adapted from the traditional love story between the human and the non-human. They both also contain a sensibility of problems in their deep structure. This article compares the two works from four perspectives—gender, soul, communication and marriage—and points out the similar or different ways they offer to solve the problems. (1) The erotic imagination of patriarchal society is expressed in the love between human males and non-human females, which also reflects insights into the human female situation and what constitutes a growth to maturity. (2) As the non-humans associate with the humans in order to get salvation for their souls, the common goal of the Chinese and European nonhumans is to sublimate their original animalness. (3) The main communicative means for the protagonists of these two works is not language, but laughter and dance respectively; their success or failure results from the differences in their external conditions and the efforts they spend oncommunication. (4) In the courtship plot, which is a symbol for inner development, there is a triangular relationship which implies human fear of nature. All in all, the different endings of the two works are to be explained in terms of their different attitudes toward the Others.