The Fisherman and His Soul recap

A Young Fisherman falls in love with a Mermaid who will accept him beneath the sea only without his soul. A witch teaches him to cut the Soul away from his body, and he sends it into the world while keeping his heart for the Mermaid. The Soul returns annually with tales of wisdom and riches, but only a story about a dancer tempts the Fisherman onto land. Once reunited with him, the heartless Soul leads him into theft and murder. The Fisherman repents and returns to the coast, but he cannot dismiss the Soul again. When the Mermaid's corpse washes ashore, his heart breaks, the Soul reenters it, and he drowns embracing her. A Priest denies them sacred burial, yet marvelous flowers later grow from their grave. Moved by them, he preaches love and blesses the sea he had condemned.

A Young Fisherman catches a Mermaid and releases her in return for her songs. They fall in love, but she says he can join her under the sea only by casting away his soul. A Priest condemns the idea, and merchants say a soul has no market value. A witch finally teaches the Fisherman to separate from it as he would from a shadow. He refuses the departing Soul his heart, which he has given to the Mermaid. The Soul travels alone and returns each year, first tempting him with wisdom and then riches. He refuses both. On its third return, it describes a barefoot dancer, and curiosity draws him onto land. Rejoined to the Fisherman but still without a heart, the Soul leads him through acts of theft, violence, and murder. Horrified, the Fisherman returns to the shore, yet the separation cannot be repeated and the Mermaid no longer answers him. The Soul tries to enter his closed heart while he continues calling for her. When her dead body washes in, grief breaks his heart and admits the Soul. Though the Soul begs him to flee the rising water, the Fisherman embraces the Mermaid and drowns. The Priest has them buried outside consecrated ground. Later, wondrous flowers grow from their grave and decorate his altar, moving him to preach about love and bless the sea and its creatures.

The Fisherman returns to the shore but cannot separate from his Soul a second time. Each day he calls for the Mermaid, who does not answer, while the Soul tells him stories and repeatedly seeks entrance to his heart. His love keeps it out until the Mermaid's dead body is washed toward him. Grief breaks the Fisherman's heart, allowing the Soul to enter at last. As the tide rises, the Soul urges him to save himself, but he embraces the Mermaid and lets the sea cover him. The Priest refuses the lovers consecrated burial, so they are placed together in an unconsecrated field. Later, extraordinary flowers grow from their grave and are used to decorate the church altar. Their beauty changes the Priest: he preaches about divine love and goes out to bless the sea and all its creatures. The Fisherman and Mermaid remain dead, but the love the Priest condemned transforms his understanding.