the.com/ariel
the air spirit who does all the magic and gets none of the credit.
means a name meaning lion of god, borrowed by shakespeare for a shape-shifting sprite bound to serve until freed.
from hebrew ariel roughly means lion of god or altar hearth, used in isaiah as a poetic name for jerusalem; shakespeare then plucked it for the airy spirit in the tempest, and disney later handed it to a mermaid who wanted legs instead of wings.
tempest roleprospero's enslaved spirit, freed in the final act
elementassociated with air, unlike earthy caliban
disney twist1989 film reversed the myth: sea, not sky
gender fluidplayed as male, female, or genderless on stage
for instance
ariel sharon — israeli prime minister, 2001 to 2006
ariel atom — british sports car, 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds