Melusine is a legendary figure from European folklore depicted as a mermaid, sometimes with two tails, as a serpent from the waist down, or as a dragon. She has many stories associated with her, and may have originally been the Syrian fertility goddess Atargatis. My version of Melusine is about auto-immune disease, female autonomy, and emotional labor.

In one version of her tale, Melusine is a fairy in human form that saved a man after he had accidentally killed a king. She promised him a great kingdom and many fine children if he would only leave her alone on Saturdays. She lived up to her promise and he did not, spying on her in her bath to see her lower body turned to fish or serpent tails. When he finally confronted her, she grew wings and flew away, leaving him to die in obscurity.