Anyway, I want to talk about the character of Ariel. Ariel is kind of fairy-like, kind of like the little ball of light that follows you around in Legend of Zelda. Ariel's gender has also been the subject of hotly-contested debate for a very long time.
Traditionally, Ariel is viewed as a male character. He's referred to with male pronouns (all of twice in the entire play), but the part is commonly played by women. I've heard people posit that this might be because more male characters = fewer straw wigs, since women weren't allowed to be actors. From my days at the Southwest Shakespeare conservatory, I've heard that women commonly use Ariel's monologues for auditions. There are so few female parts in most of Shakespeare's plays, so you kind of have to take what you can get.
So, open question: Does the character of Ariel significantly change when his/her gender changes? Does it make a difference? I honestly can't decide. I mean, Ariel is kind of sexless regardless of who plays the character, but water/arial elements tend to have a more feminine quality to them. Also, in our society, Ariel is an exclusively female name. As such, I tend to think of Ariel as a female, but I'm open to other ideas.
I went into this play thinking that Ariel was a girl but after reading a summary they told me it was a boy. I don't know what to think but I don't think assigning a gender is necessary, and actually after reading your post I believe that leaving Ariel anonymous in this sense would be most appropriate. I think I'll have to wait and see how the whole play turns out before making a final decision, though.
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