Miya Pearson
The story of Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale that has been adapted into various novels, ballets, poems, operas, and films. The earliest known version of the tale is found in the French narrative Perceforest, written between 1330 and 1344. The story revolves around a princess who is cursed to sleep for a hundred years after pricking her finger on a spindle. The original tale, titled Sun, Moon, and Talia, features disturbing elements of assault, cannibalism, and infidelity. In contrast, Disney's animated adaptation, released in 1959, has been criticized for its depiction of the princess as a naïve and malleable character, lacking agency and contributing to a damsel-in-distress trope. Despite this, Sleeping Beauty remains a timeless fairy tale, with its message of romance and hope, captivating audiences across different mediums and interpretations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Princess's name | Aurora, Rose, Talia |
| Princess's qualities | Naive, malleable, delicate, vapid, lacking interesting qualities |
| Princess's family | Daughter of a Tsar and Tsarina |
| Princess's love interest | Prince Desiré, Phillip |
| Antagonist | The Fairy of Darkness, Maleficent |
| Curse | To sleep for 100 years |
| Cause of the curse | Pricking her finger on a spindle |
| Resolution | Princess is awakened by a prince's kiss |
| Themes | Rape, infidelity, assault, cannibalism, death |
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Rape and infidelity
The original Sleeping Beauty story, titled "Sun, Moon, and Talia", contains themes of rape and infidelity. In this version, Talia, the sleeping beauty, is impregnated by a king while she is unconscious. The king then leaves her, and she gives birth to twins, one of whom sucks the flax from her finger, awakening her. When she wakes up, she has no idea what happened to her. The king eventually returns and tells her who he is and what transpired between them. They bond, and he promises to take her to his kingdom. However, upon his return to his kingdom, his wife overhears him saying "Talia, Sun, and Moon" in his sleep, revealing his infidelity.
In Giambattista Basile's version, the sleeping beauty, Talia, is cursed to sleep for a hundred years after pricking her finger on a spindle. During this time, a prince discovers her and falls in love with her. He kisses her, awakening her from her slumber.
The original tale, with its themes of rape and infidelity, stands in stark contrast to the fairy tale and movie adaptations that have romanticized and sanitized the story. The Disney version, in particular, has been criticized for depicting the princess as "naïve and malleable," lacking agency and contributing little "in the way of feminine progress." Despite this criticism, the story remains a favorite fairy tale for many, with its ultimate message of romance, hope, and the power of love conquering all.
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Cannibalism
The original Sleeping Beauty story features some rather gruesome elements, including cannibalism. In Giambattista Basile's version, titled Sun, Moon, and Talia, the sleeping beauty is named Talia. After Talia pricks her finger and falls unconscious, a king finds her and impregnates her. He then leaves her asleep and returns to his kingdom. Talia gives birth to twins while still unconscious, and one of the infants sucks the flax from her finger, awakening her.
The king returns to Talia and informs her of what transpired while she was asleep. However, upon returning to his kingdom, the king mentions Talia and their children in his sleep, which is overheard by his wife. The king's wife, jealous of Talia and the children, orders a cook to kill the children and serve them as dinner. Instead of obeying, the cook hides the children and serves the king's wife livestock. The king's wife then orders the cook to kill Talia, but her plot is uncovered, and she is subjected to the same fate she had planned for Talia.
This version of the Sleeping Beauty tale, with its inclusion of cannibalism, infidelity, and death, is significantly darker than the more familiar fairy tale and Disney adaptations.
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Death
The original Sleeping Beauty story is a dark tale that includes death. In the story, the princess is cursed to sleep for a hundred years after pricking her finger on a spindle. This curse is cast by the vengeful Fairy of Darkness, who is later revealed to be the princess's stepmother. While the Lilac Fairy softens the blow of the curse, promising that the princess will not die, the original version of the tale, as written by Giambattista Basile, includes the death of the princess's children.
In Basile's version, the princess is named Talia. After falling asleep, a passing king finds her and impregnates her while she is still unconscious. The king then leaves her, and Talia gives birth to twins while still asleep. One of the infants sucks Talia's finger, drawing out the flax splinter and awakening her. When the king returns and discovers Talia awake, he tells her who he is and what has happened, and they bond. However, when the king returns to his realm, his wife overhears him saying "Talia, Sun, and Moon" in his sleep. Jealous, the king's wife plots to kill Talia and her children. She calls a cook and orders him to kill the children and serve them as dinner to their mother.
The cook, however, hides the children and serves the king's wife livestock instead. Enraged, the king's wife then demands that the cook kill Talia. Before this can happen, the king's wife is subjected to the death she had planned for Talia, and the princess, the king, and their children live happily ever after.
The original tale of Sleeping Beauty, with its themes of death, assault, cannibalism, and infidelity, is a far cry from the dreamy fairy tale it has become in popular culture.
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Unfaithful husband
The original Sleeping Beauty story features an unfaithful husband, cannibalism, death, and assault. In Giambattista Basile's version of the tale, titled "Sun, Moon, and Talia", the sleeping beauty is named Talia. In this version, a king finds Talia unconscious and impregnates her. He then leaves her and returns to his kingdom. Talia gives birth to twins while still unconscious, and one of the twins sucks the flax from her finger, awakening her. When the king returns to Talia, he promises to take her and their twins to his kingdom. However, his wife, the queen, overhears him saying "Talia, Sun, and Moon" in his sleep. Jealous of the prince's new family, she calls a cook to kill the children and serve them for dinner. The cook hides the children and serves livestock instead. When the queen's true nature is revealed to the prince, she is subjected to the death she had planned for the princess.
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Princess pricks finger
The story of Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale about a princess who is cursed to sleep for a hundred years. In different versions of the story, the princess is referred to as Rose, Aurora, or Talia. In all versions, the princess pricks her finger on a spindle or a piece of flax, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.
In the original version of the tale, the princess's parents are warned by a wicked fairy that their daughter will die when she pricks her finger on a particular item. The parents attempt to protect their daughter by banning and destroying all spinning wheels in the kingdom. Despite their efforts, the prophecy is fulfilled, and the princess pricks her finger. Instead of dying, she falls into a deep sleep.
In Giambattista Basile's version, titled "Sun, Moon, and Talia," the princess Talia is intrigued by an old woman spinning outside her window. She invites the woman inside and takes the spindle from her, pricking her finger on a splinter of flax. Talia falls into a deep sleep, and the old woman, revealed to be the Fairy of Darkness, vanishes in triumph. A passing prince discovers Talia and carries her to a bed, where he takes advantage of her. She gives birth to twins while still unconscious, and one of the twins eventually wakes her by sucking the flax from her finger.
In other versions of the story, the princess is awakened by a prince's kiss after sleeping for a hundred years. The good fairy who softened the curse by promising that the princess would not die, puts everyone in the castle and forest to sleep so that they would awaken at the same time as the princess.
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Frequently asked questions
The earliest known version of the tale is found in the French narrative Perceforest, written between 1330 and 1344.
The princess is called Aurora in some versions of the tale, and Talia in others.
The original Sleeping Beauty tale contains assault, cannibalism, death, and an unfaithful husband. In one version, the sleeping beauty is impregnated by a king while unconscious, and gives birth to twins. One of the twins sucks her finger, removing the flax that was stuck there, and she awakens.
