Next on our
list of tales to destroy, one of my personal favorites: Sleeping Beauty. First,
I have a confession. The reason I really like this story is because of the
Disney version. Maleficent rules! Not the later live action version, the
original animated version.
And here we go. I am going to look
at the Little
Brier-Rose version of the story. I generally prefer the Grimms to Perrault
(Perrault gets preachy and has to
include some kind of moral to the story. I’d rather derive my own from reading
the story.).
So go ahead and read. I’ll wait.
No, seriously, go do it.
Done? Good. So here are a few quick
ideas for analyzing the story.
Class Separation
The story criticizes the inability
of the upper class to do what are common tasks to the ordinary people. Spindles
have points, but are not sharp. For Brier-Rose to prick her hand on it would be
a very difficult task, and shows that she knows nothing of how to operate a spinning
wheel. A princess like Brier-Rose is unsuited to any kind of manual labor. The
story may even be commenting—sarcastically—that the merest effort at manual
labor made her faint.
Inhospitable
Hospitality
is a big thing in the ancient world, and comes up in many mythological stories
including Odysseus, Sinbad, Sodom & Gomorrah, and others. So it’s not
surprising that the thirteenth fairy (so omitted because of the unlucky number)
is quite put out that she was left off the invitation. The offenders in the
story, then, are the king and queen for failing to be hospitable to the fairy.
The fairy only offered up a just punishment for their behavior (In many
cultures, failure to offer hospitality was a death sentence).
Sexual Innuendo
This story
is laden with sexual imagery and language. Brier-Rose is pricked by the spindle
and bleeds. The Prince promises “[he] shall penetrate
the hedge and free the beautiful Brier-Rose”
(emphasis added). As an expanded commentary, the story offers up commentary
that women should avoid solitary sexual practices because of negative
consequences, and that women must have a man in order to feel fulfillment.
Manliness
Many
princes tried to reach Brier-Rose, but most failed to “penetrate the hedge and
free the beautiful Brier-Rose” because they didn’t possess the necessary
courage, skill, and fortitude to reach her. The prince who succeeded
demonstrates his virtues and that those who failed were not true men. Even the
hedge barrier recognized the prince had the right qualities since it parted for
him.
Timelessness
This story
talks about the princess falling asleep, and then the kingdom falls asleep with
her, but really what it means is a frozen time state. The description is quite
clear what with the “fire on the hearth flickered, stopped moving, and fell
asleep” and “the roast stopped sizzling.” This timelessness is to preserve the
opportunity for a happy ending. Without it, the princess would sleep and live,
but time would pass her by as her family, her entire kingdom, ages without her.
The story is silent on exactly how much time has passed, relegating it to “many
long years.” However, it’s enough time that an unknown number of princes became
trapped in the hedge. So either Brier-Rose would be awakened to aged parents,
or her parents would have long since passed away, nullifying the ability for
her (and the kingdom) to live “happily ever after.” Stopping the passage of
time becomes a necessary device for the story’s intended ending.
Cultural Values
The halting
of time throughout the whole kingdom for the princess places an emphasis on
continuation of society. The royal family is tied to the society, without it,
society cannot (dare not?) function. So everything is halted while the status
of the heir is in jeopardy. Once the situation with Brier-Rose is resolved,
society can resume. Though in reality the peasantry would likely mourn the
passing of the princess and get on with their lives, the story focuses on the
idea that the two concepts are linked, and that without a continuation of the
royal line, the society would come to an end. There is some truth to this as small
kingdoms relied on political ties cemented through marriage in order to protect
themselves from warring kingdoms. Without an heir to tie one kingdom to the
next, Brier-Rose’s kingdom would be in jeopardy.
As with Red
Riding Hood, there are many other ways to analyze the story. This should simply
whet the appetite for interpretations.
I should
mention, too, that, recently, sexual interpretations of fairy tales have become
popular. Some attribute this to current literary (and film) trends; however,
the motifs are there if looked for. The prince’s line is unmistakable to
interpret. Examinations of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, and other
tales (particularly princess stories) reveal enough evidence to lend credence
to a sexual interpretation. These interpretations can be applied to gender
specific roles, and would have little trouble fitting into the chivalric code,
popular in medieval romances.