SLEEPING BEAUTY

HISTORY Sleeping Beauty first

comes from a romance novel printed in 1634, “Perceforest”. Many element of sleeping beauty were taking from this tale.

The next version is “Sun, Moon and Talia” written by Giambattista Basile in 1636.

Sleeping Beauty was first used as a title by a French writer Charles Perrault in 1697. He used this as the first story in Histories ou Contes du temps passé.

The Grimm brothers then took on the tale and wrote their own version calling it “Briar Rose”. Many people say that the Grimm’s version is based off of Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty” but the Grimm brothers denied any connection between the stories. The Grimm’s version is the most well known version, and the one that Disney used to create an animated version, even thought Perrault’s title is more well know.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS

Sun, Moon and Talia, Giambattista BasileThis version is known to be one of the

first, it is the most grim, and the farthest from the Disney version. From this, other version were formed.

In version, a king had a beautiful baby girl. A fortune teller told him that she would get a splinter of flax and die when she was grown. The king didn’t allow any flax into his house to try and avoid the misfortune. One day Talia (the daughter) saw an old lady walking and spinning flax. In amazement she went and took the flax from her to observe it, and received a splinter. She fell dead on the spot. The king had his men take her body to one of hi castles, and he himself left to never come back again to try and forget. Many years later, and king was out hunting a came across the castle. He was searching the castle when he came across Talia. Her body had not changed and he suspected that she was asleep. He tried to wake her but she did not wake. He then raped her and left back to his kingdom, forgetting about her. 9 months later, Talia gave birth to 2 children, Sun and Moon. 2 fairies came and watched the children, but Talia was unable to nurse the children so they sucked on her fingers, and the piece of flax got removed. She awoke finding 2 children and began taking care of them, not knowing what had happened. The king returned, finding her awake he fell in love with her. He went back and forth between Talia and his wife. His wife grew suspicious because he would call out the names Talia, Sun and Moon in his sleep. She threatened to kill him if he didn’t tell her. Once she had found out, she sent someone to get the kids. She then told the cook to cook Sun and Moon and feed it to the king. The cook felt bad so he gave them to his wife to hide and cooked lamb instead. The wife was still jealous and wanted more revenge, so she sent someone to get Talia. Talia thinks she is going to see the king. When Talia arrived she dragged her to the fire. Right before she was burned the king came in and saved her. He sent away the wife and married Talia, and the cook gave back the children.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS Sleeping Beauty In The Wood, Charles

PerraultThis version starts off very much like the

well known Disney version, but goes through different plots and schemes.

This version starts off very much like the Disney version with the fairies and the one bad fairy. Then it changes, the princess falls asleep for 100 years along with the rest of the kingdom. Over 100 years later, a prince comes and wakes the princess, and the rest of the kingdom awakes also. He marries the princess and they have 2 children together, Morning and Day. The prince however does not tell his kingdom about his married until his father dies and he is named king. Once this happens, he brings his wife and kids back to his castle to live there. His mother however, being part ogres, did not like them and when her song was away at battle, she told the chef she wanted little Morning for super. The chef tricked the queen and made lamb instead, and hid little Morning at his house. A couple days later, the queen said she wanted little Day for super, so the chef did the same thing again. A couple more days later, then queen said she wanted the princess for dinner, and that he would tell her son that a pack of wolves came and ate them all. The chef didn’t know what to do because he didn’t know what animal he would use that would be equally as good as the princess, after she had been asleep for 100 years. So the chef went and told the princess about what the queen had wanted. The queen went and hid with her children, and the chef found some cattle too cook and covered it in sauce. The queen enjoyed her super and was satisfied with herself. A few evenings pasted and the queen was taking a walk around the kingdom to see if she could find any young children the feat on, when she heard Morning’s voice, and with Day’s and the princess. She was furious that the chef had tricked her into thinking she had ate them, and that they were still alive. She ordered a bucket full of poisonous toads, snakes, insects and many other creatures, and she ordered for the chef and his wife, along with the princess and her two children to be brought out and thrown in the bucket to die. Right before the executioners were to throw them in, the king arrived and saw what was happening. Everyone was scared to tell him, but when the queen came forward she fell into the bucket and died. The king was sad to lose his mother, but overjoyed that his wife and children were saved.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS Little Brier-Rose, Jacob and Wilhelm

GrimmThis is the version that Disney took to

create the animated movie, changing a couple things (only 3 fairies, she doesn’t sleep for 100 years). However they use the same name, Brier Rose for the princess

In this version, it starts off the same way as the others. A king and queen have a daughter, and the fairies come to give her a gift, but one tells a prophecy of her dying on her 16th birthday. The prophecy comes true, but she falls into a deep sleep, along with the rest of the kingdom. The kingdom becomes over grown with thorns and bushes and no one can reach it. Princes from far and wide here of Brier-Rose and her beauty, they hear the story of her misfortune and come to save her. All of them trudge through the overgrown forest to get to the castle, but all get stuck and die in the thorns. One day many years later, a prince comes by the land and an old man tells him the legend. He decides he can do it, and gets through the castle. He climbs to the tower where Brier-Rose sleeps. Overtaken by her beauty, he awakes her, along with the rest of the kingdom. They marry and live happy ever after.

PURPOSE Most Fairy Tales originally

were not meant for children, they were meant for adult entertainment, which is why most of them include rape, sexual references or acts and murder.

The Fairy Tales that were originally written for children were not to help them sleep, they were to teach them never to leave their parents or talk to strangers. The purpose of them was to scare children from doing bad things.

The original story of sleeping beauty, Moon Sun and Talia, was written for adult entertainment.

THEMES AND OVERALL MESSAGE It is believed that a

common theme in the tales of sleeping beauty is nature. The princess represents nature, the evil fairy is winter that puts her to sleep with frost (the prick from the spinning wheel) and that the prince who awakes her is spring. He uses a sword to defeat the fairy which represents a beam of sunlight.

Love Conquers all is a very big message in the tale. In all 3 versions, it is her true love who is able to awake her, and they end up happy together and unharmed in the end.

Follow your dreams is another message. Brier-Rose dreams about her meeting her prince and for her it comes true.

CHARACTERISTICS Brier-Rose is goodhearted, loving and

caring. She knows what she wants and dreams of it. Usually main characters of stories have something change in their lives, or change themselves, but Rose is the same from start to finish. She does not have a lot of scenes in the story because she is asleep for a good part of it.

TIES TO INTO THE WOODS

Reveals that “prince charming” is a idea and not reality.

Cinderella's price charming leaves her for Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty’s main part in Into The Woods is to emphasize that girls are told that they have to find their “prince charming” but in reality, that’s not what they need

Prince charming turns out to be dull, weak and unfairthful