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The true story of Sleeping Beauty
| Author: Roger Heywood | Published: 29th November 2009 17:57 |
The Walt Disney version of the Sleeping Beauty fairy story only tells part of the tale and was " cleaned up " for the big screen !
Earlier accounts of the story were much more graphic and gruesome, involving rape, cannibalism and murder - even the prince wasn't a nice guy !
The well-loved fairy tale about a young woman who falls into a deep sleep after pricking her finger, and can only be awoken by a handsome prince, has its origins in both Nordic mythology and 16th century French literature. From these early versions, the story was developed by the Italian Basile, then later revised by the French Charles Perrault and the German Brothers Grimm.
The Viking Origins of Sleeping Beauty
The 12th century Norse saga, Volsunga, tells a story of the god Odin becoming upset with the valkyrie, Brunhilde, and cursing her to sleep on a bed surrounded by fire until a man comes to rescue her. Eventually, she is released from the spell when Siegfried enters her domain and awakens the female warrior by cutting off her armour. ( this story was also used by Wagner as the basis for his "Ring" cycle of operas, )
Four hundred years later, in 1528, Perceforest was printed in Paris, as a collection of tales from medieval France. One of these stories tells how a goddess curses a young princess Zellandine and causes her to enter a deep slumber. Many years later a prince, Troylus, stumbles upon the sleeping woman and sexually assaults her, resulting in the birth of a child.
The Italian Talia
In the early 1600s, Basile, an Italian nobleman published a collection of folk and fairy tales. Among the stories was one called "Sun, Moon and Talia," in which Talia, pricked by a poisonous thorn, falls asleep, and is then raped by a married prince. When the prince eventually returns with his wife, he discovers that Talia has awoken from her sleep and that he has a second family, including twins named Sun and Moon.
The prince's wife does not take kindly to her husband's adultery. In a rage she orders that that Sun and Moon be taken by the cook, killed, and served in a stew for her husband. When the prince exclaims that the stew is excellent, the wife exclaims "Eat up, you're eating your very own flesh" Mortified, the prince throws her into the kitchen fire. Later, he discovers that the kind-hearted cook had substituted a goat for the children. The prince subsequently marries Talia, but we are left uncertain as to how happy they they will be.
Charles Perrault's Beauty Asleep
The French collector of folklore, Charles Perrault, published "The Beauty asleep in the Woods" in his Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé (1697). The story is essentially the same as Basile's with a few added features. A mischievous fairy is the source of the curse placed on the young woman; the children are called Aurora and Jour; the castle of the sleeping princess becomes surrounded by a barrier of thorns; the prince's vengeful wife is replaced by his ogre mother; and Beauty is the one intended to be served for dinner. Instead of the fire, the ogress is thrown into a boiling cauldron.
The Brothers Grimm and the modern Sleeping Beauty Story
In the early 1800s, the German folklorists, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, modified the fairy tale in their story of " Little Briar Rose." The story has none of the macabre features of earlier tales, includes only half the plot, and has a true "fairy tale ending." The story reaches its climax when the prince awakens Rose with a kiss. Shortly afterwards, they marry and "live happily ever after."
It is this version that Disney adapted for his Sleeping Beauty movie, although he did extract some ideas from Perrault's story, including the Castle encircled by thorn bushes. Despite being called Briar Rose by the good fairies who protect her, the princess's real name is Aurora, the same name as one of the illegitimate children in the Frenchman‘s tale.
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If you enjoyed this, you might like our feature on the pantomime version of Sleeping Beauty.
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