Summary:
An analysis of the context of Charles Perrault's fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." First derived as a part of Indo-European storytelling, this piece of traditional peasant folklore was believed to be altered by Perrault to appeal to the opulent court and aristocracy of Louis XIV of France.
Sleeping Beauty is an enchanted fairytale infamous and familiar to perhaps all the Western World. It first derived as a part of Indo-European storytelling. This was traditional folklore created and verbally passed down by peasants around the fire at night as a source of entertainment.
Charles Perrault, in pursuit to record all such tales, published 'The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood' in 1697, as a part of his collection of tales titled Histoires ou contes du tems passé, avec de moralitz: contes de ma mere l'Oye, or in English: Histories or Tales of Long Ago with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose.
However, it is thought that Perrault changed and altered such tales, including Sleeping Beauty, to appeal to the opulent court and aristocracy of Louis XIV of France. In doing so, Sleeping Beauty was given more courtly attire and a more knowing air than the previous tales among commoners. However, he did not spoil it in a ribbon of literally embroidery, but let them speak for themselves.
The narrative by Perrault, The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, is of a princess born who was blessed by fairies with gifts of beauty, grace etc. However, a bitter and wicked fairy who was uninvited cursed the gift that she would die with the prick of a spindle.
A more powerful fairy eased such a curse by turning death into a sleep of 100 years, until awakened by the kiss of a prince's son.
When the child was older she was pricked by a spindle she found out of curiosity, and the wicked fairy's curse was fulfilled. Everyone in the castle to sleep with her except for her parents and the castle became overgrown witrh brambles.
One hundred years later a valient prince, who had heard of the tale, made his way through the brambles, found sleeping beauty who awakened and they married and had children.
The prince's (who soon became king) ogre for a mother decided to eat her sons family while he was away and ordered for them to be served by a humble servant. The servant tricked the king's mother however and served for her animals. When she found out, she was about to stew te family when the king arrived just in the nick of time to save them and they lived happily ever after.
Being recorded during the 17th Century, the style and manner in which Sleeping Beauty was written was profoundly influenced by this context. Christianity had a huge effect on society which is conveyed through the gifts at the princess's baptism, and also the need for marriage as soon as the prince and princess meet. A theme in this tale, especially towards the ending is violence and even cannibalism. This is because people loved to be entertained with violence and gore during this period, perhaps as a substitute for sexual reference that was not included in tales because they were considered inappropriate because of their religion.
There is also a moral at the end of this tale to teach a life lesson. The moral is that if every woman be patient, and perhaps even passive, her 'prince' will come and marry her. The fact that women must be passive and have need of being rescued conveys the patriarchal dominance men had over society during the 17th Century, and the idea that women's roles were restricted to being only the housewife.
There is symbolism in this tale. The most evident symbolism is the profound sleep that Sleeping Beauty falls into. This sleep may represent the waiting period from childhood to adultery. However it could also represent that a woman must be patient and passive in waiting for a man to marry her. During the 17th Century women were considered incomplete without a man.
The spindle in which Sleeping Beauty pricks herself could represent females curiosity that may get them into trouble; the dark woods and brambles in which the prince must go thought to find his sleeping beauty can be interpreted as adventure; and the brambles could represent a mans braveness.
This is the complete article, containing 666 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
