"Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off."
~ Isaiah 33:17 ~
Watching Prince Charming softly kiss the lips of his true love, Princess Aurora, in Disney's 1959 classic, was an image many young girls loved to see. We envisioned having our Prince Charming be as tentative as he was in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Unfortunately, that was not the tale that was meant to be told. The original Sleeping Beauty tells the story of a young woman who was cursed and her Prince Charming, who is well not so charming. Instead of a young handsome prince, Perrault's tale depicts an older man and instead of Aurora, it was Talia.
1696:
The original tale titled La Belle au bois dormant ("The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood"), written by Charles Perrault, tells the tale of a Prince from a neighboring town walks by the sleeping beauty’s castle and knocks on the door. When there is no answer he climbs into a room where he sees the princess in a trance. He calls for the princess and gets no answer, so he then picks her up and takes her to a near-by bed and rapes her, YES RAPES HER. He then takes off as if nothing has happened. Little does he know that his actions have lead to twins, a boy and a girl.
The Princess continued to sleep and carries her babies for 9 months. Once the children arrive the fairies begin to tend to them and place them on their unconscious mother’s breasts. One morning when the baby could not find his mother’s breast, he began to suck on Princess Talia’s thumb where she had been pricked by the forbidden spindle and the poison was released (There is your true love). After the princess Christens her children the Prince returns and claims them as his own.
Happily ever after? Not quite yet. The Prince happens to be married with a family of his own and his wife is not too happy to learn about his infidelities. His wife devises a plan and invites Talia to their castle. She instructs the cook to slay the poor children and feed them to her husband. The cook being a gracious man spares the children and serves them a lamb dish instead. Thinking that the children are out of the way, the Prince’s wife build’s a fire in the castle courtyard and throws Talia in to burn alive. The prince comes back just in time to save his princess only to learn he has eaten his own children. He reacts and says "Then I, myself, am the wolf of my own sweet lambs." He turns to his wicked wife and says, "Ah, thou renegade bitch, what evil deed hast thou done? Begone, thou shall get thy just dessert." He orders his wife to be thrown in the fire that was meant for Talia. The cook admits his deed and the children are reunited with their parents. Talia and the Prince are married and have their happily ever after.
1959:
Disney, who made this tale popular, showed us a young princess who was loved by her mother and father the King and Queen of the land. The princess was blessed with many gifts, among them beauty. Maleficient, the evil fairy, put a curse on Aurora that could only be lifted with a true loves kiss. The evil fairy predicted that on her sixteenth birthday, the young princess would prick her finger on a spinning wheel's spindle and fall into a deep sleep. When the King and Queen heard this, they sent Aurora to live with three fairies who would keep her away until the day after her sixteenth birthday. One day before her birthday, she meets a young prince who she dances and falls in love with. Aurora comes to the palace a day early and the curse proves to be much stronger than expected. She is led to a room where there is a spindle wheel and she pricks her finger on the needle. She then falls into a death like sleep. The king and queen devastated to hear the news lay the princess on a beautiful bed where she sleeps until one day she is kissed by prince Phillip, the same prince she danced with, who wakens her from her trance.
The Disney version, for good reason, left out the part of the tale where the Princess gets raped and does not include the part about the children. This is an idea that could never be accepted into a children's film. Although Disney did maintain the plot of the story, it left out key elements that were meant to tell a different story. This version has become a part of history and it is important to children today but it is allowing its essence to be forgotten.
2014:
Disney, then remade the classic into a story told from a different perspective. The 2014 Maleficent was told through the "evil" fairy named Maleficent's point of view, which gave her a reason for putting the curse on Aurora. She was once in love with Aurora's father and he loved her but after he betrayed her by cutting off her wings to earn his position as King, she swore to get revenge. When hearing of his new child, Maleficent uninvitedly arrived to the reveal of the baby princess and let her hurt and envy get the best of her. She cast a curse on Aurora claiming that the curse would be lifted with a true love's kiss; insinuating that there was no such thing as true love "Listen well, you all! The princess will indeed grow in grace and beauty. But before the sunset on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel, and she will fall into a sleep like death" (Maleficent).
The king banned all spindle wheels from the palace and sent Aurora to live with three fairies. Maleficent began to watch the princess and came to regret that curse. She loved the young princess like her own and became the person who protected her. They began to spend time together without the three fairies knowledge. Aurora met her prince in the forest and was intrigued by him but the day of her sixteenth birthday she returned to the castle and was led to the single spindle wheel left in all of the land. After she pricked her finger she fell into a deep sleep. The fairies found the prince and led him to her but after kissing her there was nothing, she remained asleep. That is when we see Maleficent, obviously distraught, sneak in from behind the curtain and give Aurora a kiss on her forehead. Aurora then wakes up and Maleficent tries to sneak out of the castle. Everyone assumes that the kiss from the prince was what awakened her but really it was the love from the person who cast the spell on her.
This version taught children that evil is not born but rather created by the actions of others. It also tells the message of true love and the many representations of love. This modern version is wildly accepted in today's society because it is not the typical prince and princess' happily ever after. The film adds "So you see, the story is not quite as you were told" (Maleficent, narrator quote) to show us the unfair judgement we cast on the fairy.
Different Adaptations:
It is interesting to look back at all of the versions and wonder what got Disney to make a children's film out of a story that could be a nightmare for any adult. The history behind it made it vital to tell the tale through a different lens. This classic now has three different versions and two popular films. The music has also changed: The original Disney film has the song Once Upon A Dream, as a brighter sounding song, while the 2014 version of that same song in a more gloomy version.
Although the modern versions are an important aspect to children's world today, the original have a more prominent effect, being the inspiration to today's children's literature. Studying theses very tales can help us interpret the tales on the big screen.
There are many versions of the same tale, some that include the rape and others that only include the version we see today. The main plot of the story transcended from tale to tale leaving out certain details. We have come to accept todays version and will continue to tell the story as we know it to our children and quite possible our grandchildren. These are tales that have carried on from the originals to a more audience friendly version. The important part of learning the original is to maintain it's history; it was written in a time more difficult than today's world and knowing that helps us understand the tale and in turn understand the history behind it.
Fashion:
The fashion has changed from the original illustrations to the 1959 adaptation and then 2014's Maleficent. The 1959 film maintained what they thought the look would be in Perrault's time. The newly adapted version maintains the same look with a modern twist.
Below are the images of the changes in fashion and time:
~ Isaiah 33:17 ~
Watching Prince Charming softly kiss the lips of his true love, Princess Aurora, in Disney's 1959 classic, was an image many young girls loved to see. We envisioned having our Prince Charming be as tentative as he was in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Unfortunately, that was not the tale that was meant to be told. The original Sleeping Beauty tells the story of a young woman who was cursed and her Prince Charming, who is well not so charming. Instead of a young handsome prince, Perrault's tale depicts an older man and instead of Aurora, it was Talia.
1696:
The original tale titled La Belle au bois dormant ("The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood"), written by Charles Perrault, tells the tale of a Prince from a neighboring town walks by the sleeping beauty’s castle and knocks on the door. When there is no answer he climbs into a room where he sees the princess in a trance. He calls for the princess and gets no answer, so he then picks her up and takes her to a near-by bed and rapes her, YES RAPES HER. He then takes off as if nothing has happened. Little does he know that his actions have lead to twins, a boy and a girl.
The Princess continued to sleep and carries her babies for 9 months. Once the children arrive the fairies begin to tend to them and place them on their unconscious mother’s breasts. One morning when the baby could not find his mother’s breast, he began to suck on Princess Talia’s thumb where she had been pricked by the forbidden spindle and the poison was released (There is your true love). After the princess Christens her children the Prince returns and claims them as his own.
Happily ever after? Not quite yet. The Prince happens to be married with a family of his own and his wife is not too happy to learn about his infidelities. His wife devises a plan and invites Talia to their castle. She instructs the cook to slay the poor children and feed them to her husband. The cook being a gracious man spares the children and serves them a lamb dish instead. Thinking that the children are out of the way, the Prince’s wife build’s a fire in the castle courtyard and throws Talia in to burn alive. The prince comes back just in time to save his princess only to learn he has eaten his own children. He reacts and says "Then I, myself, am the wolf of my own sweet lambs." He turns to his wicked wife and says, "Ah, thou renegade bitch, what evil deed hast thou done? Begone, thou shall get thy just dessert." He orders his wife to be thrown in the fire that was meant for Talia. The cook admits his deed and the children are reunited with their parents. Talia and the Prince are married and have their happily ever after.
1959:
Disney, who made this tale popular, showed us a young princess who was loved by her mother and father the King and Queen of the land. The princess was blessed with many gifts, among them beauty. Maleficient, the evil fairy, put a curse on Aurora that could only be lifted with a true loves kiss. The evil fairy predicted that on her sixteenth birthday, the young princess would prick her finger on a spinning wheel's spindle and fall into a deep sleep. When the King and Queen heard this, they sent Aurora to live with three fairies who would keep her away until the day after her sixteenth birthday. One day before her birthday, she meets a young prince who she dances and falls in love with. Aurora comes to the palace a day early and the curse proves to be much stronger than expected. She is led to a room where there is a spindle wheel and she pricks her finger on the needle. She then falls into a death like sleep. The king and queen devastated to hear the news lay the princess on a beautiful bed where she sleeps until one day she is kissed by prince Phillip, the same prince she danced with, who wakens her from her trance.
The Disney version, for good reason, left out the part of the tale where the Princess gets raped and does not include the part about the children. This is an idea that could never be accepted into a children's film. Although Disney did maintain the plot of the story, it left out key elements that were meant to tell a different story. This version has become a part of history and it is important to children today but it is allowing its essence to be forgotten.
2014:
Disney, then remade the classic into a story told from a different perspective. The 2014 Maleficent was told through the "evil" fairy named Maleficent's point of view, which gave her a reason for putting the curse on Aurora. She was once in love with Aurora's father and he loved her but after he betrayed her by cutting off her wings to earn his position as King, she swore to get revenge. When hearing of his new child, Maleficent uninvitedly arrived to the reveal of the baby princess and let her hurt and envy get the best of her. She cast a curse on Aurora claiming that the curse would be lifted with a true love's kiss; insinuating that there was no such thing as true love "Listen well, you all! The princess will indeed grow in grace and beauty. But before the sunset on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel, and she will fall into a sleep like death" (Maleficent).
The king banned all spindle wheels from the palace and sent Aurora to live with three fairies. Maleficent began to watch the princess and came to regret that curse. She loved the young princess like her own and became the person who protected her. They began to spend time together without the three fairies knowledge. Aurora met her prince in the forest and was intrigued by him but the day of her sixteenth birthday she returned to the castle and was led to the single spindle wheel left in all of the land. After she pricked her finger she fell into a deep sleep. The fairies found the prince and led him to her but after kissing her there was nothing, she remained asleep. That is when we see Maleficent, obviously distraught, sneak in from behind the curtain and give Aurora a kiss on her forehead. Aurora then wakes up and Maleficent tries to sneak out of the castle. Everyone assumes that the kiss from the prince was what awakened her but really it was the love from the person who cast the spell on her.
This version taught children that evil is not born but rather created by the actions of others. It also tells the message of true love and the many representations of love. This modern version is wildly accepted in today's society because it is not the typical prince and princess' happily ever after. The film adds "So you see, the story is not quite as you were told" (Maleficent, narrator quote) to show us the unfair judgement we cast on the fairy.
Different Adaptations:
It is interesting to look back at all of the versions and wonder what got Disney to make a children's film out of a story that could be a nightmare for any adult. The history behind it made it vital to tell the tale through a different lens. This classic now has three different versions and two popular films. The music has also changed: The original Disney film has the song Once Upon A Dream, as a brighter sounding song, while the 2014 version of that same song in a more gloomy version.
Although the modern versions are an important aspect to children's world today, the original have a more prominent effect, being the inspiration to today's children's literature. Studying theses very tales can help us interpret the tales on the big screen.
There are many versions of the same tale, some that include the rape and others that only include the version we see today. The main plot of the story transcended from tale to tale leaving out certain details. We have come to accept todays version and will continue to tell the story as we know it to our children and quite possible our grandchildren. These are tales that have carried on from the originals to a more audience friendly version. The important part of learning the original is to maintain it's history; it was written in a time more difficult than today's world and knowing that helps us understand the tale and in turn understand the history behind it.
Fashion:
The fashion has changed from the original illustrations to the 1959 adaptation and then 2014's Maleficent. The 1959 film maintained what they thought the look would be in Perrault's time. The newly adapted version maintains the same look with a modern twist.
Below are the images of the changes in fashion and time:
Work-Cited
http://www.disneyvillains.net/Maleficent.php
Maleficent. Dir. Robert Stromberg. Perf. Kevin Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, and Sharlto Copley. 2014 Film.
Awakening Aurora Sleeping Beauty: A Legend in Progress by Tim Scholl Review by: Robert Johnson. Dance Chronicle, Vol. 29, No. 2 (2006), pp. 233-240: Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25598059
Sleeping Beauty By Charles Perrault, 1696
Translated (via AltaVista's Babel Fish), edited, and revised by Judith Bronte from the original 1696 French version of "La Belle au bois dormant."