The Concept of Magical Sleep
Why Magical Sleep?
In the era in which all the versions of "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty" were penned or recited, females fulfilled a passive role. Their place in the world was to be a reflection of the status won for them through marriage. If they were noble, they were to remain beautiful and soft in order to show their husband's wealth. If they were common, they had no choice but to work, a trait betrayed by rough hands and tanned skin. Noble women, particularly princesses, need rarely leave the castle and thus could remain more youthful, pale and beautiful (unless they caught a debilitating social disease from a philandering husband). Perhaps the commonality between these stories is simply a representation of that idea. Men in that time expected a timeless beauty and purity in their brides, but few could live up to this standard. Why not create stories to emphasize this point and indoctrinate them while they are young before the damage is done? On some disturbing level, these women are ideals to these men. They are beautiful, silent and naive, just as a good wife should be. Their entire world begins with marriage, sex, or the first kiss; it happens at the same moment in this era so it's hard to separate (and they had best remember it if they wanted to be respectable). In the end, their entire natures are creations of their husbands and they have no free will. But why would they need it? Would they even notice its absence after this indoctination?
Why NOT Magical Sleep?
Is it inappropriate in modern times?
In all the modern versions we have read (Spindle's End, Briar Rose, Beauty Sleep, and The Gates of Sleep), the princess' sleep is abbreviated. Why is this? For one thing, it is boring. If your main character goes comatose, you either switch speakers or skip ahead. No one wants to read 100 pages of Beauty's stream of consciousness (if she has one). Similarly we may be able to see this as a shift in the viewing of Beauty. In the early tale, as we have discussed, she is a static, flat character who has no characterization. Now that we can see her thoughts (and it turns out she is a plucky little thing), we want to see her fight her way out of the magical sleep. We cannot stand a passive Beauty anymore, a girl who simply waits to be rescued. Also, in most modern versions, we want a love story. If she sleeps for 100 years, anyone who loved her before the sleep is long gone. If they love her "at first sight" in a comatose state, we as modern readers have trouble believing.
In all the modern versions we have read (Spindle's End, Briar Rose, Beauty Sleep, and The Gates of Sleep), the princess' sleep is abbreviated. Why is this? For one thing, it is boring. If your main character goes comatose, you either switch speakers or skip ahead. No one wants to read 100 pages of Beauty's stream of consciousness (if she has one). Similarly we may be able to see this as a shift in the viewing of Beauty. In the early tale, as we have discussed, she is a static, flat character who has no characterization. Now that we can see her thoughts (and it turns out she is a plucky little thing), we want to see her fight her way out of the magical sleep. We cannot stand a passive Beauty anymore, a girl who simply waits to be rescued. Also, in most modern versions, we want a love story. If she sleeps for 100 years, anyone who loved her before the sleep is long gone. If they love her "at first sight" in a comatose state, we as modern readers have trouble believing.
Age Differences
The "age" difference is interesting, especially considering that men were usually much older than their wives when the original story was written. What is most interesting to me, though, is a question I had about age. What makes someone "older" than you? Obviously she is technically 100 years older than her savior in most versions, but most people would say that they have issues with age differences in relationships because of the difference in experience. Older people have generally experienced more in their life. In this case, Beauty has experienced NOTHING for 100 years. Do this really make her "older" than her prince? Not really, in my opinion, unless she is doing some serious dreaming and thinking during that time period.