Annotated Bibliography

“The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood” – Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault version of “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood”, was written in the late 17th century and through its telling really shows the social norms of the time. A theme I noticed in this version was the role of women. In the 1700s, the world was run by a patriarchal society. The princess was given beauty, grace, a calm temper and more by the fairies. “Presently the fairies began to bestow their gifts upon the princess. The youngest ordained that she should be the most beautiful person in the world; the next, that she should have the temper of an angel; the third, that she should do everything with wonderful grace; the fourth, that she should dance to perfection; the fifth, that she should sing like a nightingale; and the sixth, that she should play every kind of music with the utmost skill.” This shows that these were the qualities that were traditionally valued in women. Another theme was one thats prominent in most sleeping beauty variations which is love. The romantic ideal of true love is powerful for any obstacle. The prince was very easily able to get to the princess.

I think something very unique about this verision of sleeping beauty is that the story continues after the princess is awakened when most of these versions end right when the princess awakens. The extension adds in the prince’s ogress mother and how she wants to eat the princess and her children. This adds more complexity into the story that does not only surround the princess. This extension makes this version very unique compared to others and offers more than the simple story of a cursed princess and her prince charming. 

“Sleeping Beauty” – Amanda Askew, Illustrated by Natalie Hinrichsen

Amanda Askew and Natalie Hinrichsens picture version of “Sleeping Beauty” was a childrens picture book version that was a retelling of the classic fairy tale that had art connected with it to keep the childrens attention. Natalie created imagery for each page that represented what wa being told on each page. She made very simple drawings that resonated with children more since it is not so realistic. There was a lot of imagery of nature such as the roses and the thorns that the prince had to go through. This version of sleeping beauty showed how curious the princess was going up and exploring to the top floor where the spinning wheel was. This version also emphasized the love the parents had towards the princess. They tried to destroy and burn all the spinning wheels to protect her from the curse. This version brings a more kid friendly sense to the classic fairy tale using vibrant illustrations that allows a child to be hooked on the story. 

“Sleeping Beauty” – Disney film

Disneys version of “Sleeping Beauty” was a very influential and memorable version of sleeping beauty. Disney’s version is very distinct because of its visual style and animation. Everything was very intricate such as the art and tapestries and buildings in the film. Since it was also created by disney, many people watched it and it probably was the first time many people even heard of the story sleeping beauty. The main themes of the film was good versus evil and the power of love. Maleficent was the main antagonist and through the characters visual representation you could tell she was dark and evil with horms and a dark cloak. The three fairies were cute and sweet and were represented as much more positive with their pastel colors. The power of love was represented with true loves kiss and through the parents love. The parents, similar to Amanda Askews version loved her and tried to protect her by sending her away to be raised by the fairies in a small cottage in the woods. And the prince, Philip, went through many obstacles to get to the princess such as fighting Maleficent in a dragon form. 

I think the visual interpretation really helped viewers watch this film. I also believe this version really puts an emphasis on more characters than just the prince and princess. For example the fairies each had their own quirks that made them very entertaining to watch. 

 “The Sleeping Beauty” Ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky’s version of “Sleeping Beauty” was a ballet that was strictly dance and music with no words, just all visual art. It goes into similar themes as most variations of good versus evil and the power of love. To show the difference between evil and good they have everyone in loght outfits and to emphasize the evil witch she and the people dancing around her are dressed in all black. Her movements are also very harsh and sharp compared to everyone elses movements which are soft and light. The difference between this version and others is that there was no actual representation of the spinning wheel, instead the princess spins around and drops a wand of some sorts and goes around showing her hand before falling into her sleep. 

The role of music is very important since there are no words to represent the feeling on stage other than the music. The music makes the scene feel either dramatic or melancholic. The music would also get very ominous when the curse was given or in progress. I think this version was really interesting to see as it was all dance and music related for the storytelling. It explores the story in a different lens. 

Maleficent – Disney

Disney’s Maleficent was a very unique rendition of Sleeping Beauty. Most versions focus on the princess but in this story it goes in depth with Maleficents life and how she became a villain of the story but also the hero of the story in the end. Themes such as redemption and betrayal are very prominent in the story. In the beginning of the film we see why Maleficent becomes the villain because of the betrayal of her lover Stefan, cutting off her wings for the throne. This creates her into the villain of the story wanting to get revenge on him so she goes for her daughter and places a curse on her. But as Aurora grows up, Maleficent gets to know her and wants to protect her and saved her at the end of the story. This gives a more interesting view on good versus evil. The film also introduces themes of non-traditional motherhood as Maleficent feels very protective of Aurora. Through Maleficents actions and backstory, viewers tend to have an understanding to why Maleficent was evil for a period of time and gain empathy towards her. This version of “Sleeping Beauty” will always be my favorite because of the way the story shows Maleficents side and offers exploration into why some people may do things. It gives a much more realistic feel, even with all the magic used, since it shows how we do not know what others have been through to act the way they have and how we need more remorse. It provides a more real life lesson.

“Sun, Moon, and Talia” – Giambattista Basile

Basiles version of “Sleeping Beauty” gives a more unsettling contrast to most variations. In this variation, Talia (Sleeping Beauty) was destined to face danger from a spliner of flax. The prophecy had come true and her father laid her to rest in one of his abandoned country mansions. Later on, a king passed by and had sexually assaulted her. Talia gave birth to two children, Sun and Moon, and as the babies sucked on her fingers they pulled out the splinter and woke her from her slumber. This variation had different themes such as power instead of the themes of the power of love. The theme of power is shown when the kings showed his power over Talias sleeping body. This variation did not include the theme of the power of love since she was awoken by her own children instead of from true loves kiss. 

This variation was written around a time when fairy tales were used to show lessons and societal norms. This version showed the time period which was characterized by the rigid gender roles. This offers a more dark version of “Sleeping Beauty” but not an unrealistic one, since it still shows the things happening at the time period of release and how much power men had over women at the time. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=K7nLc6otoWs – picture book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDFlRq5RnbQ – performed version.

https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0410.html#basile – “Sun, Moon, and Talia”

https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault01.html – Pre-1900