Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty: European Folktale from Charles PerraultToday we have a reverse chronology of the folktales behind the classic children’s story, Sleeping Beauty. The famous kiss that woke the princess comes from the Brothers Grimm’s Briar-Rose (1812). Charles Perrault’s Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (1697) has no kiss but lots of talk, a hasty wedding followed by a night of “very little sleep”, and an added section where the prince’s mother (an Ogress) decides to make a meal of their children. Perault’s inspiration was the Giambattista Basile’s Sun, Moon and Talia (1634). Here, the king “gathers the first fruits of love” (rapes) the poor unconscious girl.

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