Home » Reading & Literature » Fairytales » Sleeping Beauty: A brief look

Sleeping Beauty: A brief look

© Mary C. Legg

Controversial, fairytales invite literary criticism and interpretation, varying among readers. Written as allegory, they invite different interpretations. Although regarded as a children's story, Sleeping Beauty offers much to adults. Everyone knows about the king and queen who wanted a child. The Grimms brothers presented the story in different versions. First, a crab crawled out of the water to prophesy, but later, the famous frog. Frogs, perceived as harbingers of good, whereas toads symbolize evil as in the story about the wicked stepsister whose mouth produced toads and other slimy creatures.

Upon entering the magical world, the story is strewn with symbols lending to variant interpretations. Representing the ultimate authority over life and death in this world, the King has the total control over his subjects and society. Nobility dispersed not only land and social privileges, but also marriages and penalties, including death. However, it is the Queen, yearning for the child, who represents an unspoken desire or goal in life. Combining them as a single person, the King might be the conscious, and the Queen; the subconscious. The frog is only the projection of longing. Where does he meet her? In the family bathroom? Although memorized from childhood, the setting begs question. The Queen is bathing alone in the woods and along comes a talking frog. Robert Graves might comment that the Queen is the White Goddess, an incarnation of Artemis, the barren goddess of the hunt. In an early English translation, the frog uses "thee" and "thy". What's the difference ?

That of "Sie" und "Du". "Du" breaking through the rigid rules of class formality to address the Queen intimately. Strange, no? The frog doesn't leap from a lake, but a well, symbolizing deep longing toward a goal not easily quenched. Water is the universal symbol of the subconscious dreams and goals. The goal is a baby. Babies, too, are symbolic. Athena sprang from Zeus' head. Any product of thought or project undertaken is frequently referred as "somebody's baby." An allegory is drawn. By substituting different variables, variant meanings are discovered, deriving a business application.

After a life of unchallenged authority, the King assumes authority over life and death. Possessing twelve gold plates, he is sufficiently rich to cast the 13th, but refuses. He doesn't invite the thirteenth guest. The reason is easily guessed. Thirteen is represented by Death in the Tarot. Superstitious people think it unlucky. Erroneously, he thinks to avoid death by not inviting it, and is deluded. He has not the ultimate power over life and death, but is subject rather to destiny himself. In his turn, he will die also. Glibly taken, death is inevitable: Far better to confront and accept it, than ignore it. Adamantly, he refuses to invite the thirteenth wise woman to the christening.

The copyright of the article Sleeping Beauty: A brief look in Fairytales is owned by . Permission to republish Sleeping Beauty: A brief look in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.