Many of us are familiar with the tale most often called ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ a traditional fairy tale, adapted so often it has evolved in to quite a simple, sweet story which seems to have very little meaning that we can interpret from a modern perspective. In fact I think poor Briar Rose (as she is named in the Grimm version of the tale) is probably one of the most harshly criticised Fairytale Princesses, for she seems to have no power of her own. The little Princess is born in to a loving family, blessed with all the gifts she could ever wish for by the kindly godmothers; beauty, grace, wit and the ability to dance and sing and play music. When darkness comes in to her life it is through a curse and she herself walks innocently in to the trap, only to be rescued later by her Prince, love at first sight in its purist form. She is not exactly a feminist role model.

To me however, the story of the Sleeping Beauty in the Wood is about hope. It shows that even when the world seems to be against us, and there is no way to escape our destiny there is still a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. The seventh Fairy can not undo the evil, but she can find a way around it. Sleeping Beauty has to wait, not just for her Prince, but for an escape from the trap that is sleep. How many of us feel like we go through life sleeping sometimes? Only for something purely magical, like love, to awaken us from this apathy.

I’m glad that Princesses these days have the power to go after their dreams instead of sitting around passively, but I also believe patience is a lesson we must learn. There are times when you have to wait out the storm, and have just a little faith in the world that things will come right in the end.

There are many versions of the Sleeping Beauty tale, some like the version by Charles Perrault continue after the marriage of the Prince and Princess, and the story gets much darker from there. Others, such as the Grimm Brother’s Briar Rose have a sweeter ending. There have been some excellent modern retellings of the story, including Robin McKinley’s ‘Spindles End’ and Orson Scott Card’s ‘Enchantment.’ If you would like to read more about the history of the tale you may do so here.