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Sleeping Beauty is a fairytale that opens with the birth of a princess after King Stefan and his wife wait for four years. At her christening, several fairies arrive so that they can be the child's godmother. At the banquet, there arrives an old fairy who curses the child in retaliation of being not invited. The fairy initially curses the child to die on the sixteenth birthday, but it is reversed by another fairy who had not given her a gift.
Instead of death, the princess would fall into a sleep that would last for a hundred years and only be awaken by a kiss from their true love. Although much is made to keep the child safe, at the sixteenth birthday, fate captures her, and she falls into sleep.
There are various themes that this fairytale portrays with them being gender stereotype and physical appearance (Butler). It is fairytale whose authors are not known as it was passed orally. It was published by many authors one of those being the Brothers Grimm in 1812 (Grimm and Grimm).
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Sleeping Beauty is a tale that displays various perceptions of beauty and gender stereotypes by emphasizing feminism. In many fairytales, the lead characters are women a good explanation for this being that women tell most of them. Based on the physical appearance of a character, their moral character can be deduced. In many fairytales, a woman is defined by their beauty. It is an indicator of future happiness by their beauty. In most fairytales, a good female is also a submissive one who accepts most of the things in her life as she awaits a prince to shape her destiny (Tautz).
In many of the fairytales, a woman's meek demeanor and her striking beauty is the epitome of success in a woman and all the assets she needs to be successful in life. Beauty as a woman's only needs is also the case in the sleeping beauty where after the princess is born, one of the fairies gives her flora which is a gift of beauty (Garcia 5). A beautiful woman is also in danger of being victimized. It is also the case whereby the princess is cursed by the fairy owing to her beauty. Lazy girls are portrayed as ugly, a characteristic that is also associated with old girls. On the part of the male, the fairytales portray them as the heroes of the day who save the female from whichever misery they may find themselves into. In most fairytales, the beauty of the heroine is what drives the plot. The male is the savior of the already victimized female.
The hero is seen as a handsome and brave. However, the physical appearance comes second to the actions of bravery that they portray. In most fairytales, the female finds herself locked in a state of misery which the male saves her from. The evil in the fairytales is always an older woman whose intentions are to harm a princess. In the sleeping beauty, the female character of the princess is in a deep sleep. The sleep is due to a curse placed on her by an old fairy. The reason for the curse is that the fairy is not invited to the christening ceremony. It is the prince who can save the princess from the curse that had been placed on her. When the prince is passing by the already dilapidated palace, he enquires what had happened and is told. The prince is concerned and decides to search the place when he sees the princess, it is her beauty that strikes him, and he kisses her thus saving her from the sleep. Another theme that the fairytale has revealed is that of physical. In most fairytales, women are associated with beauty and the more beautiful a more is, the more a woman is endowed in beauty, the more likely she is to be successful in her journey.
Physical beauty is something that a king's daughter ought to have and, in many cases, she is considered the most beautiful woman in the whole kingdom. It is for this reason that most men in the kingdom want to marry her. The narrative of a woman being physically attractive or the need to be so is seen in the sleeping child. Here we are shown a girl who is born, and there is a christening ceremony to gift her. Among the gifts that she is given is that of flora, which is beauty. This stresses the need for a girl to be beautiful in any fairytale. It is the beauty of a girl that attracts a male suitor to marry her. This is also the case in sleeping as when the prince finds her sleeping; it is her beauty that attracts the prince. The curse stated that it would only be broken by a kiss from someone who loved her. It is this kiss from the prince that breaks the curse as he falls in love with the beauty. The physical appearance of a male is that of a warrior in most fairytales, and this is necessary to save the female character who needs them. In the sleeping beauty, though, the physique of a male is not portrayed well as only a kiss was required to save the princes.
In fairytales, the lack of personality is often associated with an ugly physical appearance. Most of the beautiful girls are associated with a meek demeanor that is the center of a male attraction. However, as the girl gets older, the physical beauty fades. An old lady is often associated with evil and is out to harm the younger princesses. In the sleeping child, the fairy who curved the princess was an older woman who is seen as lacking personality judgement. She curses the princess for not being invited yet it is not her fault. The gender system is legitimized and supported by the children's fairytales which are in the emphasis of things such as a woman's beauty and a woman's passivity. The fairytales are also in support of the feminine beauty ideal where the society perceives that a woman's physical attractiveness is one of the most important assets that a woman possesses (Garcia; Lori & Grauerholz). The fairytales push this notion so that women can try to achieve the ideal beauty.
This ideal is, however, viewed as an oppressive and a practice that not only objectifies women but also devalues them as subordinates. In many women, beauty or its pursuance is central in their lives. Women are aware that it is their beauty that attracts men and therefore tries as much as possible to achieve it. In most fairytales, beauty is rewarded while it lacks is punished. In the sleeping beauty story, the physical appearance of women is the major theme that plays out. With the princess being gifted beauty, it is clear that beauty is an important aspect of the lives of women in any society. The sleeping beauty, who is Princess Aurora, is not majorly endowed with roles in the fairytale, which is a clear reflection of the role of women in the society. She is not characterized other than being an idea which is only achieved magically and is an object that is being sought for (Butler 4). Aurora in the film is not depicted as a hero. But rather as a person who is being acted on.
The role of women is then exemplified when prince. Phillip saves Aurora, which is an act of bravery only portrayed by the male character. The perception of society is the maintenance of a patriarchal society. There is immense gender inequality. In modern society, there is an increased emphasis on the role of women in the control of many factors that affect their lives (Garcia). Women are also involved in decision making. However, in fairytales, the female is only portrayed as a symbol of beauty (Neikerk). Although beauty is less tangible to a certain degree, it is the best thing that a woman could possess. In the sleeping child, the role of the princess is very limited, and most of the narration revolves her beauty and her role in bringing forth children. This is a narrative that is common in most fairytales where the heroic acts are a reserve for them and women are only there to be saved. Fairytales are a resource that is used to teach children about the society that they live in. They are passed orally and often tell the role of people in society. They help shape what a child believes is the ideal person. In the sleeping child, beauty and love are the dominant agendas as fate takes its course.
My Favourite Fairytale Character in Sleeping Beauty. (2022, Mar 26). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/my-favourite-fairytale-character-in-sleeping-beauty-essay
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