Dark Original Version of Classic Fairytale: Sleeping Beauty: The Curse, The Rape, and The Ogress

Grimm’s version of Sleeping Beauty story is the sweetest and most sanitized. This version is the one adapted by Disney. Long before Grimm Brother write their version, the story of a girl who falls asleep by a curse and wakes up by a kiss had been in oral circulation throughout Europe since13th century. This story is then written by Basile in 16th century and Charles Perrault in 17th century. These earlier versions contain harsh materials of raping and cannibalism.

The Curse – what put Sleeping Beauty to sleep?

In the Grimm’s version, an evil fairy curses Sleeping Beauty because she is not invited to the grand christening ceremony. The evil fairy says that on reaching adulthood sleeping beauty would die after pricking her finger on a spindle. One good fairy manages to soften this curse. Sleeping Beauty will not die; she will only sleep until a true love’s kiss wakes her up. This curse happens and sleeping beauty falls into her slumber.

Image via Wikipedia

In the earlier French version as recorded by Perrault in 17th century, Sleeping Beauty is put to sleep not by a curse but because some kind of a prophesy. In this version, Sleeping Beauty is not tricked by the evil fairy into touching the spindle, instead she does it voluntarily.

The Rape – what wakes sleeping beauty from her slumber?

In the Grimm’s version, a handsome prince kisses Sleeping Beauty and awakens her from her sleep. They marry and live happily ever after, how romantic.

In its 13th century version and the one written by Giambatista Basile in 16th century, it is not the kiss that awakens Sleeping Beauty, but the nudging of her children. So the story goes that while Sleeping Beauty lies unconscious, a prince charming comes, not to rescue her, but to rape her. Somehow, Sleeping Beauty is impregnated and giving birth to twins while still sleeping, even the pain of childbirth couldn’t wake her up. After birth, one of the babies accidentally sucks the splinter out of Sleeping Beauty’s finger and breaks the curse. Sleeping beauty wakes up after sleeping for one hundred years only to find that she had been raped and is now a mother of two.