Sleeping Beauty
Last night I curled up with my glass of sangiovese wine and Sleeping Beauty. I have to admit Disney did a heck of a job. The animation was great, it looked magical. I felt myself sinking when Aurora was in the forest singing that, “ I know you from a dream” song. It took me back to thoughts of young love. I can remember being 16 and thinking that I wanted a boyfriend. I remember when he passed me the famous love note -you know the one with the checkboxes, yes or no. His question was whether or not he could walk me home. Right away it was love. I think that is a part of natural development. Either that or, it is something we are socialized to think. At any rate, there Aurora was singing with the animals and it was almost touching and pure. She just wanted to meet someone. She wasn’t even looking for a prince. I’m not exactly sure what was driving her to want that, but she had no other human friends. Why she was looking for a man and not just a human friend her own age is just something we have to accept.
As fairy tales go, this one wasn’t so bad. Aurora had two parents, she didn’t know Phillip was a prince, good triumphed over evil and the story didn’t have to repeat that she was beautiful because the name alone kept us in that context. Yes she fell in love very fast but I’d like to think being sixteen played a part there. So far the only thing wrong with that is she was a little under age, but people got married young in the 14th century. This was a pretty pure and easy love story.
In a modern era, I would have liked to have seen the fairies give the princess gifts with more meaning and purpose. They gave her the power of song, beauty, and then a counteractive sleeping spell. There was not much she could do with those gifts besides catch a prince.
I could have done without the scene where the two fathers discuss the terms of agreement for purposes of uniting their kingdoms leading them to get drunk and have a tussle. In the end however, Phillip’s father was going to have to explain that Phillip wanted to marry a peasant girl which was very forward thinking.
What I don’t quite understand is why Maleficent was so angry about not getting invited to the party. As we find out from the fairies she had never found love. So is this what happens to a woman who has never experienced love? She has to show up uninvited to people’s parties and cast spells that will kill their babies?! Ouch. She did not make a good role model for all the single ladies. I wish that her mal-intentions were based on something more tangible than that because it seems like her plight could happen to anyone. We are not guaranteed love. Perhaps she could have been angry because she wanted to expand her kingdom, but the kings would not agree; maybe she was being overtaxed. Let it be anything except she had no man. Should all single women be worried about becoming a Mistress of Evil? To further make the point, she turned into a dragon and had to be stabbed in the heart with a sword; a sword to the heart-the symbol of love.
Wait a minute, I don’t have children. Uh o. Am I going to become Maleficent?
I had to smile at this posting. I too like this fairy tale as it holds all of the elements of my fantasy love story from when I was younger, and admittedly a few from my adult fantasies of my love story. What I appreciated most is your commentary on Maleficent. So true! Being single without children or the hope of it on the horizon is still deemed as "evil" so to speak in today's society. I spent years and years pursuing post high school education, just to have a friend's mom say to me, 2 weeks after my graduating with my last degree, "What now? Are you going to finally settle down and do what you’re supposed to do?" As if I hadn’t been doing what I was supposed to be doing for all along. I can only imagine the look on my face as one of wonderment, amazement at her nerve and question marks as to exactly what she might be referring too...hoping it was not what I thought. But it was exactly what I thought. She went on to explain that what she meant was 'having a family' as if my life and all of my accomplishments to this point were just a whim and my true purpose in life is to be a wife and have children. Surely those things play into my fantasy love story, but to be slapped in the face with the reality that another woman was disregarding all I had done and ultimately measuring my worth not by who I was and how I lived my life, but instead by the fact that I had no man or children in my life. Am I too going to become Maleficent and only show up uninvited to parties?! I think not! You said it...we are not all guaranteed love. I would argue that we are not guaranteed love in the 'traditional' sense which is clearly defined in our society as being married with children. But that is not to say that I will not lead a very happy, long life and should it happen then I will be blessed. If not, I will still remain blessed.
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