WEBVTT - Sleeping Beauty 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:09.165 School of Humans. 0:00:13.005 --> 0:00:22.045 This episode discusses sensitive topics. Please listen with care. My 0:00:22.205 --> 0:00:26.005 name is Miranda Hawkins. Welcome to the Deep Dark Woods. 0:00:27.365 --> 0:00:41.525 Today's story is at U four ten, or Sleeping Beauty. 0:00:42.485 --> 0:00:45.045 In pastimes, there were a king and queen who said 0:00:45.085 --> 0:00:49.005 every day, oh, if only we had a child, but 0:00:49.085 --> 0:00:53.005 they never received one. Then it happened one day, while 0:00:53.005 --> 0:00:55.285 the queen was sitting in her bath, that a frog 0:00:55.325 --> 0:00:57.485 crept out of the water onto the ground and said 0:00:57.485 --> 0:01:01.765 to her, your wish shall be fulfilled, and before a 0:01:01.885 --> 0:01:05.805 year passes, you will bring a daughter into the world. 0:01:07.525 --> 0:01:09.965 What the frog said did happen, and the queen gave 0:01:10.005 --> 0:01:12.085 birth to a girl who was so beautiful that the 0:01:12.205 --> 0:01:15.685 king could not contain himself for joy, and he ordered 0:01:15.725 --> 0:01:20.805 a great celebration. He invited not only his relatives, friends, 0:01:20.805 --> 0:01:23.605 and acquaintances, but also the wise women, so that they 0:01:23.645 --> 0:01:27.965 would be kindly disposed toward the child. There were thirteen 0:01:28.005 --> 0:01:30.845 of them in this kingdom, but because he had only 0:01:30.925 --> 0:01:33.965 twelve golden plates from which they were to eat, one 0:01:34.045 --> 0:01:37.645 of them had to remain at home. The feast was 0:01:37.685 --> 0:01:41.365 celebrated with great splendor, and at its conclusion, the wise 0:01:41.405 --> 0:01:46.165 women presented the child with their magic gifts. The one 0:01:46.205 --> 0:01:50.725 gave her virtue, the second one beauty, the third one wealth, 0:01:51.005 --> 0:01:53.525 and so on with everything that one could wish for 0:01:53.605 --> 0:01:58.125 on earth. The eleventh one had just pronounced her blessing 0:01:58.765 --> 0:02:04.845 when the thirteenth one suddenly walked in. She wanted to 0:02:04.885 --> 0:02:08.085 avenge herself for not having been invited, and without greeting 0:02:08.125 --> 0:02:10.365 anyone or even looking at them, she cried out with 0:02:10.445 --> 0:02:13.765 a loud voice, in the princess's fifteenth year, she shall 0:02:13.765 --> 0:02:17.525 prick herself with a spindle and fall over dead. And 0:02:17.605 --> 0:02:21.085 without saying another word, she turned around and left the hall. 0:02:26.245 --> 0:02:29.325 Every One was horrified, and the twelfth wise Woman, who 0:02:29.325 --> 0:02:34.085 had not yet offered her wish, stepped forward because she 0:02:34.165 --> 0:02:36.685 was unable to undo the wicked wish, but only to 0:02:36.765 --> 0:02:40.525 soften it. She said, it shall not be her death. 0:02:41.565 --> 0:02:45.645 The princess will only fall into a hundred year deep asleep. 0:02:47.485 --> 0:02:50.325 The king, wanting to rescue his dear child, issued an 0:02:50.445 --> 0:02:53.125 order that all the spindles in the entire kingdom should 0:02:53.165 --> 0:02:56.965 be burned. The wise Woman's gifts were all fulfilled on 0:02:57.005 --> 0:03:00.965 the girl, for she was so beautiful, well behaved, friendly 0:03:01.005 --> 0:03:04.045 and intelligent that anyone who saw her had to love 0:03:04.085 --> 0:03:07.925 her now. It happened that on the day when she 0:03:07.965 --> 0:03:10.725 turned fifteen years of age, the King and Queen were 0:03:10.765 --> 0:03:13.845 not at home, and the girl was all alone in 0:03:13.885 --> 0:03:18.005 the castle. She walked around from one place to the next, 0:03:18.405 --> 0:03:22.965 looking into rooms and chambers as her heart desired. Finally 0:03:23.285 --> 0:03:26.765 she came to an old tower. She climbed up the narrow, 0:03:26.805 --> 0:03:30.805 winding stairs and arrived at a small door. In the lock, 0:03:30.885 --> 0:03:33.325 there was a rusty key, and when she turned it, 0:03:33.685 --> 0:03:39.085 the door sprang open. There in a small room sat 0:03:39.125 --> 0:03:42.365 an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax. 0:03:43.845 --> 0:03:47.085 Good day, old woman, said the princess. What are you 0:03:47.125 --> 0:03:50.725 doing there? I am spinning, said the old woman, nodding 0:03:50.725 --> 0:03:53.685 her head. What is that thing that is so merrily 0:03:53.765 --> 0:03:56.285 bouncing about, asked the girl, taking hold of the spindle, 0:03:56.485 --> 0:03:59.805 for she too wanted to spin. She no sooner had 0:03:59.845 --> 0:04:02.605 touched the spindle when the magic curse was fulfilled, as 0:04:02.685 --> 0:04:06.045 she pricked herself in the finger the inn that she 0:04:06.085 --> 0:04:08.325 felt the prick, she fell onto a bed that was 0:04:08.365 --> 0:04:11.685 standing there, and she lay there in a deep sleep, 0:04:12.845 --> 0:04:18.885 And this sleep spread throughout the entire castle. The King 0:04:18.925 --> 0:04:21.885 and Queen, who had just returned home walked into the 0:04:21.925 --> 0:04:24.885 hall and began falling asleep, and all of their attendants 0:04:24.925 --> 0:04:29.405 as well. The horses fell asleep in their stalls, the 0:04:29.485 --> 0:04:32.085 dogs in the courtyard, the pigeons on the roof, the 0:04:32.165 --> 0:04:34.245 flies on the wall, and even the fire on the 0:04:34.285 --> 0:04:39.605 hearth flickered and stopped moving and fell asleep. The roast 0:04:39.765 --> 0:04:42.205 stopped sizzling. The cook, who was about to pull the 0:04:42.285 --> 0:04:44.925 kitchen boy's hair for having done something wrong, let him 0:04:44.925 --> 0:04:50.085 loose and fell asleep. The wind stopped blowing, and outside 0:04:50.085 --> 0:04:53.005 the castle not a leaf was stirring. In the trees. 0:04:54.605 --> 0:04:57.645 Round about the castle, A thorn hedge began to grow, 0:04:57.965 --> 0:05:01.245 and every year it became higher, until it finally surrounded 0:05:01.245 --> 0:05:07.205 and covered the entire castle. Finally, nothing at all could 0:05:07.245 --> 0:05:09.965 be seen of it, not even the flag on the roof. 0:05:11.165 --> 0:05:14.645 A legend circulated throughout the land about the beautiful, sleeping 0:05:14.725 --> 0:05:19.005 little briar rose, for so the princess was called. Legends 0:05:19.085 --> 0:05:23.525 also told that from time to time princes came, wanting 0:05:23.565 --> 0:05:27.165 to force their way through the hedge into the castle. However, 0:05:27.205 --> 0:05:30.925 they did not succeed, for the thorns held firmly together 0:05:31.005 --> 0:05:33.605 as though they had hands, and the young men became 0:05:33.685 --> 0:05:37.845 stuck in them, could not free themselves, and died miserably. 0:05:43.685 --> 0:05:47.885 Many long, long years later, once again a prince came 0:05:47.925 --> 0:05:51.045 to the country. He heard an old man telling about 0:05:51.045 --> 0:05:53.605 the Thorn Hedge. It was said that there was a 0:05:53.605 --> 0:05:56.605 castle behind it, in which a beautiful princess named Little 0:05:56.605 --> 0:06:00.685 Briar Rose had been asleep for a hundred years, and 0:06:00.765 --> 0:06:03.765 with her the King and Queen and all their royal 0:06:03.805 --> 0:06:08.405 attendants were sleeping. He also knew from his grandfather that 0:06:08.485 --> 0:06:11.645 many princes had come and tried to penetrate the Thorn Hedge, 0:06:12.045 --> 0:06:14.365 but they had become stuck in it and died a 0:06:14.565 --> 0:06:19.725 sorrowful death. Then the young men said, I am not afraid. 0:06:20.205 --> 0:06:22.925 I will go there and see the beautiful Little Briar Rose. 0:06:24.405 --> 0:06:26.925 However much the good old man tried to dissuade him, 0:06:26.965 --> 0:06:30.885 the prince would not listen to his words. The hundred 0:06:30.965 --> 0:06:33.365 years had just passed, and the day had come when 0:06:33.365 --> 0:06:37.285 Little Briar Rose was to awaken. When the prince approached 0:06:37.285 --> 0:06:40.525 the Thorn Hedge, it was nothing but large, beautiful flowers 0:06:40.525 --> 0:06:43.525 that separated by themselves, allowing him to pass without harm, 0:06:44.205 --> 0:06:50.325 but then behind him closed back into a hedge in 0:06:50.405 --> 0:06:53.445 the courtyard, he saw the horses and spotted hunting dogs 0:06:53.525 --> 0:06:56.765 lying there asleep, and on the roof the pigeons perched 0:06:56.765 --> 0:07:00.085 with their little heads tucked under their wings. When he 0:07:00.125 --> 0:07:02.925 walked inside, the flies were asleep on the wall. The 0:07:03.005 --> 0:07:04.965 cook in the kitchen was holding up his hand as 0:07:04.965 --> 0:07:07.205 if he wanted to grabbed the boy, and the maid 0:07:07.325 --> 0:07:09.165 was sitting in front of the black chicken that was 0:07:09.205 --> 0:07:13.805 supposed to be plucked. He walked further and saw all 0:07:13.845 --> 0:07:16.765 the attendants lying asleep in the hall, and above them, 0:07:16.805 --> 0:07:18.845 near the throne, the King and the Queen were lying. 0:07:20.805 --> 0:07:23.365 He walked on still further, and it was so quiet 0:07:23.765 --> 0:07:27.445 that he could hear his own breath. Finally, he came 0:07:27.485 --> 0:07:29.725 to the tower and opened the door to the room 0:07:29.725 --> 0:07:34.805 where Little Briar Rose was sleeping. There she lay, and 0:07:34.845 --> 0:07:36.685 she was so beautiful that he could not take his 0:07:36.765 --> 0:07:40.125 eyes off her. He bent over and gave her a kiss. 0:07:41.765 --> 0:07:44.045 When he touched her with the kiss, little Briar Rose 0:07:44.125 --> 0:07:47.365 opened her eyes, awoke and looked at him kindly. They 0:07:47.405 --> 0:07:50.205 went downstairs together, and the King awoke, and the Queen 0:07:50.245 --> 0:07:52.245 and all the royal attendants, and they looked at one 0:07:52.285 --> 0:07:56.125 another in amazement. The horses in the courtyard stood up 0:07:56.205 --> 0:08:00.045 and shook themselves. The hunting dogs jumped and ragged their tails. 0:08:00.685 --> 0:08:02.645 The pigeons on the roof pulled their heads out from 0:08:02.645 --> 0:08:05.045 beneath their wings, looked around, and flew into the field. 0:08:05.765 --> 0:08:08.405 The flies on the walls crept around again. The fire 0:08:08.445 --> 0:08:10.725 in the kitchen rose up, broke into flames, and cooked 0:08:10.765 --> 0:08:14.285 the food. The roast began to sizzle once again. The 0:08:14.365 --> 0:08:17.245 cook boxed the boy's ears, causing him to cry, and 0:08:17.285 --> 0:08:21.965 the maid finished plucking the chicken. And then the Prince's 0:08:21.965 --> 0:08:25.645 marriage to little Briar Rose was celebrated with great splendor, 0:08:26.165 --> 0:08:28.325 and they lived happily until they died. 0:08:36.245 --> 0:08:38.805 This fairy till was the most difficult one for me 0:08:38.845 --> 0:08:42.685 to get through, because sleeping beauty isn't beautiful at all. 0:08:43.845 --> 0:08:47.085 Stories of royal children being isolated from the world for 0:08:47.165 --> 0:08:51.325 their protection dates back to ancient Egypt, in this case 0:08:51.485 --> 0:08:55.765 around the eighteenth dynasty. The story known as the Doomed 0:08:55.845 --> 0:08:59.285 Prince is a winding tale about a prince evading his fate. 0:09:00.125 --> 0:09:03.525 A king wants a son more than anything. The gods 0:09:03.565 --> 0:09:06.765 grant the king's wish, but the seven hath or fates, 0:09:07.085 --> 0:09:10.605 predict the prince will die suddenly by a crocodile, serpent, 0:09:10.765 --> 0:09:15.325 or dog. The king builds a royal house in the 0:09:15.325 --> 0:09:19.005 middle of the mountains to protect his son from his fate. There, 0:09:19.125 --> 0:09:23.405 the prince grows big and strong. One day, he climbs 0:09:23.405 --> 0:09:25.245 to the roof and sees a man with a dog. 0:09:25.845 --> 0:09:28.805 When the prince learns what the animal is, he begs 0:09:28.845 --> 0:09:34.125 his father for one. Despite the curse, the king acquiesces 0:09:34.205 --> 0:09:38.845 and gives the young prince a boar hunting puppy. As 0:09:38.885 --> 0:09:41.605 the prince becomes a young man, he gets tired of 0:09:41.645 --> 0:09:44.965 being locked up and petitions his father to travel. The 0:09:45.085 --> 0:09:48.165 king relents and sends his son out with weapons and 0:09:48.205 --> 0:09:52.805 his dog. The prince travels north until he comes upon 0:09:52.845 --> 0:09:56.885 another kingdom. The chief fair has a beautiful daughter who 0:09:56.925 --> 0:10:00.685 he keeps in a seven hundred foot tower with seventy windows. 0:10:01.365 --> 0:10:06.165 Her beauty is famed across the land. The chief promised 0:10:06.245 --> 0:10:09.445 whoever can climb the tower and reach her can have 0:10:09.485 --> 0:10:13.245 her hand in marriage. The young prince asks to join 0:10:13.285 --> 0:10:16.845 the other suitors in the climb, and they agree. As 0:10:16.885 --> 0:10:19.765 he climbs, he and the maiden lock eyes, and when 0:10:19.805 --> 0:10:24.405 he reaches the top, she embraces and kisses him. When 0:10:24.445 --> 0:10:26.965 the chief discovers who reached the top of the tower, 0:10:27.325 --> 0:10:30.325 he's angry that it was the Egyptian prince, for the 0:10:30.365 --> 0:10:32.765 prince had told others of how he had left his 0:10:32.885 --> 0:10:37.205 kingdom because he was fleeing from his stepmother. I'm unsure 0:10:37.285 --> 0:10:39.925 if the prince is lying or if this was another 0:10:39.965 --> 0:10:43.045 reason he wanted to leave his kingdom, because the story 0:10:43.125 --> 0:10:47.045 doesn't say either way. The chief doesn't want his daughter 0:10:47.165 --> 0:10:51.445 to marry an Egyptian fugitive. Two times the king tells 0:10:51.485 --> 0:10:54.965 the prince to leave, and two times the chief's daughter protests. 0:10:56.245 --> 0:10:58.645 The third time, the chief calls for the prince to 0:10:58.685 --> 0:11:02.325 meet him. The prince is wary, but the chief receives 0:11:02.365 --> 0:11:05.365 him with open arms and tells the prince he will 0:11:05.605 --> 0:11:08.645 love him as if he were his own son. The 0:11:08.645 --> 0:11:13.365 prince and chief's daughter Mary. The Egyptian prince then tells 0:11:13.365 --> 0:11:16.005 the chief and his new wife about his fate, that 0:11:16.125 --> 0:11:19.885 he will die from a serpent, crocodile, or dog. The 0:11:19.965 --> 0:11:23.125 wife wants to kill the prince's dog because she's afraid 0:11:23.165 --> 0:11:26.165 the animal will hurt her new husband, but the prince 0:11:26.205 --> 0:11:30.005 would not have it. Later, the prince and his bride 0:11:30.045 --> 0:11:33.325 returned to the prince's home in the mountains. But while 0:11:33.365 --> 0:11:36.245 the prince has been away, a giant has taken residence 0:11:36.285 --> 0:11:39.765 and his royal house. The giant won't let the prince 0:11:39.845 --> 0:11:43.045 venture out after dark because a crocodile emerges from the 0:11:43.125 --> 0:11:46.805 river each night. Two months go by, and the prince 0:11:46.885 --> 0:11:50.805 holds a great feast. Later that same night, after he 0:11:50.845 --> 0:11:53.845 has gone to bed, his wife sees a serpent rise 0:11:53.925 --> 0:11:57.205 up to sting the prince. The princess orders a servant 0:11:57.325 --> 0:12:00.085 to fill a bowl with milk and honeyed wine for 0:12:00.165 --> 0:12:03.645 the snake to drink from. Once the snake is drunk, 0:12:03.725 --> 0:12:11.685 the princess draws her dagger and slays the serpent. Many 0:12:11.765 --> 0:12:14.165 days later, the prince and his dog take a walk 0:12:14.205 --> 0:12:17.565 that leads him far from home. The dog catches an 0:12:17.605 --> 0:12:21.125 animal in flight. The prince chases after them until they 0:12:21.165 --> 0:12:25.605 reach a river bank. Now, the dog ends up beside 0:12:25.645 --> 0:12:28.525 the crocodile, but the giant also happens to be there. 0:12:30.445 --> 0:12:33.845 The giant bewitches the crocodile so the reptile can't harm 0:12:33.885 --> 0:12:37.485 the prince, but the crocodile promises that if he and 0:12:37.525 --> 0:12:41.045 the prince meet again, the prophecy will come true and 0:12:41.085 --> 0:12:46.445 the prince will meet his doom, and this is where 0:12:46.485 --> 0:12:50.405 the story ends. No one knows what happens next, and 0:12:50.525 --> 0:12:53.405 no one ever will, because the end of the tail 0:12:54.045 --> 0:12:58.765 was destroyed. The unknown author of the story wrote this 0:12:58.925 --> 0:13:02.285 tale on a piece of papyrus, which was later stolen 0:13:02.325 --> 0:13:05.085 by the British when they excavated the tomb of King 0:13:05.125 --> 0:13:08.405 Into and put it on view at the British Museum 0:13:08.485 --> 0:13:12.605 under the name Harris five hundred. The sheet contains love 0:13:12.645 --> 0:13:17.605 poems and another story. Egyptologists have trace a tale back 0:13:17.645 --> 0:13:21.205 to the Eighteenth Dynasty, which is from fifteen fifty BC 0:13:21.685 --> 0:13:25.005 to twelve ninety two BC, but part of the scroll 0:13:25.085 --> 0:13:28.365 was burned off, so the ending of the Doomed Prince 0:13:28.765 --> 0:13:33.685 remains one of the greatest mysteries in folklore. This story 0:13:33.845 --> 0:13:37.205 represents the deep ties the Egyptians had and believing that 0:13:37.245 --> 0:13:41.325 a person's fate begins at their birth. In fact, one's 0:13:41.325 --> 0:13:44.045 fate was integral to how they interacted with the world 0:13:44.125 --> 0:13:48.365 around them, and The Doomed Prince might not seem like 0:13:48.405 --> 0:13:51.525 a sleeping beauty tale at first glance, but the central 0:13:51.565 --> 0:13:55.005 theme of agency and escaping one's fate aligned with the 0:13:55.005 --> 0:13:59.245 sleeping beauty lineage. It also includes the idea of isolating 0:13:59.245 --> 0:14:02.725 one's child, although in the prince's case it's for protection, 0:14:03.125 --> 0:14:07.485 not a curse or punishment. Another story that could be 0:14:07.525 --> 0:14:11.965 an early sleeping beauty tale comes from Norse mythology. It's 0:14:12.005 --> 0:14:16.045 from the thirteenth century Icelandic saga called the Saga of 0:14:16.045 --> 0:14:21.525 the volsungs Valkyrie. Princess Brunhild is tasked to decide the 0:14:21.565 --> 0:14:25.325 winner and a war between two kings. She chooses Ognar 0:14:25.485 --> 0:14:28.885 and kills the other king, but Odin, the ruler of 0:14:28.925 --> 0:14:32.605 Asgard and father of Thor and Loki, wanted the other 0:14:32.725 --> 0:14:37.085 king to win. In his anger, Odin strikes Princess Brunhild 0:14:37.085 --> 0:14:39.685 with a sleeping thorn and puts her in a castle 0:14:39.765 --> 0:14:43.845 surrounded by fire. However, the princess has the power to 0:14:43.925 --> 0:14:47.405 modify her punishment and makes it so that only Sigurd 0:14:47.725 --> 0:14:50.765 can ride through the fire and awaken her with a kiss. 0:14:51.245 --> 0:14:53.765 When he comes to her, she wakes, and the two 0:14:53.845 --> 0:14:58.325 spend three nights together and fall in love. Brunhild's story 0:14:58.445 --> 0:15:02.205 is a long saga with adventure and betrayal, but this 0:15:02.245 --> 0:15:05.085 is where we leave her. The slumber in her castle 0:15:05.205 --> 0:15:09.285 is where her connection to Sleeping Beauty ends. So how 0:15:09.325 --> 0:15:11.885 did this tale start from a doomed prince and a 0:15:11.965 --> 0:15:16.965 valkyrie to become the third Disney Princess. Well, the next 0:15:16.965 --> 0:15:30.085 story takes our princess down her darkest path yet. Sometime 0:15:30.125 --> 0:15:34.285 between thirteen hundred and thirteen forty four, an anonymous author 0:15:34.325 --> 0:15:37.325 wrote a tale called the Story of Troilus and the 0:15:37.365 --> 0:15:41.325 Beautiful Zelandine. It was written in French and a region 0:15:41.365 --> 0:15:44.365 of Europe called the Low Countries, which are Belgium, the 0:15:44.405 --> 0:15:49.165 Netherlands and Luxembourg. The story appeared in a multi volume 0:15:49.165 --> 0:15:53.605 collection called Perciferist. It's in book three where Prince Troylis 0:15:53.605 --> 0:15:57.525 finds the sleeping Princess Celidine and what happens after he 0:15:57.605 --> 0:16:02.165 finds her is horrific. When Zeladeine was a baby, she 0:16:02.365 --> 0:16:05.445 was cursed by the goddess Themis, who presided over her 0:16:05.565 --> 0:16:09.805 her birth with two other goddesses. themUS was angered that 0:16:09.885 --> 0:16:12.925 she wasn't given as nice a knife as the other two, 0:16:13.605 --> 0:16:17.565 so Themis cast her curse. She said, when Zeladein touched 0:16:17.605 --> 0:16:20.525 a piece of flax, it would stab her finger and 0:16:20.605 --> 0:16:22.925 put her into a sleep from which she could not 0:16:23.085 --> 0:16:26.965 be awakened, but Venus, one of the other two goddesses 0:16:27.005 --> 0:16:30.485 at the birth, decided to use her powers to save Zeladeine. 0:16:31.845 --> 0:16:34.485 There are different interpretations of the next part, but what 0:16:34.605 --> 0:16:39.605 happens to Zeladeine remains the same. Venus sends Zeladein's love 0:16:39.725 --> 0:16:43.325 Troilis to save her. He rides a bird to Zeladin's 0:16:43.405 --> 0:16:48.005 room in the tower. Once there, he finds her asleep naked. 0:16:48.565 --> 0:16:51.525 Although Troilis is nervous and knows better than to touch 0:16:51.565 --> 0:16:54.685 a maiden while she sleeps, he reminds himself of the 0:16:54.725 --> 0:16:58.925 healing power of kisses. He asks the dormant Zeladein if 0:16:58.925 --> 0:17:03.925 he can kiss her. With no answer, he proceeds. When 0:17:04.005 --> 0:17:07.845 she does not wake, he is beside himself, but then 0:17:08.205 --> 0:17:11.005 the goddess Venus pushes him to have sex with the 0:17:11.045 --> 0:17:16.205 sleeping Zeladein. At first, Troilis hesitates, but then is overcome 0:17:16.285 --> 0:17:21.205 with desire. The text says he takes Celandine's quote write 0:17:21.285 --> 0:17:24.925 to the name of maiden. Afterward, he jumps back on 0:17:24.965 --> 0:17:29.965 the bird and flies away. Nine months later, Zeladeine gives 0:17:29.965 --> 0:17:33.005 birth to a son. She wakes up when the baby 0:17:33.085 --> 0:17:36.965 sucks the splinter out of her thumb. Zeladein and Troilis 0:17:37.045 --> 0:17:42.085 are then reunited. Zeladein struggles with guilt but ultimately loves Troilis. 0:17:45.325 --> 0:17:48.725 I couldn't believe this was a sleeping beauty story. It's 0:17:48.765 --> 0:17:51.485 so far removed from the Walt Disney film I grew 0:17:51.565 --> 0:17:54.805 up on. I didn't really care for the Walt Disney film, 0:17:55.045 --> 0:17:58.965 but still I was horrified to learn Zeladein had been raped, 0:17:59.285 --> 0:18:04.245 and angry, angry that she wasn't protected, and disgusted that 0:18:04.325 --> 0:18:07.365 it was another woman who encourage this to happen to her, 0:18:07.685 --> 0:18:12.845 regardless of the fact that she's a goddess. Unfortunately, throughout 0:18:12.885 --> 0:18:16.965 the centuries, sexual assault is common and sleeping beauty tales. 0:18:17.725 --> 0:18:21.525 It's also typical to have mythic god's encouraging bad behavior 0:18:21.565 --> 0:18:25.365 among humans or doing it themselves, like in Leda and 0:18:25.405 --> 0:18:28.845 the Swan, where the Greek god Zeus disguises himself as 0:18:28.885 --> 0:18:33.405 a swan and rapes and impregnates the human Lina. We 0:18:33.525 --> 0:18:36.285 don't know who the writer is of Zeladein's story, but 0:18:36.445 --> 0:18:39.885 it's apparent they knew rape is wrong. That is made 0:18:40.005 --> 0:18:43.725 clear from what Troylis says about understanding consent and him 0:18:43.765 --> 0:18:47.085 feeling bad. There is also part in the story where 0:18:47.205 --> 0:18:50.325 Zeladein makes a sound while he's raping her and he 0:18:50.365 --> 0:18:54.645 pulls back ready to act all innocent. This tale stays 0:18:54.685 --> 0:18:57.725 true to the central themes in many sleeping beauty stories, 0:18:58.125 --> 0:19:01.565 a lack of agency or inability to escape your fate. 0:19:02.765 --> 0:19:06.125 In this version, Zeladeine has no say in what happens 0:19:06.165 --> 0:19:10.485 to her. As for Toilis, this story presents Venus driving 0:19:10.565 --> 0:19:15.325 him to override his judgment or to indulge in his lust. 0:19:16.245 --> 0:19:18.925 It could be interpreted that none of us have agency 0:19:18.965 --> 0:19:22.565 over our lives, which would make sense considering how strongly 0:19:22.605 --> 0:19:25.525 people followed religion back in those days. Because a lack 0:19:25.525 --> 0:19:28.845 of human agency in the face of the supernatural tracks 0:19:28.845 --> 0:19:31.965 with the Catholic belief systems that govern every part of 0:19:32.045 --> 0:19:38.125 life in the Middle Ages. Then in sixteen thirty four, 0:19:38.485 --> 0:19:44.285 Italian author John Patiste Bazille published Sun, Moon and Talia. 0:19:44.365 --> 0:19:47.765 His story is similar to Zeladine's, but he treats the 0:19:47.885 --> 0:19:54.525 rape trope in a less compassionate way. A great lord 0:19:54.645 --> 0:19:58.005 asks some wise men and astrologers to predict the future 0:19:58.125 --> 0:20:01.285 of his daughter Talia. They say she will be endangered 0:20:01.285 --> 0:20:03.845 by the splinter from a piece of flax. The plant 0:20:03.965 --> 0:20:07.565 used to make linen. The lord then forbade all flax 0:20:07.765 --> 0:20:12.085 from entering his house. Years later, when the girl is grown, 0:20:12.325 --> 0:20:16.525 she sees a woman spinning and is curious. Talia asks 0:20:16.565 --> 0:20:18.805 the woman to come to her and begins playing with 0:20:18.845 --> 0:20:22.885 a distaff or spindle and the flax yarn winds around 0:20:22.965 --> 0:20:26.325 while spinning, but Talia gets a splinter under her nail 0:20:26.525 --> 0:20:32.805 and immediately falls down dead. The terrified old woman runs away. 0:20:33.605 --> 0:20:36.325 The lord is so distraught he has his daughter placed 0:20:36.405 --> 0:20:39.005 upon a bed in one of their country homes and 0:20:39.045 --> 0:20:44.885 then closes the doors forever. After a time, a king 0:20:44.965 --> 0:20:47.045 is hunting in the woods when one of his falcons 0:20:47.045 --> 0:20:50.285 flies off. He sees the bird fly through a window 0:20:50.365 --> 0:20:53.365 of a shuttered house, and he uses a ladder to 0:20:53.405 --> 0:20:57.245 climb through the same window. He doesn't find anyone in 0:20:57.285 --> 0:21:01.085 the house until he happens upon Talia's body in the parlor. 0:21:02.405 --> 0:21:05.165 He is so struck by her beauty that he carries 0:21:05.165 --> 0:21:08.525 her to a bed where he quote gathered the first 0:21:08.565 --> 0:21:12.485 fruits of love. Then he leaves and thinks nothing of it. 0:21:13.925 --> 0:21:18.405 Nine months later, Talia gives birth to twins. Fairies try 0:21:18.445 --> 0:21:21.245 to help the babies find her nipples, but when they can't, 0:21:21.605 --> 0:21:24.925 the two babies begin to suck at her fingers. The 0:21:24.965 --> 0:21:28.045 splinter of the flax comes out, and Talia wakes as 0:21:28.085 --> 0:21:32.765 if from a long sleep. Upon waking to her two children, 0:21:33.085 --> 0:21:36.605 Talia finds them dearer to her than her own life. 0:21:36.685 --> 0:21:37.565 She names them. 0:21:37.525 --> 0:21:42.085 Sun and Moon. As time goes on, the king finds 0:21:42.165 --> 0:21:45.285 himself thinking of Talia and decides to hunt again in 0:21:45.325 --> 0:21:48.645 that part of the forest. This time he finds not 0:21:48.725 --> 0:21:52.965 only her, but also the twins. The king explains that 0:21:53.045 --> 0:21:54.965 it is he who had sex with her while she 0:21:55.045 --> 0:21:58.685 slept and father the twins. The two become friends while 0:21:58.685 --> 0:22:01.485 he stays with her for a few days before promising 0:22:01.525 --> 0:22:04.685 to return and take her to his kingdom. But when 0:22:04.725 --> 0:22:08.685 he gets back, he can't sleep. He's preoccupied with thoughts 0:22:08.685 --> 0:22:13.045 of Talia, Sun and Moon. The king has a wife 0:22:13.205 --> 0:22:17.365 who now suspects something isn't right and becomes jealous. She 0:22:17.485 --> 0:22:20.685 threatens a king's secretary into telling her what's going on. 0:22:21.405 --> 0:22:24.485 When he does, the queen orders a secretary to go 0:22:24.565 --> 0:22:27.605 to Talia and ask for Sun and Moon to accompany 0:22:27.725 --> 0:22:31.165 him back to the kingdom because the king wishes to 0:22:31.205 --> 0:22:35.725 see them. With great joy. Talia does as she's told. 0:22:36.605 --> 0:22:39.205 The queen then commands a cook to kill the kids 0:22:39.245 --> 0:22:41.685 and serve them to the king, but the cook is 0:22:41.765 --> 0:22:47.885 tenderhearted and cannot. Instead, he serves two lambs. The Queen's 0:22:48.005 --> 0:22:51.725 rage isn't satisfied, and she bids a secretary to bring 0:22:51.805 --> 0:22:54.925 Talia to her under the guise of the king wanting 0:22:54.965 --> 0:22:58.765 to see her. When Talia arrives, the queen blames her 0:22:58.805 --> 0:23:01.965 for her husband's misdeeds and has a large fire built 0:23:01.965 --> 0:23:06.725 in the courtyard for Talia to be thrown into. Before 0:23:06.885 --> 0:23:09.965 being tossed in the flames, Talia asks if she can 0:23:10.045 --> 0:23:13.405 at least remove her robes, and the greedy queen says yes, 0:23:14.045 --> 0:23:19.085 eyeing the golden pearls from Talia's magnificent gown. As Talia 0:23:19.125 --> 0:23:24.125 removes each piece, she lets out a scream. Talia lets 0:23:24.125 --> 0:23:26.885 out the loudest will as she takes off the last 0:23:26.965 --> 0:23:30.925 piece of clothing. The king arrives as she is about 0:23:30.925 --> 0:23:34.605 to be tossed into the fires. The king, learning of 0:23:34.685 --> 0:23:38.525 his queen's misdeeds, tosses her and the secretary into the fire. 0:23:40.325 --> 0:23:43.165 The cook is spared and rewarded for saving the children. 0:23:44.285 --> 0:23:47.285 The king marries Talia and the family of four enjoy 0:23:47.365 --> 0:23:52.005 their life to the last of their days. The moral 0:23:52.045 --> 0:23:55.205 Basillie wrote at the end of the story says, those 0:23:55.245 --> 0:23:58.845 whom fortune favors find good luck even in their sleep. 0:24:03.925 --> 0:24:06.845 I had such a hard time with this story. It's 0:24:06.925 --> 0:24:10.565 the first time I found myself crying because what happened 0:24:10.565 --> 0:24:14.965 to these women is absolutely heartbreaking. But then you add 0:24:14.965 --> 0:24:20.285 this moral, and what the fuck? This moral is downright andsane. 0:24:21.085 --> 0:24:24.605 Not only is Basilli's version almost worse because a king 0:24:24.725 --> 0:24:30.005 thinks he did nothing wrong, but neither does Talia. If anything, 0:24:30.285 --> 0:24:32.765 the moral at the end of this tale feels like 0:24:32.845 --> 0:24:35.645 it's saying Talia should be thankful a king chose to 0:24:35.725 --> 0:24:40.165 rape her. There is such a different perspective of rape 0:24:40.165 --> 0:24:44.365 between Basilei and the unknown author. Zeladein's story was about 0:24:44.405 --> 0:24:47.005 a goddess trying to save her from a curse, although 0:24:47.125 --> 0:24:49.805 saving someone through the act of rape is just about 0:24:49.805 --> 0:24:53.805 as messed up as you can get. But as I 0:24:53.845 --> 0:24:57.525 said previously, there are elements in the story that shows 0:24:57.645 --> 0:25:02.405 the characters new rape was wrong. But in Talia's story 0:25:02.605 --> 0:25:06.005 there is no remorse or anything to elude to rape 0:25:06.085 --> 0:25:09.805 being considered wrong. Instead, it's used as a way for 0:25:09.845 --> 0:25:13.445 the king to get his happily. Ever, after all of 0:25:13.485 --> 0:25:18.045 it is mind boggling, and not in a good way. 0:25:20.925 --> 0:25:24.845 French author Charles Perrot's story builds off of Bazilli's story, 0:25:25.245 --> 0:25:29.165 but thank goodness, not in the way you think. In 0:25:29.485 --> 0:25:32.885 The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, seven resident fairies of 0:25:32.925 --> 0:25:35.845 a kingdom are invited to celebrate the birth of a princess. 0:25:36.405 --> 0:25:40.285 As the bank would start. Another older fairy arrives. No 0:25:40.285 --> 0:25:42.965 one had invited her because they all thought she was 0:25:43.045 --> 0:25:46.445 dead or bewitched. The king tries to have a place 0:25:46.485 --> 0:25:49.485 set for her, but only seven settings had been made. 0:25:50.165 --> 0:25:53.525 The fairy thinks they slighted her on purpose, so as 0:25:53.525 --> 0:25:57.525 her gift, she curses the princess. She says the girl 0:25:57.565 --> 0:26:00.245 will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die, 0:26:01.445 --> 0:26:05.045 But a younger fairy who hid behind a tapestry comes 0:26:05.085 --> 0:26:08.645 forward changes the curse so that the girl will sleep 0:26:08.685 --> 0:26:11.605