Experimental Literature Retelling
the Classic Fairy Tale in a Postmodern World
college conference paper: part one
"Who is she, this peerless beauty, this hidden sleeping figure that has kindled the imaginations of so many generations...?" - P.L. Travers (Travers 60).
The sleeping girl waits patiently behind a twisting wall of thorns and roses. Perfectly beautiful, frozen in time, she dreams of a prince and the breaking of a spell. She dreams of life while suspended in false death. She is the briar rose, the beauty hidden behind secrets. Alone she waits, alone she dreams. Throughout centuries of storytelling, the tale of the girl cursed by sleep has ignited imaginations. "The theme of the sleeper is as old as the memory of man" (Travers 51). Existing in various forms all over the world, she has become one of our most enduring fairy tales. Because of this, in the wake of postmodern theories and experimentation, the story of "Sleeping Beauty" has been retold in many recent adaptations. "Contemporary storytellers are still bewitched by the promise of her creative potential" (Snyder, Endicott Studio). Jane Yolan, Sophie Masson, Robert Coover, and Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum have all woven the story with new threads discussing of the power of rebirth, modern culture, the creative force, adolescence and sexuality, and the meaning of the sleeper in a postmodern world. They mainly accomplish this by using unconventional and experimental styles of writing. Through these adaptations, "Sleeping Beauty" has once again been awoken into new life.
The story of "Sleeping Beauty" has been told around the world in many different forms. Many scholars point as far back as to myths dealing with the changing seasons, of death in winter leading to rebirth in spring, as in the myth of Persephone (Clute 873). A myth involving a sleeping maiden waiting in a castle is also in the Volsunga Saga of Norse mythology (Clute 873). "The idea of the sleeper, of somebody hidden from mortal eye, waiting until the time shall ripen has always been dear to the folkly mind" (Travers 51). However, the most closely related early tale comes from 14th century France in the form of a romance entitled Perseforest. Here, many of the common themes of the story such as the curse which takes effect through a spinning wheel, the deep sleep, and the awakening by a prince all come into play. However, this awakening is not through the chaste kiss normally remembered now, but through a violent rape (Clute 873). It is very likely that this story was the one that was adapted by the Italian writer, Giambattista Basile for his collection of stories, The Pentamerone (Clute 873). His story, entitled "Sun, Moon, and Talia", also involves rape but adds other horrors such as the prince's ogress wife, cannibalism, and murder. The famous French fairy tale author, Charles Perrault most likely adopted the story from Basile's work, changing a few details (such as making the ogress the prince's mother, not his original wife, to make the story somewhat less scandalous in that the prince is at least no longer committing adultery) and in general adding a much more whimsical and standard "fairy tale" like style to the story (Zipes, Brothers 180-181). It is this version that the Grimm brothers picked up to be used in their collection of fairy stories (Clute 873). They, however, took out all of the story's elements that were deemed unsuitable for children, thereby removing all traces of rape, cannibalism, and adultery (Clute 873). Their princess awakes to the prince's simple kiss and the story ends with their wedding. It is this version that most people know today, reinforced by the adaptations of it into both a ballet by Tchaikovsky and an animated film by Disney (Clute 874).
Essentially, the mostly commonly remembered version of the story speaks of the curse of Briar Rose, a princess born to a king and queen who for many years could have no children (Zipes, Oxford 467). In their joy, they mistakenly do not invite one of the 13 fairies of the land to celebrate the birth of their daughter, causing the forgotten fairy to curse the child with death at the age of 15 when she pricks her finger with a spindle (Zipes, Oxford 476). Luckily, one of the invited fairies had not yet given the girl a gift and is therefore able to modify the prophecy so that Briar Rose, along with the rest of the castle, only sleeps for 100 years and will be awoken by the kiss of a prince (Zipes, Oxford 476). Though the kingdom does all that it can to prevent the pricking of her finger, the princess' fate has been determined and she falls asleep as predicted, taking all the residents of the castle with her (Zipes, Oxford 476). A briar thicket grows up around the castle and rumors spread, causing several princes to die caught in the briars as they attempt to rescue the sleeping girl (Zipes, Oxford 476). After 100 years have past, the right prince comes and is able to pass through the briars and kiss sleeping beauty awake as foretold (Zipes, Oxford 476).
Today, "Sleeping Beauty" remains as popular as ever, being constantly told and retold to children all over the world. Its charm only grows and it continues to enchant and inspire. Additionally, many adult adaptations of the story have been written, taking the story to new, previously unimagined depths. Among those, the most interesting experiments involve the mixing of the classic fairy tale with postmodern concerns, such as devastation followed by rebirth, modern culture and thinking, metafiction and the role of the storyteller, and sexual awakening as associated with identity. These themes, all prevalent in postmodern fiction, have been merged with "Sleeping Beauty" in original and unconventional ways, achieving incredibly thought-provoking and fantastic effects. Among these works, include the following titles - Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, Clementine by Sophie Masson, Briar Rose by Robert Coover, and Madeleine is Sleeping by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum. In their own way, each of these novels deals with all of the previously mentioned aspects of postmodernism, but for the purposes of this paper, each will be examined in relation to the theme that they most primarily focus on.
The Promise of Rebirth after Devastation in Yolan's Briar Rose:
Jane Yolan's version of "Sleeping Beauty" places the tale in the context of World War II and the Holocaust. It is a story about the search for one's history and to understand the past. The novel revolves around a girl named Becca, whose grandmother Gemma has just died, leaving behind a treasury of mysteries. After her death, it is revealed how little anyone knew about Becca's grandmother, aside from the fact that she loved the fairy tale of "Sleeping Beauty." Gemma even goes so far as to claim that she is herself the true sleeping beauty, that the story is essentially her story -
The old woman opened her eyes. "I was the princess in the castle in the sleeping woods. And there came a great dark mist and we all fell asleep. But the prince kissed me awake. Only me."
"Yes, Gemma," Becca replied, soothingly.
The old woman struggled against the restraints, trying to sit up. At last she stopped struggling and fell back helplessly. "I was the princess!" she cried again. "In the castle. The prince kissed me."
"Yes, Gemma"
"That castle is yours. It's all I have to leave you. You must find it. The castle in the sleeping woods. Promise me." (Yolan 16).
By unraveling the clues she is given - shown in the book in an innovative style that mixes historical documents with fiction - Becca eventually discovers why Gemma is obsessed with the story. A Polish Jew abandoned for dead in a mass grave after being gassed by Nazis, Gemma was saved by a literal "kiss of life" (Yolan 227).
Then Avenger cried out, "Look! Someone is moving!" [...]
It was a young woman and, even in the quickening dark, Josef could see that her arm was moving sluggishly, that her face had an odd pattern of roses on the cheeks [...] Josef could feel her die in his arms. So he laid her down on the ground and, putting his mouth on hers, the taste of vomit bitter on his lips, he tried to give her breath (Yolan 206-207).
Once awakened, though she could remember nothing about her life before the gassing, she was able to begin her life anew. She escaped to America, where her rebirth could happen in full. It was there that she was able to raise her family, a happily ever after that most in her situation could never have dreamed of. Several other correlations between her life and the story are made clear throughout the novel, such as the images of a concentration camp (which was a former castle) hidden behind a barbed fence. The text alternates between Becca's search and flashbacks to Gemma telling and retelling the story of "Sleeping Beauty" in her own beautiful and haunting way. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to see how, in the way she tells the fairy tale, it has become Gemma's small tribute to those who saved her life - "...and as he did so, giving her breath for breath, she awoke saying "I am alive, my dear prince. You have given me back the world" (Yolan 238).
Yolan draws heavily on ideas of death and rebirth for her adaptation of the story. Using the sleeping castle as a metaphor for the thousands of people murdered during the Holocaust, she tells the story of the one who miraculously got to wake up. Sleeping Beauty is a symbol of hope against eternal death (Zipes, Brothers 153). Through Gemma, and Becca's journey to find the truth of her grandmother's past, Yolan is able to explore themes of hope after complete destruction and what it means to be reborn. "Sleeping Beauty is resurrected. She triumphs over death. As the eternal briar rose, she rises from the dead to love and to fulfill her desires" (Zipes, Brothers 153). These themes are very important in today's world, a place constantly torn by war and violence, and are often explored in postmodern fiction. Piecing together scraps of history and legend, Yolan is able to take a fairy tale and make it absolutely relevant to the modern world.