Sleeping Beauty
The story of Sleeping Beauty is a perfect representation of values in a patriarchy society. The female protagonist, the Sleeping Princess, is always portraited as a vulnerable and innocent figure. The princess can't even stand with a wound poked by a spindle. At the same time, the prince is depicted as brave who is strong enough to conquer magic made by a fairy or to fight a dragon.
In the first version, Talia, Sun, and Moon, Talia the Princess is almost an object who is passively accept everything happened on her. In the encounter with the prince, Talia was raped, and her children were threatened and “eaten” by the queen. On the other hand, the queen, a symbol of matriarchy, is described as a mean and jealous cannibal, while the king is justified as righteous and courageous even though he “raped” Talia. This stigmatization of matriarchy is even more obvious in second version: the queen is even created as an ogress, an ugly and hideous man-eater. Besides, in both stories, there is a cook who is generous enough to protect children and deceive the matriarch. Since the cook are male in both stories, they will present the kindness and generosity among males. However, in the third story, the whole plot about the cannibal queen is removed, which is a sign of the rise and recognition of females.
Although women’s status and personalities are emphasized through the development of stories, these stories implicitly convey information that the female is not as strong and reliable as male.
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