Power In Sleeping Beauty

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History is full of occurrences where people in power have used their influence to negatively impact those with less power. From Kings and Queens throughout the ages, to plantation owners in the nineteenth century, Wealth and power tends to drive people to do horrible things unto others, while not realizing the consequences of their actions until it directly affects their lives. Fictional works are no exception, and often draw parallels to real life. Oliver Twist for example, reflects author Charles Dickens’ view of Great Britain’s treatment of the lower class in the nineteenth century. In Sleeping Beauty, The Grimm Brothers use the noble figures to illustrate the ruthlessness of the bourgeois through their actions towards Aurora. Economic collapse, …show more content…
When the King and Queen in Sleeping Beauty are honored with the birth of their daughter Aurora, they also receive a curse from an evil fairy stating that “she would prick her finger on a spindle and die on her sixteenth birthday”. And although the other fairies cannot renounce the curse entirely, they are able to change the outcome to a “ One hundred year sleep”. Because spindles are the cause of the unfortunate hex, the King decides to have all spindles in his kingdom burned in order to protect his daughter. Due to the removal of this key component of the textile industry, the kingdom falls into economic ruin, and the King is subsequently ousted from power. The King was so obsessed with his only daughter’s safety, that he willingly destroyed one of the country’s profitable industries instead of seeking alternative solutions like isolating Aurora from her possible fate. While the reasoning behind the King's decision to …show more content…
In most cases, the offender is justly prosecuted and sentenced accordingly. Psychologists and criminologists say that it is not about the physical act of committing sexual assault, but more the superiority and power it gives someone, no matter how atrocious it may be. That is why the sexual assault of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty was perpetrated by someone of noble standing. The nobleman is a character who was bestowed with the power that came with marrying someone in high society, but his newfound authority in nobility is not enough for him, and he purposefully takes advantage of Aurora, the mysteriously unconscious woman in the woods. This was not an isolated incident either, as the nobleman intended to “rape Aurora again” only to discover she had given birth. The nobleman faces no legal consequences from his actions, instead being forgiven by Aurora, possibly due to her warped idea of him being her ‘saviour’. There are later ramifications with his marriage, although the story never discloses the fate of the nobleman and noblewoman. This example of the cruel and coldhearted deed committed unto Aurora exemplifies the ideals of marxist theory, specifically those that portray the bourgeois as cruel characters who do not have to face the consequences of their
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