Differences in Meaning Between the Grimms’ and Perrault’s Versions of Sleeping Beauty

Abstract

While many people are more familiar with Perrault’s versions of popular fairy tales through Disney adaptations and see the Grimms’ versions as macabre, it is the opposite with tale type 410, Sleeping Beauty. The two versions share many similarities—at least initially—but whereas the Grimms’ version ends with a happy marriage, Perrault’s continues to include another plot line that could easily be
described in modern terms as a horror story. Both Perrault’s and the Grimms’ versions of Sleeping Beauty are very cathartic for the audience through their true depictions of the continual cycles of loss and gain on sensitive topics, and they have similar underlying messages about how people should live, especially regarding class and gender. However, because Perrault is careful to emphasize any moral lessons which he sees in the story and includes the ogre queen-mother plot line, his story acts also as a warning about choosing a spouse carefully and not hastily rushing into a marriage with youthful enthusiasm. Grimms’ version contains no such moral. First, I will compare each tale’s plot and motifs to familiarize the reader with each tale and to see how each tale’s meaning differs. Next, I will search for aspects of each that are cathartic for the audience and prescriptive, teaching morals and appropriate behavior.