As a young girl the tale of Sleeping Beauty was my favorite story. I re-enacted scenes countless times, dressed as a princess, dreamed for prince charming to awake me and even contemplated changing my name to Aurora. When reminiscing I realized that the story of Sleeping Beauty is in fact rich with archetypes and elements of a heroic journey.
To summarize the tale of Sleeping Beauty:
The King and his wife gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Princess Aurora, to celebrate her birth they hosted a grand party where Maleficent the evil sorceress was not invited. The three Good Fairies, Flora, and Fauna bestowed the gifts of beauty and song. However, before Merryweather could bestow her gift, Maleficent arrived and cast a spell, promising that when Aurora turns 16, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and die. Merryweather used her 'gift' to possibly reduce the power off Maleficent's spell. Through Merryweathers ‘gift,' Aurora will not die, but only lay in sleep, until kissed by her true love.
In order to hide Princess Aurora from Maleficent, the three fairies assumed fake identities as peasant women; the fairies hide their magic and change their appearances, appearing as peasant women. The three persuaded the King and Queen that they would hide Aurora until she turned 16 they took her to an abandoned woodcutter's cottage.
As Aurora's 16th birthday approached, the people of the Kingdom rejoiced. Princess Aurora had grown into a beautiful young woman and been betrothed to Prince Philip. Prince Phillip met Aurora in the forest by happenstance, they danced and immediately fall in love. Although neither Aurora nor Phillip knows that they are set to marry. Maleficent finds Aurora’s whereabouts via her raven Diablo. The fairies and Aurora head to the castle where Aurora is to be reunited with her family. Unfortunately Maleficent opens a secret passage in the castle room, and Aurora, under a trance, follows a floating green orb through the passageway. When the three fairies enter the room, they find Aurora following the green light. Aurora pricked her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel, and dropped to the floor in a deep sleep, only Prince Philip has the power to awaken her.
As Aurora's 16th birthday approached, the people of the Kingdom rejoiced. Princess Aurora had grown into a beautiful young woman and been betrothed to Prince Philip. Prince Phillip met Aurora in the forest by happenstance, they danced and immediately fall in love. Although neither Aurora nor Phillip knows that they are set to marry. Maleficent finds Aurora’s whereabouts via her raven Diablo. The fairies and Aurora head to the castle where Aurora is to be reunited with her family. Unfortunately Maleficent opens a secret passage in the castle room, and Aurora, under a trance, follows a floating green orb through the passageway. When the three fairies enter the room, they find Aurora following the green light. Aurora pricked her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel, and dropped to the floor in a deep sleep, only Prince Philip has the power to awaken her.
Outside in the castle courtyard, the kingdom prepares to welcome the Princess home. However, in a tower room, the three fairies placed the sleeping Aurora on a bed. Flora put the entire Kingdom to sleep to spare them from disappointment. Hoping to find Prince Philip to awaken Aurora, the fairies set off through the forest, only to find that Maleficent has captured Philip. Then Flora, Fauna and Merryweather sneak into Maleficent’s castle where they find Philip imprisoned. The fairies rescue Philip and arm him with the 'Shield of Virtue,' and the 'Sword of Truth.' With his new weapons, and the fairies' help, Phillip rides toward King Stephen's castle.
Maleficent attempts to murder Prince Phillip with lightning bolts, but the 'Shield of Virtue' deflects them. Before he can reach the castle, her magic creates a forest of thorns that surrounds the structure. Phillip survives and cuts his way through a wall of thorns with the 'Sword of Truth.' Maleficent transforms herself into a dragon which Philip slays.
With evil vanquished, Phillip rushes to Aurora's bedside and with his kiss awakens her and the entire kingdom. The two then share a dance as their parents and the three fairies watch them marry and live happily ever after.
The classic tale of Sleeping Beauty encompasses numerous archetypes and elements of the hero’s journey.
Prince Phillip is the prince charming (or lover) hero in the tale of Sleeping Beauty. He endures the evil Maleficent’s challenges with the motivation to reach his true love and the damsel in distress, Princess Aurora.
The archetypal journey the hero of Sleeping Beauty, Prince Philip, embarks on is a search for love. In order to live happily ever after with his true love Princess Aurora, he must first save her from the deep sleep.
Stages of the hero’s journey
Departure
Prince Phillip is called to adventure when he learns of the spell that has been cast on Princess Aurora. He eagerly accepts the adventure as Phillip is determined to save Princess Aurora from the deep sleep.
Initiation
The naïve Prince Philip crosses a bridge in to a new mature world when he falls in love with Aurora. His over whelming love for Aurora leads him into danger.
Road of Trials/ Innermost Cave
The antagonist, Maleficent tests Prince Philip’s strength and determination. Maleficent does this by hurling dangerous lightning bolts at him, which the ‘Shield of Virtue’ (given supernatural powers by the good fairies) the shield deflects the powerful strikes of evil. When Philip survives the wrath of lightning Maleficent uses her wicked powers to conjure up a wall of thorns. But alas the ‘Sword of Truth’ slices through the dangerous thorns. Finally Maleficent transforms herself into a menacing dragon which Philip defeats with aid from the sword of virtue. At the end of the battle Philip triumphs and Maleficent is killed. Philip demonstrated his maturity and strength, thus adding to his redeeming qualities as prince charming.
Return and Reintegration with Society
With evil vanquished as Maleficent is slain, the Kingdom receives the ideal fairy tale future of living happily ever after…
Heroic Characteristics of Prince Philips Journey
-Prince Philip is incredibly naïve as he has never experienced the harsh reality of life. His naivety lessens as he fights against the evil and monstrous Maleficent. As Philip is sacrificing his life he yearns to be with his true love Aurora. Subsequently her astonishing beauty inspires Philip to put forth all effort in his fight against Maleficent. Prince Philip is battling against evil to awaken Aurora and an entire kingdom. With the help from the three fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, Philip is able to defeat evil.
Situational Archetypes
-The battle between good and evil is a dominate component of the fairy tale. The protagonist and hero, Philip battles against Maleficent with aims to vanquish all evil. The task that had been bestowed upon Prince Philip was nearly impossible, subsequently he received help from three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. They presented Philip with the magical ‘Sword of Truth’ and ‘Shield of Virtue’. The weapons were blessed to never break and assist Philip to slay the uttermost evil.
Meaning of Names
Individual’s names bear great significant to their identity. For example, in a fairy tale a character with a menacing name is portrayed as an evil character who immediately demonstrates negative qualities. A character with a kind and gentle name or a bold and confident name will live up to their name. In the tale of sleeping beauty this is evident.
Maleficent: Producing of evil or wickedness. Maleficent created misery and toil, with her wicked powers.
Diablo (Maleficent’s raven): Diablo is the name of the devil. The raven is filled with evil and is, subsequently, devil like.
Aurora: Sunrise or dawn. Aurora’s awakening leads to a new dawn of a kingdom. Furthermore dawn and sunrise have positive connotations’, and foreshadow that Aurora will instigate a positive change.
Phillip: Warrior and lover of horses. Phillip is a strong and determined warrior to fight against the evil of Maleficent. The horse, Samson, is a dear companion to Philip.
Flora: Flowering. Flora, the good fairy cloaked in red, is bursting with magic. The name Flora bares a positive connotation to fertility and wealth.
Fauna: Goddess of fertility. Fauna, a good fairy cloaked in green bears good judgment and has the power to produce positive magic. The name Fauna bares a positive connotation to prosperity and justice.
Merryweather: Sunny, happy and filled with good intentions. Merryweather, the third good fairy dons a blue cloak, she is filled with optimism and joy. The name Merryweather bares a positive connotation to a bright future.
It is fascinating to see the abundance of archetypes and plot of a hero’s journey in simple fairy tales. Sleeping Beauty has been my favorite tale for as long as I can remember, although I never saw many of the archetypes through my naivety. For years I lived with the archetypes floating in my dreams. I had planned a future life for myself where I would be a princess and awoken by prince charming daily. I dreamed that like Princess Aurora I would wear intricate dresses, I dreamed that my home would be a castle and no evil would be present in the world. The tale of Sleeping Beauty resulted in me setting impossible standards for my life. I was devastated when I realized I was living a fantasy. At least I realized this when I was young…
Do you think young children understand these archetypes? In what way do fairy tales influence an individual’s identity?
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