Sun Moon And Talia Violence

In many children’s stories, especially fairy tales, there are many instances in which violence is incorporated. Sun, Moon and Talia, a version of Sleeping Beauty written by Giambattista Basile, there are many instances in which violence is portrayed. The story begins when a daughter, Talia, is born to a great lord who has long awaited children. He summons wise men and astrologers to predict her future. They informed the king that the girl would be in great danger from a splinter of flax. They are proven right when the splinter lodged in her finger causes her to fall into an endless sleep. She only awakens when one of her children sucks the splinter from her finger. Though there are several instances in which violence is shown, it does not enhance

the story.
The fairy tale contains violence in the form of the queen’s anger.

She is understandably upset that her husband had children with another woman but she takes her anger too far. She sends a secretary of the king to Talia asking for her to send the children back to the kingdom with him. When she complies the queen orders the cook to kill the children and make them into different dishes to be fed to the king. This is taking the need for vengeance a little too far. These children are still babies and they had no part in the misdeeds that hurt the queen. The queen should have felt some hesitation about killing young children and there were many different ways in which to punish her husband without taking innocent lives. Also, after this she orders Talia to come to the palace. When the woman arrives, the queen orders the secretary to build a fire into which she can be thrown. This is also unnecessary because Talia had no choice in the misdeed that was committed by the king. The queen should have confronted her husband and unearthed the full story before planning the murder of three people. Another act of violence occurs when the king stumbles upon the queen and the secretary just as they are about to throw Talia into the fire. He prevents the murder of Talia but as a punishment for their evil deeds has the queen and the secretary thrown into the fire instead. This is an opportunity in which the king could have shown mercy because none of the crimes were actually fully carried out but he also seeks revenge instead of looking for a more peaceful

solution.
The violence didn’t enhance the fairy tale because they were unnecessary. There were less cruel ways in which the same message could have been conveyed. The queen could have found a different way in which to punish her husband for his wrong doings and she should have at least attempted to learn the full story before attempting to kill innocents. Also, the king could have had some mercy on the queen and the secretary by simply having them thrown in jail as opposed to making them burn alive in a fire. Overall, I think that the violence in this fairy tale was unnecessary and could have been excluded.