The Sun Moon And Talia Analysis

Although Walt Disney’s, “Sleeping Beauty” is considered by many to depict a sexist portrayal of its female characters, the fairy tale it was based off of, Giambattista Basile’s, “The Sun, Moon, and Talia” delved much deeper into misogynistic representations of women. Disney’s modification and development of the story, although still lacking in portraying an accurate image of femininity, gives us a more appropriate and considerate perspective than the original.

Sleeping beauty’s lack of capability to do anything for herself is a prominent similarity found in both stories. The two stories share the same basic tale of a passive princess who must be saved by her prince from an evil female villain. The passive girl relies on the help of a man, and throughout the

majority of the story is asleep or quiet. In both tales ‘sleeping beauty’ wins her man through being incapable and silent. This gives viewers a problematic image of femininity to look up to; implying that docile, helpless woman are more attractive. This narrow, cliched idea of a woman robs our female ‘protagonist’ of any power or responsibility. Having her completely dependent on a man and valued by the prince solely for her beauty and lack of ability gives viewers and readers the wrong idea of the values a woman should truly represent.
Although both tales involve a princess and an evil queen, a major difference in Bastile’s tale is that the female representation ends with these two characters.

Not only does this setup pit women against each other, but also leaves the reader with an unsatisfying and stereotypical view of women. The women in this story are put into the limiting categories of a passive and silent object of desire, or a wicked and jealous monster. This gives the reader two negative and narrow ideas on what a woman can be. In contrast, Disney’s take on the story adds a few more female roles that help illustrate a more wholesome view on femininity. The three fairy Godmothers in Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” although a bit quirky and ditsy, represent a new type of female character. The fairies were the true protagonists, and without their power and help, the princess could not have been saved. They embodied a more powerful and positive portrayal of women. Their role in the story gives girls something more to admire and look up to than beauty and passiveness; but intelligence, capability, kindness, responsibility, and even sense of humor. Their role also encourages women working together, instead of battling against each

other.
To conclude, sexism and poor representation of women are evident in both versions of “Sleeping Beauty”. However, Disney’s remake cultivates a more modern, tolerable, and whole depiction of women; whereas Bastille’s original version degrades and limits its females to stereotypical character types.