Not his wedding anniversary, please note. His wedding. For the prince, wearying of the strong and beautiful woman he was wed to, had chosen a new bride, a beauty he had found comatose in a ruined tower. The prince might have resisted such a temptation, but, to be honest, he did not wish to. And so he used her savagely and left the tower, sated. The girl knew nothing until she gave birth to twins and one of the twins, seeking food, sucked an accursed splinter from her mother's finger, breaking the curse of eternal sleep that had been cast on both girl and kingdom
( ... )
A Dance in Iron Shoes. That's a strange story--basically, what happened after Snow White's happily ever after.
When I was younger, I used to think that there were an awful lot of Prince Charmings in fairy tales; I decided that the Charmings were a huge royal family with more boys than they knew what to do with. Here, it's darker. Snow White's prince--who's already been established as a sadist and a necrophiliac--is conflated with the rapist-king from an older version of the tale of Sleeping Beauty called "Sun, Moon and Talia." Here's the pertinent part:
After a time, it happened by chance that a king was out hunting and passed that way. One of his falcons escaped from his hand and flew into the house by way of one of the windows. It did not come when called, so the king had one of his party knock at the door, believing the palace to be inhabited. Although he knocked for a length of time, nobody answered, so the king had them bring a vintner's ladder, for he himself would climb up and search the house, to discover what was inside.
( ... )
Word on the Prince Charmings thing. They actually ran with that in the comic series, "Fables". In it, Prince Charming was one character, but he was a serious womanizer and married and divorced Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. Cindy points out that he likely hoped to give up his philandering when he married Snow (he ends up having an affair with her sister, Rose Red) and that he probably figured he could sort himself out when he married Beauty, but by the time he got to Wife #3, he almost certainly knew he couldn't break the habit and married her anyway.
Ah yes, Sun, Moon, and Talia. That charming story. I think the only adaptation that wasn't squicky was "A Kiss in Time", and that's because the guy still kissed her instead of raping her (she was given the name Talia, as a nod to that particular version).
I really like your interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. It makes perfect sense for the situation she's been thrown into.
It's significant that the princess helps the beauty, because it would be very easy to see the two as rivals. But they aren't. They're both in the same horrible situation. The princess has been preparing to escape for seven years--but she won't leave someone else in the same position, and she won't let the beauty's children become hostages to be used against their mother. She speaks bluntly, but that's only because she wants the beauty--who is as young and as resolutely optimistic as she was when she wed the prince--to know just how bad things are
( ... )
I love the names for Snow White and Beauty. "Rosalba" is especially fitting!
The fact that the prince has so many names - intriguing! Did you come up with any more names, by any chance?
Also, I get the feeling that your Prince Charming is also the one from the tale of the Many Furred Creature. He seems like the sort to find it amusing to bring a poor, homeless girl to his castle and torment her for amusement. And while she wouldn't appeal to his necrophiliac tastes, he would seem to enjoy beating her, banking on the fact that she's desperate to stay way from her incestuous father. (Or am I reading too much into him? ^^; Sorry!)
You should consider writing more to this! I personally would love to see a full story about Bianca and Rosalba and whatever other allies they find joining up to fight the prince.
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When I was younger, I used to think that there were an awful lot of Prince Charmings in fairy tales; I decided that the Charmings were a huge royal family with more boys than they knew what to do with. Here, it's darker. Snow White's prince--who's already been established as a sadist and a necrophiliac--is conflated with the rapist-king from an older version of the tale of Sleeping Beauty called "Sun, Moon and Talia." Here's the pertinent part:
After a time, it happened by chance that a king was out hunting and passed that way. One of his falcons escaped from his hand and flew into the house by way of one of the windows. It did not come when called, so the king had one of his party knock at the door, believing the palace to be inhabited. Although he knocked for a length of time, nobody answered, so the king had them bring a vintner's ladder, for he himself would climb up and search the house, to discover what was inside. ( ... )
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Ah yes, Sun, Moon, and Talia. That charming story. I think the only adaptation that wasn't squicky was "A Kiss in Time", and that's because the guy still kissed her instead of raping her (she was given the name Talia, as a nod to that particular version).
I really like your interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. It makes perfect sense for the situation she's been thrown into.
Reply
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The fact that the prince has so many names - intriguing! Did you come up with any more names, by any chance?
Also, I get the feeling that your Prince Charming is also the one from the tale of the Many Furred Creature. He seems like the sort to find it amusing to bring a poor, homeless girl to his castle and torment her for amusement. And while she wouldn't appeal to his necrophiliac tastes, he would seem to enjoy beating her, banking on the fact that she's desperate to stay way from her incestuous father. (Or am I reading too much into him? ^^; Sorry!)
You should consider writing more to this! I personally would love to see a full story about Bianca and Rosalba and whatever other allies they find joining up to fight the prince.
Reply
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