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Author
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Comment
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ananya
Registered User
(6/7/02 11:19:52 am)
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Request for a particular Sleeping Beauty story
Hi,
I've tried registering myself at ezBoard under the name of ananyagupta, but there seems to be techincal error so I will have to stick posting this topic as a guest for now.
I have a very weird question and it all started from a little search I made on google.
When I was in the 5th grade I read a book about the tale: Jack and the BeanStalk. Now the friend at who owned the book moved out to Australia a year later. For quite a while I was living my life on just as it came. Then suddenly out of the blue I had this urge to find out the remaining lines of Fe Fi Fo Fum... which the giant says in the book.
I met my friend from Austrailia in Jan 2002 and that was the first question that popped out to her (she of course thought I was nuts). I never bothered or made the effort to go out and look for the complete verse, but it was always there in the back of my head.
I was very happy and satisfied when she remembered all the four lines of the verse. Then I decided to get online and see if there is more to it than just the 4 lines.
That's when I can up with results from the 'SurLaLuneFairyTales' archives with details on the complete verse and it's variations. During my perusal of the entire topic I came across a lot of interesting versions of common childhood stories I heard.
Now my point is I want to read more about these alternate versions even if possible on the internet in short. The variations are so fascinating. The discussions are also eye-opening to a whole new kind of perpective to these fairytales.
In particular I read the following: IT is pasted from the archive...
Terri
Unregistered
(6/22/00 11:37:56 pm)
The Ogre's Wife
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Hmmm...One thought that comes immediately to mind is the ogre-mother in the longer, older versions of Sleeping Beauty. If you go back to the oldest known European versions, the Italian, the prince is married when he comes across Sleeping Beauty (Talia) in the tower in the woods, but his wife is barren. He has sex with her sleeping body, then goes away and forgets about her. She gives birth to twins, who suckle on her fingers, thereby pulling out the splinter and waking her. He stumbles upon the tower again sometime later, has an "oh yeah!" moment of remembering the sleeping princess, and is delighted to discover that he has children--a boy and a girl. It is this that makes him want to bring Talia home with him, the fact that she is mother to his children, and by the logic of the story we are supposed to cheer him on, and agree that the barren wife needs to be replaced. The jealous wife (who wouldn't be jealous in her place?) then tries to destroy Talia and the children, fails, and is destroyed herself.
Now what's interesting here is that the figure of the jealous wife becomes a jealous mother (ad mother-in-law) in later versions--Perraults, etc.--and a flesh-eating ogress at that.
My current fascination lies above in the story of Sleeping Beauty where she give birth to the twins and then wakes up when they suckle on her finger and in doing so take the splinter out.
Is there some place where I can get the complete vesrsion of the tale?
Please excuse my rashness, I am not as literally well read as many of you seem to be.
Any help will be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
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Helen
Registered User
(6/7/02 11:42:39 am)
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Re: Request for a particular Sleeping Beauty story
Dear Ananya:
The tale that you are referring to was first recorded in 1634 by Giambattista Basile, and is known as "The Sun, the Moon, and Talia." You can find a good translation of it in _The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Strapparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm_ edited by Jack Zipes, on p. 685.
Best,
Helen
Edited by: Helen at: 6/7/02 11:43:14 am
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ananya
Registered User
(6/7/02 8:55:06 pm)
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Thanks!
Thank you so much Helen, for your help!
I think I've just found myself a new hobby. I can't believe I missed
this story in my 23 years. It was fun to read every bit, in fact
the gortesqueness (?) of the story makes it even more enchanting.
Thanks a lot.
Umm... another thing that has come to my mind is, I've noticed this group has waaay more ladies, is it because most of the members are teachers?
Please take no offence, just curious.
Regards,
Ananya
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