Comparison Of Briar Rose And Sleeping Beauty

Readers are not given definite descriptions of what Becca looks like, however, it becomes apparent that she and Gemma both have red hair. “Becca touched her own springy red hair and smiled. She and Gemma, the family roses, Daddy called them. Like most redheads, Becca hadn’t had a full head of hair until she was nearly two.” (Yolen 55) Their red hair becomes a symbol of courage throughout the novel. Yolen characterizes Becca and Gemma as strong and brave. For example, when Becca travels to Poland and visits an extermination camp to find out about her grandmother’s past. Or when the readers learn that Gemma survived the extermination camp. Fitting with the title Briar Rose, their red hair is also associated with roses, which usually symbolize beauty.

It can be suggested that love might be confused with lust and infatuation in the Grimm’s tale as the prince and princess do not even know each other’s names yet fall in love instantly. Their love is quite artificial. It can also be suggested that their relationship is mostly based on physical appearance as they have never met before yet get married right away. The princess’s character also has a rather strange reaction to being kissed by an unknown man upon waking up from a deep sleep. “When he touched her with the kiss Little Brier-Rose opened her eyes, awoke, and looked at him kindly.” (Grimm) Although this is a fairytale, the princess’s reaction would not likely be shared with many in real life.

The princess in the Grimm’s tale is dependent on the prince to “save” her. The Grimms let other characters walk all over her. This is demonstrated by the prince who kisses the princess without consent. “He bent over and gave her a kiss. When he touched her with the kiss Little Brier-Rose opened her eyes, awoke, and looked at him kindly.” (Grimm) The princess was in deep sleep when this occurred. The prince’s actions could have an unfortunate effect on a young audience as they might perceive this as acceptable after having read the tale. However, lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence. This speaks to the entitlement issues of the male characters in the Grimm’s tales. It also misplaces emphasis on the importance of beauty in females and tells the female audience that if you are attractive you do not even need to be awake for a man to fall for you.

Moreover, much occurs due to “destiny” or “fate” in the Grimm’s tale which is rather unrealistic in real life. The readers understand that it is the prince’s destiny to save the princess. The authors impose this sense of “destiny” in order to comfort the reader. In reality, it would be very coincidental that on the exact day the prince decides to go to the castle, the princess has been sleeping for exactly 100 years and was due to awaken. “The hundred years had just passed, and the day had come when Little Brier-Rose was to awaken. When the prince approached the thorn hedge, it was nothing but large, beautiful flowers that separated by themselves, allowing him to pass through without harm, but then behind him closed back into a hedge.” (Grimm)

Becca’s love interest Stan is 13 years older than her and her boss. These are important details in the story as it might strike the reader as quite scandalous. Yolen uses direct characterization to portray Becca as nervous when around Stan. “Being around Stan always made her do things like that: fix her hair, smooth down her skirt, tug the sweater over her jeans.” (Yolen 68) It is unclear to the reader how Stan feels about Becca until the end when he picks her up at the airport and they kiss. “…He gave her a long and very satisfactory kiss.” (Yolen 259). Their relationship is portrayed as more realistic in comparison to the prince and princesses. This characterizes Becca as reasonable in comparison to the princess since she does not marry someone she just met. Stan and Becca’s relationship is developed throughout the novel and in the end, they finally kiss. The prince and princesses relationship starts with a kiss and then they end up getting married after just meeting for the first time. This leaves the audience with an unrealistic and somewhat romanticized depiction of love and relationships.