This is an interesting
question.
In the story of Sleeping
Beauty, the young princess (named Helen) becomes the object of hate by one
fairy who is inadvertently insulted at the banquet to celebrate Helen's birth. The fairy
is malevolent and curses the infant. The last of the good fairies (the twelfth), cannot
break the spell, but can make sure that the princess does not die
of the curse. At the age of fifteen, the curse is enacted, and the princess falls asleep
(as do the people and animals within the castle walls) for one hundred years. During
this time, thorn bushes grow around the castle prohibiting the entrance of any prince
trying to save her. During the last year, another prince approaches. The thorn bushes
open for him, he finds the princess and awakens her with a kiss. They marry and "live
happily ever after."
Jane Eyre, by
Charlotte Brontë, can be considered similar in a few ways. First, Jane (like Sleeping
Beauty) is hated by her Aunt Reed out of pure spite, and the "curse" will eventually
come at her hand. The housekeeper Bessie seems to care for the young orphan, and might
be seen as the twelfth fairy who does her best to soften the curse. Eventually, at Aunt
Reed's hand, the curse falls on Jane when her aunt sends her away to Lowood School for
orphans. Convinced that she is evil, Jane is punished daily by Mr. Brocklehurst, the
school's overseer. Instead of sleeping for one hundred years, Jane is separated from
happiness for a very long time.
Prince Charming might be
seen as Mr. Rochester of Thornwood (ironic that the estate is "Thorn-"wood, whereas the
castle in the fairytale is surrounded by thorns...), however, in his present
circumstances, he cannot save Jane: he is already
married.
The character of St. John Rivers may be seen as
one of the princes who attempts to save Jane (the "princess"), but there is no love
between them and she rejects his marriage proposal. Jane discovers she is related to the
Rivers family, and that they all have inherited money from their Uncle John, which
solves Jane's financial worries, however, she is still "cursed." Then one night she
hears Rochester's voice calling to her on the wind. She returns to Thornwood, and the
curse has been spent: the house has been burned to the ground and Edward's wife is dead.
He now becomes Prince Charming as he is humbled by his circumstances, but still loves
Jane, and she still loves him. They may now start to build their lives
together.
These are the similarities I see between the two
stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment