Jealousy In Charles Perrault's The Sleeping Beauty In The Woods

Women in fairytales are often pinned against each other with issues involving jealousy. William Penn once said, “The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.” It can be said that he means to say people who are jealous of others may give others a hard time, but in the end, their feelings of jealousy will be their ultimate downfall. Charles Perrault’s The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods has a few great examples of jealousy in a fairytale. The story begins with the christening of a beautiful baby Princess. At the christening celebration, seven fairies from the kingdom are invited to bestow various gifts upon the Princess so that she may grow up to be a beautiful girl both inside and out. However, there is an eighth fairy who shows up uninvited. This eighth fairy is the …show more content…
The entire story is driven by an evil Queen, who’s sole wish is to be the “fairest of them all.” (Griffith and Frey). Each time the Queen is questioning her status, she asks a magic looking-glass (mirror) which always reassures her that she is the most beautiful in the land. However, a young princess named Snow-White was growing up and becoming more beautiful each day, and one day she surpassed the Queen in beauty. This is what triggers the Queen’s jealousy of Snow-White. The Queen may be beautiful, but Snow-White is more beautiful and younger than her. The Queen then commands that Snow-White be put to death, and each time she attempts to kill Snow-White, the princess is revived. The story ends with the Queen being discovered and punished for her actions, ordered to dance in “red-hot iron shoes until she fell down dead.” (Griffith and Frey). Once again, the Queen’s jealousy becomes the catalyst for her ultimate downfall. The Queen only attempted to kill Snow-White due to the fact that she longed to be as young, admired, and beautiful as Snow-White, causing her punishment and eventual