What if the fairy tales you grew up with had a much darker origin?
Join us in this episode of Tales of Bedlam as we unravel the chilling 1636 version of Sleeping Beauty, known as “Sun, Moon, and Talia,” by Giambattista Basile.
Brace yourself through a twisted narrative filled with prophecy, abandonment, and unsettling actions. Andrea and I dive deep into this eerie story, sharing Talia’s fate after pricking her finger on a splinter of flax and the following haunting consequences.
This story is not for the faint of heart. I am warning you that there are themes of non-consensual sex and cannibalism as we bring this ancient tale to light.
Throughout the episode, we debate the moral complexities surrounding the characters, mainly focusing on the king’s controversial actions.
Should he be forgiven?
Stick around for a sneak peek of our next episode, where we’ll present a more optimistic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, giving you a taste of both the shadows and the light in these timeless tales.
𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 – this 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫y 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞s 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐱 and cannibalism.
We have updated the story using modern language and sentence structure. Our goal was to retain the essence of the original tale while making it easier for listeners to understand. Here is an example.
First, an excerpt from the late 1600’s “Sleeping Beauty In The Wood” by Charles Perrault:
The Prince was at a stand, not knowing what to believe, when a very good countryman spake to him thus:
“May it please your royal highness, it is now about fifty years since I heard from my father, who heard my grandfather say, that there was then in this castle a princess, the most beautiful was ever seen; that she must sleep there a hundred years, and should be waked by a king’s son, for whom she was reserved.”
Run-on sentences with words not used in hundreds of years can be confusing. Now, our updated version.
The Prince was at a loss, not knowing what to believe, when a countryman told him this story:
“May it please, my Prince, I heard from my father, who heard my grandfather say that there was in this castle a princess, the most beautiful that ever was seen; she must sleep there a hundred years and would be woken by a prince someday.”
That clears things up and makes the episode enjoyable.
