The Sleeping Beauty
a showman's tale
a showman's tale
By Claire Massey
Roll up, roll up, ladies and
gentlemen, I offer you a once
upon a lifetime chance to take
a peek at the breath-
taking, breathing,
sleeping
gentlemen, I offer you a once
upon a lifetime chance to take
a peek at the breath-
taking, breathing,
sleeping
beauty. She is beautiful
arm over head, pale cheeks;
lying there in her fancy
dress, balanced on rickety
crates draped with velvet,
exposed so they can
arm over head, pale cheeks;
lying there in her fancy
dress, balanced on rickety
crates draped with velvet,
exposed so they can
marvel at her bewitching
beauty, wonder at her
ageless appearance, 99 years
and a day asleep today.
You’ve heard the story,
now come and see a real
beauty, wonder at her
ageless appearance, 99 years
and a day asleep today.
You’ve heard the story,
now come and see a real
princess. There’s tough
competition; dancing fleas,
severed heads, a giant
bearded lady called Miss
Terry. But the gents
always come for a
competition; dancing fleas,
severed heads, a giant
bearded lady called Miss
Terry. But the gents
always come for a
look at her rising
breast, she’s breathing
just like you or me,
waiting for the kiss
that will set her free from
her enchanted
breast, she’s breathing
just like you or me,
waiting for the kiss
that will set her free from
her enchanted
dreams. I pack her in rags,
load her in and out of the cart,
oil and wind the clockwork parts
where her heart should be
and sometimes
as the movement winds down
load her in and out of the cart,
oil and wind the clockwork parts
where her heart should be
and sometimes
as the movement winds down
I swear I see her eyelids flutter.
Claire Notes: Sleeping Beauty is the name of a wax model which was made in 1763 but which can still be found in Madame Tussaud’s in London. Probably the earliest surviving example of animatronics, she is thought to be "a breathing likeness of Louis XV’s sleeping mistress Madame du Barry."
Madame Tussaud toured Britain with her exhibits in travelling fairs before founding a permanent collection in London. I first read about this Sleeping Beauty in Marina Warner’s excellent book Phantasmagoria (2006, Oxford University Press).
Editor's Note: The illustration is of the actual du Barry, as painted by Le Brun, in the late 18th century.
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7 comments:
Wow - I adore this piece! Really wonderful writing Claire! You're one talented lady and have certainly set the bar high. I've just read this for the third time and I keep thinking about it. Awesome. Thank you for writing. Please keep doing so. :)
Ms Massey -
I just wanted to tell you, this was the highlight of the magazine for me! Sleeping Beauty has, underneath it all, a certain tawdryness to it, the sort of tawdry that a 'respectable prince' can delve into. The whole idea that the princess an be limited into one single feature - her beauty, nothing else - sort of begs the question - why bother waking up? Of course, that is touched on in some of the other stories too - Ms Marlowe's 'Happily Ever After' particularly (and I really enjoyed that one as well). Your poem does a beautiful job of showing the cross of gallantry and stalkery creepishness that is wrapped up in the male response to it (in side the story, not necessarily in the real world). Thanks!
Thank you for the lovely comments :-)
Enjoyed the vivid imagery here. Great job/
Beautiful!
This is a very nice piece of work. I really enjoyed the way sleeping beauty is made to be a circus attraction. It is very creepy the way sleeping beauty is in a display case for the public to see. Its very odd that we see woman as object of such beauty that we chose to display them as if the were dead. Sleeping beauty is very similar to versions of snow white. Excuse me if I confuse the tales but I believe in the original Snow White she awakes in labor pain rather than from a kiss. This leads us to believe that the prince was passing around more that kisses. This is very similar to the situation that sleeping beauty could find herself in. I really enjoy how you point out that the men are especially attracted to her raising beasts with every breath. She to could wake up in extreme pain. Anyway, Great writing I really enjoyed the piece. JamesB
It is so interesting that the writer of this poem included the circus theme to the viewing of the story of “Sleeping Beauty”. Many people are unaware that the idea for beauty contests came from Mr. Barnum, of Barnum and Bailey’s circus as a side show act. The most interesting piece of this puzzle came when Mr. Barnum wanted to put together the first beauty contest, only he could not get a respectable woman to participate in the event. Of course that was then and here we are now, decades later. Today, women will fight, claw, and constrain other women any way they know how. All of this madness for a simple crown that really signifies nothing of real importance. If women of virtue refused to participate in such a degrading event, why do so many women engage in an activate that puts other women in a classification lower than another participant? Let us be about building women up and making the most out of their lives, not a life of competing over how they look.
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