One of my favorite things in Sleeping Beauty is a very small detail. I love that when Aurora (or at this point Briar Rose) is dancing and singing in the woods, and meets Phillip, she is barefoot! I personally love being barefoot, both indoors and outdoors. I even went barefoot for the entirety of my wedding reception!
In Tangled Rapunzel also is barefoot for the entirety of the film! The subsequent Disney Channel series (that continued the Tangled story) also featured a barefoot Princess Rapunzel. The fun of watching a barefoot princess go on her adventure is one that I throughly delight in!
Both Aurora and Rapunzel seem to really prefer being able to feel the earth beneath their feet. For as feminine as they both are, Aurora especially, they definitely are not obsessed with shoes! There is something so freeing about not having to wear shoes. No worrying over whether or not your shoes will pinch or need to be broken in, and no concern that you may get a blister from your shoe!
The elegance of the forest sequence of Sleeping Beauty is so lovely to behold. My husband once told me, the first time he watched the film with me, that he thought that scene was my version of heaven! I indeed would love nothing more than to sing and dance with animals in the woods, especially if like Aurora my true love was there with me! The utter romance of the first meeting between Aurora and Phillip makes me melt a little. I adore that they sing and dance together, and you can see the chemistry.
I know that many people think Aurora has less personality (or is more submissive) because she does not participate in the main action. Personally I believe that this movie is gorgeous, and Aurora does have a personality. She actively fights being forced into marriage, although she does resign herself to going to the castle. I fully believe had she not been cursed she would have told her father that she wanted to marry the man she met in the woods, just as Phillip had told his! Aurora is also kind and has a way with animals, as well as a talent for music!
Rapunzel being a modern Disney princess is much more obviously part of the action of her story. Again, she can be because she does not have to be put under a sleep curse!
Both of these amazing princesses are ones that I adore! Aurora has been a favorite since my childhood, and I believe that is the first time I decided I had to get married in the woods. Rapunzel is one story that I loved in childhood, but the Disney one is new. Both are in my top favorite fairytales, a list that changes a little in order (but the tales never change). My favorite fairytales are Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. Currently they are in that order (and Sleeping Beauty more often than not tops the list)!
I am really happy to be able to see the freedom these princesses show in the small rebellion of going barefoot! It may be small, but it is still a rebellion against the norm, and one that I enjoy myself! I would much rather be barefoot in nature (like at music festivals and camping) than have a giant collection of shoes (like Carrie Bradshaw)!
I hope you have enjoyed this rumination on barefoot fairytale characters! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Aurora and Phillip dancing in the woods. I found the image on jigsawuk.co.uk.
Further Watching
- Sleeping Beauty (1959)
- Tangled (2010)
White Rose of Avalon 