"The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" by Charles Perrault describes the story of a princess that is awoken by a prince after a hundred years of enchanted sleep only to be terrorized by her stepmother, who wants to kill her and her children. This story is a typical fairytale, where hardships are suffered through, and the prince eventually comes to the rescue. Margaret Atwood's "There Was Once" depicts a scene where a story is being told to a critic of a listener who wont accept any of the cliches. The listener constantly interrupts the story, creating tension with the storyteller, and eventually altering the story so drastically that it is not even recognizable as a fairy tale.  Charles Perrault's short story shows the outdated view of fairytales, while "There Was Once" takes a modernized approach to fairytales. Understanding the key differences in the portrayal of women in these stories emphasizes the effect that the women's suffrage movement had on society. By examining these different methods of storytelling, it is clear that both stories contain an underlying insight into opposing views on feminism.

"The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood", through its old-fashioned storytelling methods, provides insight into the views on women's roles, before the feminist movement.  Early on, the paternalistic style becomes evident when the old fairy curses the princess to die of a spindle wound. The solution, instead of telling the princess to avoid spindles, is to have another fairy allow the presence of a prince to be the cure. "[The princess] shall only fall into a profound sleep... at the expiration of which a king's son shall come and awake her" (Perrault, 297). This implies that a woman is not capable of protecting herself even from a spindle, and therefore, must be rescued by a man. Even once the princess becomes a queen, she is still portrayed as a helpless girl. Once she realizes that the queen is attempting to murder her, she says to the hit man, "Do it; do it... Execute your orders" (302). Despite having all the power that comes with being a queen, she still fails to stick up for herself. Throughout the story, the princess assumes the damsel in distress role as she waits for her king to ride up on his horse and save her. This is representative of the traditional stay at home mom role, as their job is to wait at home with the kids until the father comes home with the money.

"There Was Once" provides an interesting perspective into the dynamics of a modern day fairytale, and how that relates to the modern day real world. The story begins like a common fairy tale; "There was once a poor girl, as beautiful as she was good, who lived with her wicked step mother in a house in the forest" (Atwood, 305). Throughout Margaret Atwood's short story, the storyteller is barely able to get a sentence out without the listener challenging all the common cliches of a fairytale. The listener challenges the story so thoroughly that towards the conclusion of "There was Once" the new version barely resembles the original story. By the end, the fairytale is told like, "There was once a girl, as average-looking as she was well-adjusted, who lived with her stepmother, who was not a very open and loving person because she herself had been abused in childhood" (306). The listener pushes to shift the story away from, "Dominant culture this, dominant culture that" (305). In doing this, the listener challenges the fairy tale norms. This is similar to the shift in society that began when women began to question their traditional roles in society. The story ends up completely different than how it began because of the listener's unwillingness to bend to normal style of fairy telling. Similarly, the feminist movement was created by women who refused to acknowledge conventional views on women's roles, and instead carve out a new future.

Comparing "There Was Once" and "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" reveals the effect that the women's suffrage movement had on present day society. Perrault, who lived during the 1700's, provides the archaic portrayal of the functions that women served in society during that time. "Women were expected to be primarily responsible for housework and childcare" (Emsley, Hitchcock, and Shoemaker). At this time, women were treated as complimentary pieces to men, whose job it was to bear children and look after the housework. In order to change this view, women would first have to begin to question their limited responsibilities. "Women, it was argued, should no longer be defined as "the sex", simply as receptacles for male sexual activity" (Emsley, Hitchcock, and Shoemaker). It wasn't until the early twentieth century that this began to happen in what is known as the feminist movement. The feminist movement featured women voicing their unhappiness with society, and eventually led to the suffrage movement, where women demanded the right to vote. "Initially, women reformers addressed social and institutional barriers that limited women's rights; including family responsibilities, a lack of educational and economic opportunities, and the absence of a voice in political debates" (History, Art & Archives). It was only once women began to question their opportunities in life, that change began to take form. Soon, "The determination of these women to expand their sphere of activities further outside the home helped legitimate the suffrage movement" (History, Art & Archives). The effect of this time period can clearly be seen in Margaret Atwood's writing style, who grew up right in the middle of these movements. "There Was Once" provides an outline for what happened in the suffrage movement, as the listener's questioning of the fairy tale started off small and gradually escalated to effect real change. Atwood and Perrault's short stories provide a sense of the history and importance of the suffrage movement on today's society

Through there approach to fairy tale stories, "There Was Once" and "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" both provide insight into the various roles woman have taken on throughout history. Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty portrays the outdated role of a woman, which is to look attractive and take care of the children. In contrast, Atwood explores the more recent role of a woman, which is to question and affect change. Comparing these two short stories reveals how the feminist movement came to prominence, and how much the role of the woman has changed. Both stories effectively use a fairytale model to get the point across, and reveal the effect that the feminist movement had on the world. 
