"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 mother-in-law, who wants to kill and devour her and her children. This story is a typical fairytale, where hardships are endured, and a prince eventually comes to the rescue. Margaret Atwood's "There Was Once" depicts a scene where a story is being told to a listener who will not accept any of the story's cliches, but instead, critiques every line. The listener constantly interrupts the story, creating tension with the storyteller, and revises the story so drastically that it becomes unrecognizable as a fairy tale.  Charles Perrault's short story is an example of an outdated approach to fairytales, while "There Was Once" is a modernized version of the classic tales. Perrault's more traditional fairytale is idealistic while juxtaposed to Atwood's criticism of the stereotypical fairytale. 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 the word choice and structure, it is clear that both stories contain an underlying insight into views on feminism as they reflect the changes occurring within society in their respective time periods. By comparing the two pieces, written centuries apart, the advancement of women's rights is clearly evident.

Analyzing Perrault's word choice in his short story, "The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods", allows the reader to understand the roles and expectations of women prior to the first wave of feminism. To celebrate the birth of the Princess, the King and Queen invited all the fairies so that they each could bestow upon the princess a gift. The first gift she receives is, "that she should be the most beautiful person in the world" (Perrault 296-297). The author chooses the first gift to emphasize the importance of beauty in women, which he refers to repeatedly throughout the story. After the princess falls into an enchanted sleep, she is described as, "a little angel... so very beautiful" (298). When the prince lays eyes on the princess for the first time, he describes her as a girl of "bright and... resplendent beauty"(299). When the prince notices her dated attire, he concludes that, "she looked not a bit less charming and beautiful for all that" (300). Perrault's focus on the word "beauty" emphasizes the lack of influence that women had within society before the feminist movement. At that time, "the world of American women was limited in almost every respect, from family life to the workplace" (Kar).  Perrault exemplifies this by repeatedly describing the princess as beautiful, as if her sole purpose is to please a man. Along those lines, the traditional role of a woman is to take care of the man's house and his children. "The female doesn't really expect a lot from life. She's here as someone's keeper  --  her husband's or her children's" (Coontz). Perrault's emphasis on, and repeated use of "beauty" in his short story allows the reader to understand the traditional role that women held before the feminist movement influenced society.

Through word selection, Margaret Atwood provides a stark contrast to Perrault's short story as she provides a modernized take on the role of women in society. When the storyteller begins to outline a typical fairytale, the listener interrupts with, "I think we can cut the beautiful" (308). Atwood italicizes the word "beautiful" to emphasize the importance of separating women from their deep-rooted task of being objects of beauty for men to desire. "Women, it was argued, should no longer be defined as "the sex", simply as receptacles for male sexual activity" (Emsley, Hitchcock, and Shoemaker). Instead, Atwood makes the case that women should be viewed as individuals rather than objects of sex. When the narrator uses the word "girl", the listener interjects with, "it's woman, pal. Woman" (Atwood 306). Atwood again employs the use of italics to stress her point. The author makes the claim that using "girl" is condescending, as if they are not individuals worthy of rights typically granted to adults. In contrast, "woman" is empowering and implies a shift in society when women began to demand equal rights. This is exactly what occurred during the feminist movement. The feminist movement changed the way society viewed women because of "The determination of these women to expand their sphere of activities further outside the home" (The Women's Rights Movement). During this time period, women began to challenge their traditional roles in society. Mirroring this protest, the listener objects to the use of "beautiful" and "girl" in "There Was Once". Atwood's short story helps readers understand the key shifts in society that occurred because of women's refusal to accept conventional views through her application of emphasis on certain vocabulary.

"The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood", through its structure, provides insight into the opinions of women's roles in society. This story follows the idealistic fairytale model, where the princess faces certain demise, only to be rescued at the very end by her knight in shining armor. In this story, the princess is cursed to die of a spindle wound until a fairy changes her destiny, allowing a prince to be her salvation. "[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 typically harmless spindle, and therefore must be rescued by a man. Prior to the advancement and recognition of women's rights, men were thought to be, "the stronger sex... women more passive" (Emsley, Hitchcock, and Shoemaker). 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" (Atwood 302). Despite having all the power that comes with being a queen, she still fails to protect herself, relying on others to do so for her. 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 role and portrayal of women. Old school fairytales, such as the story by Perrault, represent women as subservient and weak, which is congruent with the typical portrayal of women prior to the 20th century.

In contrast to the outdated story by Perrault, "There Was Once" provides an interesting perspective into the dynamics of a modern day fairy tale. This tale relates to the modern world through the structure that Atwood chooses to employ. 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). However, 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 fairy tale. The listener interrupts throughout with, "stop right there" (305). The listener also challenges the story so thoroughly, that the new version scarcely resembles the original story. By the end, the fairytale reads, "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). Employing this structure allows the reader to comprehend the type of questioning that it took for the feminist movement to successfully change people's perception of women. "From the mid-nineteenth century women's inferior social position was increasingly questioned by feminist writers" (Emsley, Hitchcock, and Shoemaker). Atwood's structure of thoroughly questioning the typical fairytale constructs a completely different story by the story's conclusion, which is similar to how the feminist movement was created by women who refused to accept conventional views on women's roles, but instead pave the way for equality. 

Through the word selection and approach to fairy tale stories, "There Was Once" and "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood" both provide insight into the various roles woman have assumed throughout history. Perrault's story 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. Women today are empowered, constantly questioning the position assigned to them in society and willing to fight for their rights, demanding equality. 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.
