Sun, Moon, and Talia (Sleeping Beauty)
Sun, Moon, and Talia (Sole, Luna, e Talia - The Original Sleeping Beauty)
The "Sleeping Beauty" we know is a romantic tale in which a curse is broken by a prince's sweet kiss. But the truth of Sun, Moon, and Talia, the oldest known version recorded by Giambattista Basile in 1634, is not about a kiss at all. It is a brutal tale stained with horrific sexual assault and cannibalistic cooking.
Talia, the beautiful daughter of a lord, was cursed when a splinter of flax became lodged under her fingernail, causing her to fall into a deep sleep on the spot. Grief-stricken, her father seated his daughter’s corpse-like body in a velvet chair, abandoned the entire castle, and left.
After many years had passed, the king of a neighboring country, who had been hunting with his falcon, happened to enter the ruined castle. There, he discovered Talia lying asleep in the chair. Blinded by her dazzling beauty, the king, knowing full well that she was unconscious and sleeping as if dead, could not restrain his lust, dragged her to the bed, and violated her by force. After satisfying his desire on her unresponsive body, he left her behind without remorse and returned to his own kingdom.
Sleeping Talia’s belly