“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” ~Genesis 3:15, God to the Serpent
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious…” ~ Zechariah 9:9a
“‘The princess will indeed prick her hand with a spindle. But instead of dying she shall merely fall into a profound slumber that will last a hundred years. At the end of that time, a king’s son shall come to awaken her.” ~ the young fairy speaking to the king and queen, after the aged fairy bestows a curse for not being invited to the babe’s christening[1]
This is the first major rendition to promise a Hope in countering the curse, and this profoundly impacts how we read the story.[2] There is expectation and anticipation now: a king’s son will come! He will awaken the Sleeping Beloved.
The tale goes along as we expect: the king forbids spinning wheels and spindles throughout his kingdom, and yet the curse still finds our lovely Sleeping Beauty. An old woman high in the castle tower has not heard of the edict, and when our princess happens upon her one day, the young girl is intrigued by the old woman’s spinning. She takes the spindle, pricks her finger, and falls asleep.[3]
The rest of the palace – cooks, servants, ladies-in-waiting, even the princess’ pet dog Puff – are all put under a sleeping spell by the young fairy. Everyone is affected by the young princess’ choice. Yes, they are alive…but at the same time they are not. For what sort of life can you live while asleep? Certainly not a full one. It’s a half-life, a waking-death.
And the World Slept…
So it is with Adam and Eve. An angry Foe spoke lies to them, and the two act upon those lies. The result is Death (Gen. 3:1-7).
God is righteous, and so He does not revoke the death sentence. Granted, they do not die an immediate physical death; but there is now a barrier between them and God. Their connection with God, each other, and the earth is broken beyond repair. They are now vulnerable to experience evil…and devise evil. They are unable to live full lives, for fulfillment is now always just beyond their grasp. And it is a choice that affects everyone to this day.
But God is merciful, and He provides a way out: He promises One who will vanquish the Foe. He promises One who will awaken our dead hearts, bringing us back to life.
And so, it is as if we are not dead, but only in a profound slumber.
And what do we do while we slumber? Well, we dream. We dream of a better world, a happier life. We dream of redemption, and the coming of One who will awaken us and make things right.
For thousands of years, the world slept as it waited for the King’s Son to arrive…
Sources
[1] Gustave Dore, Perrault’s Fairy Tales, p. 5
[2] Venus may have provided an escape for Zellandine, but it came in a happenstance manner, and it was not “hopeful” by any stretch of the imagination. It was no even mentioned as a possibility that Talia might awake.
[3] Dore, Perrault’s Fairy Tales, p. 5
