The Sleeper and the Spindle, written by Neil Gaiman and published recently

in 2014, is the tale of a crossover between Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. In this
story, Neil Gaiman recrafts these female characters by turning them into dynamic
and powerful products of their pasts (Wood). Snow White becomes an
independent queen who sets out on a journey to save the Sleeping Beauty, who
turns out to be the enchantress that cursed her, while the real princess has been
forced to stay awake for 100 years. In the original The Sleeping Beauty in the
Wood by Charles Perrault, the sleeping princess, awakened by the prince who has
kneeled down beside her, gives her hero a look more tender than a first glance
might seem to warrant (Perrault). On the other hand, in Little Snow-White from
Brothers Grimm, Snow White, who has run away from home, is taken in by dwarfs
who provide her with shelter and save her from the Evil Queens evil doings. For
example, they remove the poisoned comb in her hair and admonish her about not
letting anyone strange in the house (Grimm). In The Sleeper and the Spindle, Neil
Gaiman rejects the idea of a male hero being Sleeping Beautys savior and instead
tweaks the classic fairy tale identity of the hero by incorporating Snow White, who is
now a respected queen that knows the evil in a womans eyes when she sees it
and is willing to brave the land of sleep (Wood). The author also turns the dwarfs,
who were once Snow Whites caretakers and nonhuman friends in the 17th
century, into a true aid of a supernatural force, for they now serve the queen and
assist her throughout her journey to the castle. In doing so, Gaiman is able to
transform these classic fairy tale conventions of the hero and the helper into
characters much more entertaining and relevant to his 21st-century audience, as
well as successfully deliver his message that you dont need a prince to save you
and that even when all is at its darkest, you can think your way out of trouble
(Wood).
At the beginning of Gaimans tale, the queen awakens and reflects on the fact
that her wedding is drawing near, which means that she will soon lose her right to
choose in life. Already, the queen demonstrates insightfulness, for she is aware of
her identity as a woman and the consequences that follow so. However, when she
hears the news about the plague of sleep from her dwarf assistants, the queen is
quick to delay her wedding and kiss her fianc farewell (note that she kisses him,
not the other way around) so that she can instead go save her kingdom by waking
the sleeping princess. Right at the scene of departure, Gaiman is able to convey his
belief that girls do not need males to rescue and take care of them by presenting
the hero of his story as a woman, which strays from the original fairy tale
convention of the hero being a male (Wood). Throughout the tale, Snow White
struggles through challenges such as sleep, hallucinations, and sleepwalkers.
However, she powers through all of them, taking the pain of a thorn to wake herself
up and dismissing images of her evil stepmother. The choice of having a powerful
and independent female lead is very appropriate for Gaimans 21st-century
audience, who are part of a modern society in which women are much more capable
of doing great things than they were in the 17th-19th centuries. He is able to teach
his adult and youth readers that one can pull through anything by presenting the
point about Snow White: you can keep on fighting (Wood). As a matter of fact,
after triumphing over the witch in the castle, the queen decides to not go back to

her castle and be married; her experience of self-discovery demonstrates the

importance of identity not only to her, but to the adults and youth that Gaiman
reaches out to.
Furthermore, the dwarfs in The Sleeper and the Spindle play a much larger
role than they did in Little Snow-White. In Perraults tale, the dwarfs take care of
Snow White and tell her what to do, which preserves the 17th-century French
limitations on the roles of women. However, Gaiman makes his female character
powerful. The dwarfs refer to the queen as wise and instead of being her friends,
are something much morethe aid of a supernatural force. At the beginning of
the tale, the dwarfs are the ones who deliver the news to her and answer her every
question. In addition, these creatures serve the queen throughout her journey. As
mentioned before, she struggles through problems like drowsiness. The dwarfs are
the ones who wake her up from her sleep and drive a thorn into her finger to keep
her alert. Gaimans manipulation of the helper motif in fairy tales further
strengthens his depiction of the powerful female lead. By having them follow Snow
White, he makes the queen appear influential and strong. To the modern-day
society this book is intended for, the image of Snow White reflects their newer
values and view of the role of women as capable and once again, strong. In his story
The Sleeper and the Spindle, Neil Gaiman embraces the portrayal of female leads of
the 21st century and by doing so, conveys the idea that women are capable and do
not need princes, as well as the belief that one has the strength to pull through any
adversity.