A society of hypocrisy and mock-Puritanism forces a person at times to go to great lengths to truly express herself. This was the case when Anne Rice took up the pseudonym of A.N. Roquelaure, translated literally under a cloak, so that she could pen the Sleeping Beauty trilogy. She feared alienation from her loyal readers as well as the criticism that would come from those who were shocked and offended by her erotic twist on a child's tale. This would be especially upsetting to those acquainted primarily with the version of the story which Disney had redefined to be so clean and innocent. So under the guise of the mysterious A.N. Roquelaure, the master authoress wove her tales, free from fear of persecution and the need to defend her image. The result was a gift to lovers of erotica everywhere. By name they are The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment and Beauty's Release.
To briefly summarize the premise of these novels is to revisit a favorite tale of childhood. The story's central figure, a lovely princess named Beauty, lies sleeping in a castle where she awaits the kiss of the prince to awaken her. Many try and fail to claim her until a Prince from a faraway land succeeds in accessing the castle spire in which she rests. From this point, however, the familiar story takes a dramatic erotic turn. Rather than simply kissing Beauty, the prince claims her virginity on the spot and takes her away to his kingdom as his naked slave. Once in the kingdom, Beauty is handed over to various mistresses and masters to experience the relationship between pleasure and pain in its rawest state. Joining her in her dark journey of discipline and servitude are countless other princes and princesses who have been claimed as well to learn the ways of the submissive sexual bondservant. It is soon seen that none is equal in grace and splendor to Beauty, however and this works to both her advantage and dismay in that special attention is always paid her. Ultimately, through her experience as a slave, Beauty comes to an understanding of who she really is and what drives her.
I first heard about the trilogy when I heard comparisons made between it and Cinderella by a favorite author of mine, Titian Beresford. A particular fetish of mine is reading and writing erotic fairy tales, so naturally I picked up the first installment of the trilogy the next chance I got. From the first page, I was drawn in. The character of Beauty captivated me. Beginning life in wealth and luxury as a princess then to be suddenly being stripped of your virginity, clothing and dignity is bound to make you do some heavy thinking. Simply reading about it does as well. A great many reviews have been written, I'm sure, on this modern classic and I'm sure each amateur critic took something else away from their reading. For me, the central message of the book had to do with the joy of sacrifice and servitude.
At first, Beauty is stricken with fear of nearly everything. She fears the Queen especially. Soon Beauty learns, however, that the Queen and others like her in this new kingdom need Beauty just as much as Beauty is supposed to need them. She is made to serve them with her lips, tongue and body and by performing certain feats of dexterity and endurance which at first fill her heart with resentment. Once she understands that the goal of these tasks is to please her masters and mistresses, however, Beauty's outlook changes. The need to serve and please those who command her becomes paramount. Nothing else matters.
When I was reading this and reflecting on Anne Rice's portrayal of Beauty's dedication to selflessly pleasuring others, I was led back in thought to the teachings of the Christian religion. We should do unto others as we would like them to do unto us, the Golden Rule states. We also should put others before ourselves according to Christ. The last shall be first and blessed are the meek. I sensed undertones from Rice that Beauty's experience was not just physical, as in the whippings she suffered and intercourse she reveled in. Nor was her experience just emotional as when her tears streamed endlessly after first being taken. Hers was also a spiritual awakening, one that taught her that her actions deeply impacted the lives of others, even at her lowliest. She lived to serve and in that, she found illumination and inner peace.
Having said all that in praise of the Beauty trilogy, I do have a bone or two to pick with the novels. For one, the scenes are often a little too brutal for my liking. There is much spanking and abusing of flesh in these novels. There are also descriptions and events that may fail to arouse but succeed in nauseating, such as one naughty Princess who is hung doubled by her hands and feet so that her snatch is exposed plainly and smeared with honey so the flies will plague her. I found this a little distasteful. Also, there are occasions when you got the sinking feeling that you had read this passage earlier in the novel. As was previously mentioned, there is a lot of spanking in these novels which tends to create a sense of redundancy. I found myself skipping some paragraphs after reading the first sentence, knowing where it was headed. Yeah, yeah, I know. The prince is spanking her again.
In spite of its few faults, the trilogy remains an erotic classic from an excellent author. It stands as a testament to what a writer can produce when she feels safe from persecution over content or ideas expressed. I highly recommend it to any fan of erotica and would place it upon the required reading list for any upstart erotic authors interested in reviewing the classics.
About the Author:
Twilight Blue is the Diva of Decadence of Blood Moon zine with her popular column: Fetish Delicacies which explores the inner psyche of various fetishes.