REVIEW: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice
I post on a women’s forum that runs very much to the mainstream. The posters tend to be married with children or heading that way. When a poster went “undercover” to post about her secret life as a submissive, it caused a bit of a sensation. She has a “taken in hand” marriage, which means her husband calls ALL the shots. They discuss things, but he has the final say. Period. And that might mean deciding what car to buy, where to live, or it might mean whether they have sex tonight.
It doesn’t much concern me what consenting adults do in their homes. However, the definition of consent in this scenario makes me nervous. The poster said that she gave her husband “blanket consent” for sex, whenever, where ever, and however he wants. But is consent still consent when it’s given in advance? How do you get out of this agreement if you want – isn’t it sort of, too bad, you gave your consent, so now what I say goes? To me, consent is rooted in the present tense. I can consent to sex now, but I can’t give consent for sex that’s going to happen tomorrow. Anyway, Drama Ensued. There were even accusations that this poster couldn’t be for real, but, a quick search of the internets tells me that “taken in hand” is a thing.
As I read The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, I thought about consent quite a bit. Sleeping Beauty was my first erotic novel. I admit to reading the odd, shall we say, flash fiction erotica, but it’s not a genre I ever considered for a literary experience. I chose Sleeping Beauty because it has a reputation as a literary Fifty Shades (I know, I know).
I knew that the story was based on Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, and that it would have a BDSM element, but I was not expecting so much cruelty and so little tenderness. I don’t have a problem with BDSM, and I understand this is fiction; however, when presented with non-consentual, penetrative sex with a minor, or if you wanna get real, a child being raped, on PAGE TWO I was taken aback. Context: “Beauty” is fifteen and unconscious.
He mounted her, parting her legs, giving the white inner flesh of her thighs a soft, deep pinch, and, clasping her right breast in his left hand, he thrust his sex into her.
Beauty is taken to the Prince’s castle in some vaguely middle-age European kingdom. The castle is full of slaves like Beauty, and the Lords and Ladies who use and abuse them (and grooms – the slaves all have their own groom. Like a horse!) Supposedly Beauty is okay with being beaten, raped, and humiliated because she’s In Love with the Prince, and he’s so dreamy she’s just constantly in a state of impending orgasm. There is no explanation as to WHY she falls in love with the Prince in the first place or just blindly accepts her fate. In fact, logical problems abound. All these young people fucking and no one gets pregnant? No diseases? Girls never menstruate and guys are always at attention the second they’re required to be? But, you know, fairy tale, so I can live with all that.
Okay, so what about the sex? First of all, I’ve never read an erotic story with such clean language. “Cock” is probably as colourful as it gets. Reading about “organs” and “buttocks” and such was strange. The action felt a little clinical. Maybe that’s on purpose. Even though this book is nearly all sex, all the time, it’s not REALLY about sex. It’s about power. The difference in status between the Lords and Ladies and the slaves are emphasized through clothes, positioning, and even size. The captors are all described as tall, big, or imposing.
There were a few decent sex scenes, but for the most part, the non-consensual and violent elements were too much – not too graphic or too disturbing, because actually I’ve seen worse, but just too numerous and repetitive and out of balance with the more, shall we say, warm and fuzzy sex scenes. As a feminist, I do take issue with this. I realize it’s just a story, and can be enjoyed as such – but it wasn’t always enjoyable for me. I also found it disturbing that when a male slave is forced to have sex with another male, that’s called rape, but “rape” isn’t used to describe any of the various non-consensual acts perpetrated on women and girls.
Sex and feminism aside, there *is* a story and even character development here. Beauty starts out thinking she’s submitted to her Prince, but by the end she’s only beginning to understand what submission really means. There is some examination of her thought process and emotions. We don’t get much from the captors, but maybe that’s saved for the next books in the series.
Beauty tossed her head. She felt the heavy braids fall against her back, and suddenly when the paddle struck her she felt herself move so languidly with it. It was as if this strange relaxation were softening her all over. Is that what they had meant when they said the pain would soften her? Yet she feared this relaxation, this despair – was it despair? She did not know. She had no dignity in that moment.
The story ends with a cliffhanger that was compelling enough that I looked up the next book on Kobo… but not compelling enough to make me pay $13 for a novella (I purchased this book for $2 during a sale.)
Asides:
- I give Sleeping Beauty a few bonus points for the hilarious reviews on Goodreads. A LOT of people didn’t know what they were getting in to. Originally written under a pseudonym, the book is now listed as written by Anne Rice, so I think there’s a lot of “oh, I liked that vampire book, let’s give this a try… OMG WTF” going on.
- I must dock a few of those bonus points for making me actually want to read 50 Shades, just to see if there really is any comparison to be made. I don’t get the sense that 50 Shades is nearly as… hardcore as this. Damn you, Anne Rice!
- I hope my kids never want to watch Disney’s Sleeping Beauty because the thought is giving me a serious no feeling.
The No Feeling
Reading in Bed 
I do love a clean erotic read. Sometimes the language can get WAY too colourful.
I’ve never read any Anne Rice before! I think her books look very interesting. 🙂
You should read this one. I’m curious about what you’d think seeing as you’ve read a bit more in this genre 🙂 I’m going to read Interview with the Vampire next year I think.
Maybe you should put the second book on your Christmas wishlist 😉
Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite Disney Movies. I’m going to ruin my fuzzy childhood memories of watching this movie if i read this book, won’t I? The only book I’ve read by Anne Rice is The Mummy. I don’t remember how, but somehow, in Grade 8, I get an old paperback copy in my hands and I remember devouring that book and walking home from school with my nose stuck in it. I was shocked and intrigued by the language and sex it contained. How scandalous for a 13-year old to read that book, lol!
Anyway, I have to admit – you’ve got a part of me wanting to read this book, just to see for myself everything you’ve said about it. And, having had worked in a bookstore for many years, I can tell you – lots of people come in to buy these books not really knowing they are erotica. But, then people come in all the time to buy 50 Shades not knowing A THING about it except “I hear about it on CBC”. Like little old ladies. Sheep, I tell ya.
Haha, I heard about it on CBC. Yeah right! 🙂
I really thought this was going to be Sleeping Beauty with a few sex scenes thrown in, like those new “Jane Eyre Laid Bare” and whatnot. Um, no. It is not.
It probably won’t ruin the movie. Although now that I really think about it, it’s sort of effed up to just start making out with someone who’s sleeping too 🙂
Sounds like the only thing in common with Fifty Shades is the BDSM aspect…although in Fifty Shades everything is consensual…and it never really actually reaches a very extreme BDSM aspect either. There’s some spanking, and she does get strapped down, but it never really reaches a point where Anna becomes an actual submissive. It focuses a lot more on the romance aspect of the story.
This one definitely sounds interesting. I don’t think I would personally read it though. I’ll keep one of my favourite Disney characters pure in my mind. 😉 lol
I definitely appreciate your insightful look into the story though, and your commentary on how consent fits into a Dom/Sum type relationship. It’s an interesting to think about, and it really makes you wonder how relationships like that work out. I didn’t realize that some couples take the Dom/Sum relationship a level further and apply it to their entire life rather than just the sexual aspect.
Yeah, there`s a whole other world out there…
I thought 50 Shades was a whole sub/dom thing, like doesn’t he tell her when she can eat and stuff?? Gah see why I want to read it now?
Definitely! Some people have fetishes we can’t even fathom!
It does have the whole dom/sub thing, but Ana is never really Christian’s sub. This is a slight spoiler, but he does give her a contract to sign and everything with things about what she eats, when she exercises and all that in it, but she never actually signs in. Their relationship starts in a way where he wants her as his sub, but turns into much more. He does spank her sometimes though, I won’t lie about that. 😛 I’d recommend the series actually, I liked it. Some people have complained that it was poorly written though…plus, Christian does have a bit of a dark side, so there’s the complaints about how their relationship isn’t healthy. But, I think that’s up to the reader to decide…and it all depends how closely you look at it all because if you closely examine all relationships, you’re bound to find something wrong. 😛
I meant to read this when you originally posted it. I’m with everyone else I’m going to pass on reading it to not ruin the Disney Movie for me because it is my favorite Disney Movie of all time. Read 50 Shades for pure entertainment value.
I laugh that little old ladies are asking for 50 Shades but it disturbs me at the same time. I wouldn’t want to find out my grandma is reading the book lol
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