The Sleeper and the Spindle

Pages 52 through 69, the remainder of the book, fill the story’s third and final act. The kiss between the queen and the sleeper functions as a major turning point in Gaiman’s plot, closing Act 2 and launching the characters into Act 3. There’s a moment of uncertainty in which a dwarf asks, “Did it work?” to which the queen responds that she doesn’t know (52)—a characteristic common to three act structures, in which the cataclysmic final turn is followed by a rest period. Once the third act begins, the answers begin unraveling quickly: The old woman begins to reveal the truth about her journey there, which is then taken up by the enchantress whom the queen has awoken. In Riddell’s “flashback” image of the enchantress and the princess when they first met, the enchantress fits the stereotypical image of a fairy tale witch, wearing a similar regalia to the previous image of the wicked stepmother. The princess is shown in her earlier youth and innocence, but she is given a distinct look from the current sleeping enchantress to differentiate the two characters. Once their story has been broken open and the pieces come together, the text and illustrations work together to depict the enchantress fully embodying her villainous nature—a transformation that subverts Preconceptions of Youth and Beauty.

In addition to the dramatic interpersonal conflict taking place, the queen faces her own internal conflict as she struggles to become her most powerful self. When the scene begins, it includes three female characters and three male ones. Soon, however, all male characters are dispatched from the conflict, leaving three women to face each other, wielding the potential of their own inner strength. Although the queen’s choice ultimately leads to the enchantress’s downfall, it’s the princess who delivers the blow that destroys her in the story’s climax—an act the story positions as justice and retribution for the suffering the enchantress cost her through her ruthless pursuit of power. In killing the enchantress who imprisoned her, the true princess is to take back control of her story and choices, emphasizing the story’s exploration of Freedom and Constraint.

The book shifts into its denouement when the townspeople emerge, woken from their enchanted sleep, and see the state of events before them: “None of the people in that room or on the steps dared to stop them or would ever understand what had happened” (63). The full-page illustration shows a group of confused people, including what appears to be the king and queen, staring at the elderly daughter they no longer recognize. The queen and her companions resolve the story’s remaining loose end by burning the enchanted spindle, at which point the queen finds herself at a narrative crossroads, faced with the decision to move forward or go back to her previous life. In this moment she comes to understand that “There are always choices” (66), mirroring her earlier belief that she had no choices. The closing illustration shows the queen and the three dwarfs prepared for battle with a dragon, hinting at future adventures in the days ahead.