27 pages • 54 minutes read
Neil GaimanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In The Sleeper and the Spindle, Gaiman’s intentional upending of traditional gender-based stereotypes shifts traditional elements of the Sleeping Beauty and Snow White fairytales, centering the concerns and desires of the women in the story. He begins the tale with a classic, archetypal story known to most readers: that of the sleeping beauty in a castle behind a wall of thorns, and her ultimate rescue by the kiss of a courageous prince. When the dwarves first learn about the sleeping sickness, the townspeople reinforce the familiarity of the tale by alluding to “the usual method […] or so the tales have it” (16). The fairy tale setting of time and place also helps to ground the reader in familiar territory.
By beginning the story with the queen’s dubious feelings about her upcoming wedding, Gaiman signals an exploration of traditional social expectations for women through a subversion of them. As she thinks on her impending wedding the queen feels that “it seem[s] both unlikely and extremely final” (14). The queen is mature and realistic enough to understand her place in the established social order, and knows that even though she is in a position of authority, she’s still bound by these unspoken laws.
By Neil Gaiman
American Gods
Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys
Neil Gaiman
Coraline
Neil Gaiman
Fortunately, the Milk
Neil Gaiman
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman
Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman
October in the Chair
Neil Gaiman
Odd and the Frost Giants
Neil Gaiman
Stardust
Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman
The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1
Neil Gaiman
Aging
View Collection
Beauty
View Collection
Books & Literature
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Graphic Novels & Books
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Power
View Collection
Revenge
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection