I recently read a remarkable retelling of Sleeping Beauty by Neil Gaiman. His story presents us with an upside-down version of the tale, the magic power of the spindle, the deception of the 13th fairy, the potential agency of individual princesses. In his story, the yarn and the spindle are essential to the awakening of the town and castle. Which I found fascinating.
If it has been a while since you read the Grimm’s version, go here to get caught up. The spindle has an important role in the original, but it is not magical.
The spinning wheel was invented and manufactured at least 200 years after the first publication of the story of Sleeping Beauty.
There are many versions of this old story. More often than not, the illustrations, (like this one made by Arthur Rackham in the 19th c) features a pile of Saxony1 spinning wheels in a bonfire. The author tell us that the King provides funds to reimburse the women for the loss of the wheel and provide them with yarn for weaving. Truly magical thinking.
This sent my mind going in two directions:
ONE
What did the womenfolk do with all their free time? Did they take up embroidery, reading, geography, archaeology? I enjoyed a shining vision of women attending school, visiting libraries, making discoveries in the arts, sciences and literature.
How did they adjust to this new framework for their day? Whereas for generations, woman (rich and poor) had been busy spinning all day, every day, now they could not. Of course, it is more likely that they simply turned to more bothersome and practical tasks, like farm-work, sweeping or cooking.
TWO
I find it fascinating that earliest tellings of this story coincides with the development of Guilds in Europe and Great Britain, which moved production out of the home and farmstead and into early versions of factories. Folks had long made things to sell or trade and were paid by the piece: so much for a hank of yarn or a length of cloth. Cloth merchants coordinated the distribution of wool and collection of finished goods.
Until the invention of the spinning wheel, women could make yarn as they went about their daily responsibilities with only a spindle and a distaff. Old folks, children and the disabled could contribute to the prosperity of the home and farmstead through spinning all day, every day (maybe not on Sunday).
The men who worked in the various stages of textile production joined Guilds in order to gain training, organize labor and create community but could not halt the rise of the Industrial Revolution. This shift in the pattern of commerce, as well an increased demand for fabric, began to march society towards the centralization of production into mills and mill towns and the Guilds became a relic of bygone days.
Part of this shift came from inventions of “labor saving” machines. The spinning wheel was a stationary device which promised improvement in quality and, more importantly, quantity. People were hired to operate the wheels, often in rented rooms, away from the daily rhythms of the home and community. This arrangement eventually led to large mills and the rise of mill towns.
AND SO…
This brings us back to the story of Sleeping Beauty, aside from the weird romance of falling in love with someone who is asleep.2 And why are there 13 fairies? For now, I shall stay focused on the spinners and their changing world.
I realized that I had been reading this fairy tale through rose-colored glasses because spinning is an avocation for me. I enjoy it, but I don’t spin for 8-12 hours every day so I can pay my bills. When modern folks, with access to every convenience, decide to make their own yarn it is an aesthetic choice. I sympathize with the townsfolk, I would resent a decree that deprives me of my spinning wheels3 but it wouldn’t compromise my livelihood.
While the castle folk slept for 100 years, the outside world changed. What marvels of invention greeted them as they awoke and wandered out of the castle? Did they fit in to the new order or try to preserve the means and methods they had remembered? The story doesn’t tell us how Princess Rosebriar faired in this new world, except with the common summary: “and they lived happily ever after.”
Saxony style wheels are beautiful machines, a marvel of human ingenuity, but they do not use a spindle to twist the yarn, instead, the yarn in drawn into an orifice and wound on a bobbin. It is a very different system for yarn making. A bonfire of spindles (maybe the distaffs, too?) would be much less dramatic.
Several versions of this tale include the surprise of a child (or children) born to the still sleeping princess. She finds the father because he left a ring behind. This is a non-spinning rabbit-hole I refuse to go down, today.
I own a ridiculous number of wheels, old and new but I mainly spin with my spindles- the reason? Portability and the pleasure of the slow process. What a privilege!