The Story of the Duchess of Cicogne and of Monsieur de Boulingrin: 1920

In Short

This work is a witty, revisionist take on the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, focusing less on the princess and more on the court officials who surround her. Set within a framework of rigid, antiquated etiquette, the narrative follows an aging, skeptical politician and his noble mistress as they navigate the supernatural curse placed upon the royal household. By blending traditional folklore with a sharp, satirical observation of human nature and political vanity, the book explores how people willfully ignore the inexplicable, preferring to dwell in comfortable, self-deceptive denial.

The Story

King Cloche and Queen Satine hold a grand, rigid baptism for their daughter, Aurore. Obsessed with protocol, the King refuses to invite the fairy Alcuine, as she lacks the necessary noble pedigree. Enraged, Alcuine curses the child to die by a spindle’s prick at age fifteen. While the seven invited godmothers manage to commute the sentence to a hundred-year sleep, the King, desperate to avert fate, bans all spindles from his realm.

Years later, the kingdom is gripped by political instability, famine, and bankruptcy. The Prime Minister, Monsieur de La Rochecoupée, and the Secretary of State, Monsieur de Boulingrin, are entirely consumed by court intrigue and their own precarious status. Boulingrin, a man of rigid rationalism, refuses to believe in fairies, even after being physically assaulted by three disguised supernatural beings. He maintains a convenient, socially accepted affair with the Duchess of Cicogne, a woman of high standing who is perpetually losing her fortune at the gaming table.

When the Princess, now fifteen, discovers a hidden spindle and pricks her hand, the court falls into a century-long slumber. The Duchess and Boulingrin are caught mid-conversation, debating whether the Princess’s sudden lethargy is a result of a dark political coup against the King. They are petrified in time alongside the entire household, including the cooking staff and the lapdog, while a wall of thorns seals the castle from the world.

A century later, a German prince awakens the Princess. She immediately departs for his homeland, showing no interest in the servants who slumbered alongside her. The court is instantly dissolved, leaving the ancient retainers to fend for themselves. The Duchess and Boulingrin wake up, utterly unaware that a hundred years have passed. They travel to the capital, finding the modern world strange but quickly dismissing their confusion. Having lost their status and wealth, they find a new, humble existence. The Duchess plays cards in inns, while Boulingrin, still stubbornly clinging to his skeptical worldview, occupies his time by lecturing tavern-goers on the absurdity of believing in fairies. The story concludes with the two of them essentially where they began: trapped in their own narrow, self-imposed logic, oblivious to the magical reality that has defined their lives.

How It Unfolds

The exclusionary feast King Cloche holds a baptism for his daughter, but his fanatical commitment to noble etiquette causes him to snub the powerful fairy Alcuine. Her resulting curse introduces the threat of the spindle, which the godmothers dampen by decreeing a long, rather than terminal, slumber.

The folly of prohibition The King attempts to protect the Princess by banning all spindles, relying on state power to override a supernatural mandate. His ministers continue to manage the failing kingdom, ignoring the looming prophecy in favor of immediate administrative crises.

The skeptical minister Monsieur de Boulingrin attempts to maintain his rationalist worldview despite direct, violent encounters with the supernatural. He remains more concerned with his affair with the Duchess and the demands of his office than with the impending magical catastrophe.

The inevitable collapse Aurore finds the forbidden spindle and the entire court is plunged into a century of stillness. Even as the enchantment takes hold, the Duchess and Boulingrin continue to argue about political conspiracies, refusing to acknowledge the fairy influence.

The modern awakening The castle wakes to a world that has moved on, and the two courtiers find themselves displaced and stripped of their relevance. They adapt to a life of street performance, their minds remaining as closed to the truth as they were before the sleep.

The People

Monsieur de Boulingrin acts as the story’s intellectual anchor and its most pathetic figure. An Enlightenment-style rationalist who refuses to admit the existence of fairies even when they are physically trampling him, he represents the stubbornness of human pride. He changes only in his circumstances, losing his political station but retaining his intellectual arrogance.

The Duchess of Cicogne is his foil—witty, practical, and focused on her own survival. Unlike Boulingrin, she is willing to entertain the idea of "dark intrigues" and supernatural influence, though she treats these as just another form of court gossip. She is a creature of high society who eventually finds herself performing for coppers in taverns, yet her cynicism remains intact.

King Cloche is defined by his obsession with status and ritual. His failure to invite the fairy is the engine of the plot, illustrating how a leader’s small-mindedness regarding social protocol can lead to the downfall of an entire kingdom. He is a tragicomic figure whose reliance on the "formulary" of the past prevents him from seeing the reality of the future.

In Its Own Voice

The author highlights the disconnect between the royal court and the reality of the curse they face:

“The King issued an edict, whereby all persons were forbidden under pain of death to spin with spindles, or even to have spindles in their possession.”

Following the fairy Alcuine’s prophecy, the King chooses the futile path of bureaucratic prohibition rather than accepting the nature of the threat.

The author describes the moment the Duchess and Boulingrin are caught by the enchantment while debating the cause of the Princess’s sleep:

“At the moment when Cicogne spoke these words, the fairy Vivien touched them both with her ring, and sent them to sleep like the rest.”

This highlights the futility of their political theorizing, as the supernatural forces they refuse to acknowledge override their agency entirely.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the triumph of human denial over the inexplicable. Anatole France argues that individuals—especially those in positions of power—are fundamentally incapable of processing events that fall outside their narrow worldviews. Whether confronted by magic or the radical passage of time, the characters choose to interpret their reality through the lens of political intrigue and personal habit. The book serves as a subtle critique of the "rational" mind, suggesting that skepticism is often just another form of superstition. By placing these characters in a fairy-tale setting, the author exposes the absurdity of human vanity, showing that we are all, to some degree, asleep to the forces that truly shape our destinies.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a dry, intellectual wit and a subversion of classic tropes will find this a satisfying, if brief, experience. It feels like a late-night conversation with a cynical, well-read friend who finds the absurdity of history more compelling than its facts. The prose is precise and elegant, though the tone is decidedly detached, lacking the warmth of traditional fairy tales.

Be aware that the story assumes a familiarity with French history and courtly manners that may feel distant to the modern reader. The characterization of the "fairies" as vengeful, physical beings is a departure from modern, sanitized versions of the Sleeping Beauty myth, which might surprise those looking for a gentle bedtime story. The book’s primary challenge lies in its bleak outlook; the characters do not learn, grow, or find redemption. Instead, they remain trapped in their own limitations, drifting through a world they do not understand. If you find pleasure in stories where the protagonists are foolish, where the politics are petty, and where the ending offers no grand moral resolution, you will find this an insightful read. It is a slim volume that leaves a lingering, slightly bitter taste, perfect for those who like their fantasies served with a healthy dose of irony.