Happily Ever After?

      Gabriel Garcia Marquez transformed the original version of Sleeping Beauty, tiled Sun, Moon, and Talia, written by Giambattista Bastille into a modern version with the story, Sleeping Beauty and the Airplane. Unfortunately, a very important expectation of all fairytales is missing in this rewrite. In Sleeping Beauty and the Airplane there is no 'happily ever after.' The story ends as the beautiful woman picks her things up and exits the airplane. The man who has been admiring her then remains in his seat with unfulfilled wants and no happy ending. If Marquez was working to bring the original version into modern time, but did not include a 'happily ever after' in the story, does that mean there is no such thing as happy endings in real life?

      One woman, Alisa Bowman, does believe that there are happy endings in real life.  In 2010 she wrote a book, titled Project: Happily Ever After.  The book tells the story of the trials and tribulations in her marriage, and her work towards a 'happily ever after.'  Bowman along with friends and family, believed the marriage between her and her husband was hopeless.  But, with the help of relationship and marital books, the couple was able to fall in love all over again.  Her story as been featured on many large cable broadcasting shows, and her website, http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/, is full of information for struggling couples.  Bowman is a real life example of a 'happily ever after.'

      Marquez left a 'happily ever after' out of his story, but Bowman clearly presents they can be found in real life.  I believe that Marquez did not include a 'happily ever after' because more often then not, it does not happen.  He did not want to leave the reader with the false hope, that everything always works out.  Although sometimes it does, as in Bowman's case, but it takes a lot more work to reach that ultimate real life 'happily ever after' then can be written about in a single fairytale.


Bowman, Alisa. Project: Happily Ever After. Philadelphia: Running, 2010. Project Happily Ever After. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/the-book/>.