Maleficent and The Art of Love

The first Maleficent film, released in 2014 by Walt Disney, was followed by its sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which hit theaters on October 18, 2019. Inspired by the fairytale Sleeping Beauty and starring Angelina Jolie, the movie grossed $36 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., taking the top spot at the box office and dethroning Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, which had led the charts for two consecutive weeks.

Sleeping Beauty is a classic European fairytale that tells the story of a beautiful princess who falls into a century-long slumber. The tale was first written down by French author Charles Perrault in 1697 and later by the Grimm Brothers in 1812, though it originally appeared as The Sun, the Moon, and Talia by Italian poet Giambattista Basile in his 1634 posthumous collection.

In the original story, a beautiful princess is born in a faraway kingdom. To celebrate, the king hosts a grand feast, inviting all the fairies in the land. Each fairy blesses the baby with gifts such as beauty, health, and musical talent. But one evil fairy, furious for not being invited, crashes the celebration and places a curse on the infant: “When the princess turns sixteen, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die.” One of the good fairies, who hasn’t yet given her gift, softens the curse: “The princess will not die but will fall into a deep sleep for one hundred years. The entire castle will slumber with her, and life will continue as before when she is awakened by true love’s kiss.”

Determined to protect his daughter, the king orders every spindle in the land destroyed, yet fate proves impossible to escape.

However, in the 2014 film adaptation, we learned that the story wasn’t quite as we’d been told. The “evil fairy” wasn’t evil at all. Behind the curse lay a tragic love story built on betrayal and heartbreak — a story between Maleficent and King Stefan, Aurora’s father. As a young boy, Stefan had ventured into the enchanted Moors and befriended Maleficent. Their friendship grew into love, but consumed by ambition and the desire for power, Stefan betrayed her — cutting off her wings to become king.

Thus, wounded by love and stripped of her freedom, Maleficent met the dark side of love and transformed into the vengeful fairy we know.

But let me ask you this: Have your wings ever been clipped because of love? Was your love fleeting, or was it sustainable? Did your affection turn into love only after pain and separation? In an age where everything can be bought and sold — where even friendships are reduced to likes, tags, and comments — is it still possible to experience a love so real that it feels like it belongs in a fairytale?

The answer is: Yes, it’s possible.

Let’s turn to Erich Fromm, the German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, and philosopher, and the author of The Art of Loving. Fromm writes:

“The first step is to realize that love is an art, just as living is an art. If we want to learn how to love, we must proceed as we would to learn any other art — music, painting, carpentry, or medicine.”

Because love is the force that inspires us to become better human beings. And to do so, we must first work actively on our personal growth. Only then can we fulfill our need for self-love and truly love another person. But this requires humility, courage, faith, and discipline.

Similarly, Walter Riso, clinical psychologist and author of The Limits of Love, agrees with Fromm, stating:

“If love were a tree, its roots would be the love you have for yourself. The more you love yourself, the more fruits your love will bear and the more enduring it will be.”

The second step, Fromm says, is to understand what love truly is. Love is not a passive emotion; it is an activity, a state of being, not a sudden outburst.

If we can learn how to move beyond initial attraction and passion, and if we truly desire intimacy from the heart, then we can master the art of loving — transforming our affection into real, mature, and courageous love.

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