1. In Perrault's version, what do you think the moral or lesson is--that mother-in-laws are evil? That there is always a rivalry among women who love the same man? Did anything surprise you about this version of the tale?
2. Why do you think Carter turns the figure of Sleeping Beauty into an unwilling Queen of the Vampires?
3. Carter's tale creates tension between reason and superstition, each represented by the British hero and vampire. How does the tale work with this tension? Does it resolve it?
4. How do you interpret the line in Carter's story: "The end of exile is the end of being"? (towards the end of the story)
5. In Carter's version, do you think the lady and the British soldier have sex? Does this kill her? Is she reborn spiritually or just dead?
6. What do you think the overall message might be in Carter's tale?