MovieChat Forums > Charlotte's Web (1973) Discussion > 'Go to sleep'

'Go to sleep'

posted 18 years ago by mi-luna-azul
2 replies | jump to latest

Just out of curiousity, why is it that Charlotte continually persuades the other barn yard animals to sleep? I know there are 3+ times during the movie where she does this, but the only one I can remember at the moment is the first time which Charlotte speaks to Wilbur and tells him to get some sleep before he actually meets her. Is this some sort of strange foreshadowing or reference to Charlotte's impending death (or "eternal rest")? (And, honestly, I've never read the book, so if this was addressed within it, please let me know). Any thoughts on the subject?

[–] cheerbearsmiles 18 years ago

I think it's just because she's sort of a mother figure to Wilbur, and in turn becomes a mother (or, in some cases, a grandmother figure) to the other animals.

[–] takiko-1 16 years ago

I'm not sure if this is what E.B. White referenced, but I was reading folktales/fairytales when I was younger, and in a Russian story, the female character that helped out the male character (like he is against the devil, and she is like the Frog Princess trapped in a spell but possesses magic powers) says something similar, such as, "Sleep, for morning has more wisdom than the evening." And when one sleeps, the rest also allows for times when the solutions that weren't obvious to appear.