Upon finishing reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as created by the Brothers Grimm, one thought came to mind: “Wow, if I read this at bedtime as a child, I most certainly would have had nightmares!” See, this version of our beloved classic fairytale is not the innocent chirping of the birds or romantic frolic of a princess and prince into the sunset we think of when we envision Snow White—instead, the Grimm version is dark and twisted, sending extremely patriarchal and archaic messages.
The first detail about Snow White that was too hard to ignore was her age—at just 7 years old (the same age as my brother whose biggest concerns include being able to successfully build his own Lego sets), Snow White is being thrown out of the house by a grown woman engrossed in a jealous rage against a mere child! The fact that the Queen feels threatened enough by a 7 year old that her life becomes consumed by her desperate quest to end Snow White’s life shows how ridiculously insecure the Queen is with her own beauty. If the glass mirror that holds so much power over the Queen and her happiness is interpreted as the male gaze, the message emphasized becomes even more inappropriate (if that is even possible). Because the glass mirror and its omnipotent judgement about “who’s most fairest of them all” dictate the Queen’s aspirations in life, the Grimm Brothers are endorsing the awful notion that a woman’s main purpose should be to strive to be seen as most beautiful through the eyes of men. This image of the insecure Queen lends itself to an overarching depiction of all women as powerless creatures whose destinies and life choices must be governed by patriarchal figures. In addition, by focusing only on outward beauty as a measure of the Queen’s self-worth, this fairytale sends the twisted idea that to be “the fairest,” the size of one’s heart and one’s capacity to do good are both irrelevant. Emphasizing beauty over brains, emphasizing vanity over empathy—what an awful concept to stamp onto the minds of children!
In addition, another major problem I had with the storyline included the role Snow White played when she lived with the dwarves. By having Snow White stay home to cook dinner and clean the dishes while the dwarves went off to work, the Grimm Brothers again endorsed traditional, stereotypical gender roles that were very much unprogressive. This portrayal of women as homemakers and men as breadwinners can leave many women feeling powerless and trapped. And frankly, it’s sickening. Furthermore, another interesting thing I noticed was the use of symbolic colors. Traditionally, white exudes innocence and purity, while in the Bible, red is connoted with sex and temptation. Thus, the act of Snow White biting the red half of the apple and subsequently dying can be interpreted to present a deeper meaning—one that shows that a woman’s decision to embrace sexual maturity is simultaneous with her exclusion from the realm of adolescent safety.
Finally, the aforementioned idea of the controlling male gaze is depicted again through the glass coffin that Snow White is put into after her death. By being put on display in this transparent case, Snow White becomes dehumanized, a mere painting for men to derive aesthetic pleasure from. I was horrified at the part where the prince randomly comes and asks to take Snow White home with him, like she is his property to take ownership of. Not only does this further reinforce the flawed message that women are just prized possessions for men to take instead of actual human beings with their own independent aspirations and desires, but we cannot forget the fact that Snow White is SEVEN!! Let’s think about this logically for a second—is it morally ok for a grown man to become so obsessed with a female child that he takes her away without her consent? Definitely not! Instead of being left with a sense of warmth created by a romantic “happily ever after,” I am left feeling nothing short of pure and utter disgust at the prince’s pedophilic actions. Clearly, this fairytale is far from enchanting.
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