Rooney, Snow White (Grimm Version)

As I read Grimm’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, there were many things that struck me. Primarily, how unrealistic many of the plot points are. I am aware that this is a fairy tale and is obviously unrealistic; however, I also believe that there are some things that do not deserve to surpass logic in the name of ~magic~. For example: how on Earth could the prince fall in completely in love with Snow White at first sight while she is dead?!

Another significant and questionable plot point: regardless of when, where, and in what dimension you reside, isn’t it always aggressive to kill a 7 year old because they are prettier than you, a middle-aged woman? Even if you are the Queen? As if that wasn’t enough, the noble Queen demands that her hunter return with Snow White’s heart as proof that the girl is dead- and when the hunter returns with a (boar’s) heart, she proceeds to EAT it. Every new development in that story line increases in psychopathy.

The scene where Snow White enters the dwarves’ cottage is heartwarmingly reminiscent of Goldilocks entering the bear’s home: “none of them suited her”. I am positive that there is a reason for this and that the two are connected in some way, though I have no evidence to back that statement up.

The dwarves were exceptionally kind and welcoming to little Snow White. It is obvious, in this section, that Snow White remains very childish OR that she has a woman’s stupidity and cannot resist material temptations, obviously. Either one. I have a few questions: how much time has passed? Is she still 7 years old? If so- the end of this story is much creepier than I had ever thought. Second, why do the dwarves not pick up on the fact that she continues to fall for the Queen’s deceit? If they were going to leave her unattended at all, why do they continue to do so after she nearly dies?

The Queen seems to not fully understand how to kill someone. If Snow White is as foolish as she comes across, the Queen could easily ask for a hug and stab her, among other methods. Simple! But a tight corset and a poison comb? Clearly, ineffective and inefficient. This must be a very different world from Game of Thrones.

Also, considering the quote: “When she heard the glass speak thus she trembled and shook with rage. "Snow-white shall die," she cried, "even if it costs me my life!"” This method seems extremely counterproductive, considering the entire motivation for killing Snow White is so the Queen can be the fairest of them all. If the Queen is dead, she will not be able to accomplish her only goal! Silly Queen!

The Dwarves remain a warm presence in an otherwise creepy tale, insisting on burying Snow White on the mountain with flowers and birds and light rather than in the dark ground. But the King’s son (…which King…? Snow White is the daughter of the King?) ruins this moment of tranquility: “Let me have it [Snow White’s coffin and body] as a gift, for I cannot live without seeing Snow-white. I will honour and prize her as my dearest possession.” He wants to ‘prize’ a CORPSE that he did not know or see until she was a CORPSE?! I don’t believe I have the words to explain how unsettling this is.

I find the end of this story a little hasty, though perhaps this is purposeful. Certainly, there is a lot to unpack- Snow White might be a classic damsel in distress, though if she is 7, her supposed foolishness is fitting for her age and complete lack of supervision. The King’s son reaches unprecedented levels of creepiness as does the Queen in terms of anger and jealousy. But I do like the dwarves.

Elizabeth Reneau, Snow White (Disney Version)

The loud bird chirping noises, the cute little forest animals, the iconic dwarf song of “hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work we go” is what I remembered the Snow White film as. When walking through Disney I saw the seven dwarfs mining and Snow White turned into a dramatized princess with pale skin and red lips. Beyond her fair complexion, dark lips, and beautiful princess gown there is a story. Now, when watching the fairy tale as a nineteen-year-old and not a little six-year-old there is a different outlook on the film. The magic of Disney is still evident at any age because one is never too old for Disney, but watching the film as of late, there are some hidden secrets my nineteen-year-old self picks up on. From Walt’s self-figuration of himself throughout the film to a more romanticized version of the tale compared to Grimm’s original work, we are in for a wild ride with the Disney film of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

First, I am going to touch on the self-figuration of Walt throughout the film. This is first seen when the princess (Snow White) is in rags. This notion of rags to riches is seen multiple times in the history of Disney films and throughout different characters. You may be asking why there is such an emphasis on rags to riches? Well, it all links back to Walt himself. Walt was the definition of rags to riches with his early beginnings of a lower class lifestyle to the founding of one of the biggest empires the world has ever seen. Another example of this self-figuration is seen in the knight and shining armor. The knight is Walt himself, charming enough to whisk Snow White away and high enough in society to deserve recognition. Now, while I am talking about the knight and shining armor, let’s talk about my favorite part of Snow White. THE BOY MEETS GIRL ROMANCE!!

I am such a sucker for a cute love story let alone finding one’s true love. This is where Disney has come in and added magic and more of a “fairy tale” ending. Snow White meets her love and it is only fitting for her to be swept away by her prince charming. Today, society views love as magic and relationships as what makes the world go round. So, what a perfect idea as to incorporate the magic of what love can bring into the magic that Disney already represents!!

Now, even with the cute animals, heavens opening, and love in the air; there are still some bits of Snow White which are a bit more twisted. From the gender role assumption of Snow White as practicing a “woman’s role” in the home such as tidying up and cooking to the envy and lust seen from the Queen as she looks at the mirror. However, even with the darker twists and turns, the film finished and I still was left with a sense of magic, a longing for my true love, and a love for Disney.

"Little Snow White" Brothers Grimm

After reading “Little Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, here are a few of the things I first noticed…

1.     I saw a few similarities with the Bible, I’m not sure whether I’m being over-analytical, or whether these are actually logical.

a.     The whole red and white color scheme in the story reminded me of the idea of Jesus washing away our sins and making us clean/whole again. We can see this in Isaiah 1:18, “… Says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’”

b.     The number 7 is pretty big in the Bible as well, with God creating the Earth in 6 days and resting on the 7^th, and the 14^th annotation makes this mention as well.

c.     The whole idea of jealousy is pretty present in many Biblical stories as well, but the same jealousy that the Queen had upon Snow White reminded me pretty starkly of the jealousy that Joseph’s brothers had upon him in Genesis 37. Israel, Joseph’s father, loved Joseph more than any of his other 11 brothers, and they were all pretty upset and jealous about this; they conspired against him and sought to kill him, but instead sold him off to a merchant. This somewhat relates to the fact that Snow White’s mother sought to kill her, but instead of the huntsman killing her, he let her go. It is also similar because both Joseph’s brothers and the Huntsman killed a wild beast and made it appear as though Joseph/Snow White had been killed by an animal to Israel/Queen.

d.     When the huntsman let Snow White go, the text said “it seemed as a stone had been rolled from his heart,” which reminded me of when Jesus was buried/resurrected, they had to roll a stone away from the tomb to find that he was missing, and when Daniel was put in the den of lions, they rolled a stone to seal the den.

e.     All the annotations remind me of my study Bible.

2.     There are SO many things that are wrong with the story at face value…

a.     Snow White is 7 and her stepmother wants to kill her. She gets married I assume also while she is 7 (annotation 9)

b.     Her stepmother openly and willingly eats ‘her’ heart and believes this will grant her Snow White’s beauty (*If she believed this and it was true, why didn’t she obtain the beauty of the wild boar???) (annotation 12)

c.     I appreciate the fact that the Dwarfs would not part with Snow White for any amount of gold but then just decide to give it to the prince for free?? Also, the prince was okay with just carrying around a dead body of a girl to look at???

d.     If a person is not breathing for “long, long time,” shouldn’t she be dead? Also in this version, she didn’t wake up with a kiss, but because a bump in the road dislodged the apple from her throat… sometimes fairytales don’t make sense, and that makes sense because it’s a fairytale so it’s okay :)!

3.     Some questions I have after reading this…

a.     The text mentioned that birds came to weep for Snow White, “first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.” I wonder if the birds have any significance, either in their appearance or the order in which they appeared?

b.     I wonder whether Snow White ever got to see the Dwarves again after she got married?

c.     Why exactly did the Queen need to dance with red-hot iron slippers?

d.     I wonder why the Queen just had to keep asking the mirror who the fairest of them all was… isn’t that what the husband’s job is for?

                                               i.     This somewhat relates to today and how people are always seeking  approval on their looks from others, especially on social media with likes and comments.

4.     There are so many sexual undertones in this text, some that I didn’t expect, but it’s always that way in adult writing isn’t it. I didn’t previously know that the looking glass in this story represented a “male gaze” which objectified the female, which was interesting to look at, along with seeing the dwarfs as pre-adolescent and underdeveloped which is why they were sexually unthreatening to Snow White. It was also weird to think about how annotation 27 mentions that “a girl must be awakened to womanhood by a man,” in this case the King’s son? Anyways… a big no-no was how the Dwarfs automatically put Snow White into a “womanized” role in order to stay with them, meaning doing chores around the house. While this was not okay then, and is not okay now, overlooking this would mean we are being ignorant to the prejudices of previous times. One thing I hate to say I thought of was if the Dwarfs were sexually threatening (as opposed to unthreatening) I wonder whether they would have allowed Snow White to stay instead as a sex slave?

Anyways, I look forward to seeing the movie and how that differs from this story (I imagine the movie is much more child-friendly).