Madness # 6
I am equally
impressed with the number of versions of the fairy tale, Snow White, although not nearly as many versions exist as with Little Red Riding Hood. Continued reading
and research of unfamiliar versions remain a high priority, especially in
determining which versions would be suitable to use for varying ages of
students in elementary, middle, and high schools.
In some
ways, the tales of Snow White suggest
a greater comparison and controversy
between the main characters the evil stepmother and Snow White than with the
main individuals in LRRH where the
characters do not show nearly as much jealously. In the Week 4 Discussion, a close look is
taken at the fairy tale of Snow White
and the assorted versions along with similar occurrences and endings. After close reading in NCE, observations were made and included in Week Four Discussion
which is included below.
Week Four
Discussion
Walt
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
so surpassed other versions of this tale that readers have a hard time
remembering the versions preceding this one.
Through the different versions, writers have Snow White eat a poison
apple, eat a bad cake, endure a toxic comb, among other adventures. In other varying versions, the mean Queen
orders a huntsman to bring her Snow White’s lungs and liver to cook and eat, or
a container of blood with the addition of a toe, or her intestines wrapped in
her blouse (NCE).
Disney
single handedly changed everything when in his film he made a glass coffin, changing
from the previous jeweled style coffins.
Although some components change, from version to version, the main story
line continues with detailed elements of the plot. The similarities in all
versions of SW seem to be “a
reflection of a young woman’s development (74), a rite of passage in the young
maiden’s life.
In order to
understand the continued desire for reading, listening, and watching SW, the story line is forced to remain
intriguing, as the author may allow the biological mom to die in childbirth and
have the “evil” Queen persecute a seven-year-old stepdaughter (a typical fairy
tale) for willing audiences.
This
particular fairy tale highlights the realities, both good and bad, that
actually occur in families, all the while explaining the trials of a little girl
who simply does not deserve to be treated so harshly by anyone, especially not
by her stepmother. Regular struggles
emerge, filled with jealously, contrasting an “evil “ stepmother with what would
have been a “wonderful” biological mother.
Add in an absent father figure, and a female child longing for love and
affection, and the audiences and readers of SW
cannot wait to see what happens.
Some earlier
versions of SW promote her as being
in a coma and waking to find much evil surrounding her, including sexual rage
and other repressions. The evil Queen in
one version is diagnosed as a “plotter, plot maker, a schemer, a witch, an
artist...self absorbed as all artists traditionally are” (76).
Beauty
becomes a simple passion. In Sexton’s
version of SW, Snow White becomes
destined to be a Queen with Disney’s version creating a cultural icon, loved by
all. Who does not love watching a young
beautiful maiden go against an evil, aging stepmother? Disney clearly had a lasting idea in making SW, and even after a few pitfalls,
eventually she gains her status as a believable, lasting iconic figure.
Continuing
with thoughts from Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s essay about Snow White and Her Wicked Stepmother, readers
learn about a legend of Adam’s first wife before Eve, carefully summarizing a
female monster in a parable, which can be compared to Grimm’s similar tale of
Snow White that also has a relationship between an angel-woman and
monster-woman (271), raising issues for the true title of this work.
Although Disney
seemed to prefer the title of Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs, questions are raised in the Gilbert and Gubar essay
suggesting the preferred title as Snow
White and Her Wicked Stepmother, since the tale does pit these two women
together throughout the flow of this literary piece (291). Many suggestions that the mirror actually
becomes a weapon add an interesting twist pointing to the jealously between the
two main women characters, with one willing to kill the other. Continued use of words such as framed in a
major looking glass (292), shows the obsession that a woman has on her looks
and the jealousy that prevails because of personal appearance or worse, lack of
beauty. The absence of beauty for one
creates a desire to destroy the other, with a willingness to plot and to eliminate the opposition, turning the tale
into a murder story, comparable to a television episode of NCII.
Upon
learning that the Queen’s plot falls short of killing Snow White, other story
lines continue ranging from suffocation to eating a poison apple skin. As irony and bitterness reappear, the truth
indicates and again suggests just how close the stepmother’s temptations are to
Snow White’s inner desires (295). The
reference to both (Queen and Snow White) eating from the same apple seems to
indicate the bitterness that one has for the other.
In the end,
Snow White marries a Prince, and becomes Queen, herself, as Snow White
seemingly goes full circle with this essay reminding readers of the thought
that Snow White escaped one glass coffin only to be imprisoned again with a
King whose voice dictatess Snow White’s daily activities.
All versions
of Snow White seem to lead to similar lessons learned, fates encountered,
deaths, and rebirths of sorts, along with assorted tests for the character to
take and to endure. Audiences of various
versions of Snow White can still be
reminded of the pettiness and jealousy that exists in society both then and
now, particularly when pertaining to a spiteful female. Readers and movie goers alike still seem to
have a fascination with Snow White and her many tribulations, with a clear wish
for Snow White to live forever in the hearts of her readers and viewers.
Bibliography
The Classic Fairy Tales.
Ed. Maria Tatar. New York:
Norton. 1999. Print.
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