Snow White Literary Analysis

507 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis as snow white

Snow White, a famous children’s story, can be told and heard many different ways, yet the outcome is typically the same; a beautiful princess, harassed by some evil witch, saved by a handsome prince, and gets a “happily ever after” ending. Being a kid and hearing a story like this, one begins to believe that there will always be a “happily ever after” yet, as one matures, the education and comprehension of reality leads to the realization that a “happy ending” is not always the case. Snow White by the Brother’s Grimm explains the concept of sexuality through the lens of the id and superego, and also reflects biblical meaning through the appearance of temptation and numerical relevance in the text. The story first begins with an “evil stepmother” and an absent father. Already this creates the imagine of the “Oedipal Complex” between Snow White and the witch. The tension between these two characters creates a …show more content…

The idea of beauty between women is what is tearing them apart creating a competition instead of uniting the women. Barzilai explains that competition associated with beauty stems from the Freudian theory of “penis envy”. “They are bound to value their charms more highly as a late compensation for their original sexual inferiority (Barzilai 515)”. By the Queen wanting to eat Snow White’s organs she hopes to take in the attractiveness of Snow White’s exterior by devouring her “interior”. The concept of beauty reappears when the Prince is mentioned in the story. Once the Prince sees Snow White in the case he immediately asks to dwarfs to have her. “..for I can’t live without seeing Snow White. I will honor and cherish her as if she were my beloved” (Grimm 89). Here the Prince objectifies Snow White and by mentioning she is a “prize” he shows that he believes he has “won” her. Simply based on the fact that he has seen her and considers her to be beautiful, not by interacting with

Show More
Related

  • The Witch Wins in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the small, desolate town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan Frome lives a life of poverty. Not only does he live hopelessly, but “he was a prisoner for life” to the economy (Ammons 2). A young engineer from outside of town narrates the beginning of the story. He develops a curiosity towards Ethan Frome and the smash-up that he hears about in bits and pieces. Later, due to a terrible winter storm that caused the snow itself to seem like “a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending on us layer by layer” (Wharton 20), the narrator is forced to stay the night at Frome’s. As he enters the unfamiliar house, the story flashes back twenty-four years to Ethan Frome’s young life. Living out his life with Zenobia Frome, his hypochondriac of a wife whom he does not love, Ethan has nowhere to turn for a glance at happiness. But when Zenobia’s, or Zeena’s, young cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to care for her, Ethan falls in love with the young aid. Mattie is Ethan’s sole light in life and “she is in contrast to everything in Starkfield; her feelings bubble near the surface” (Bernard 2). All through the novella, the two young lovers hide their feelings towards each other. When they finally let out their true emotions to each other in the end, the consequence is an unforeseen one. Throughout Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton portrays a twisted fairy tale similar to the story of Snow White with the traditional characters, but without a happy ending to show that in a bleak and stark reality, the beautiful and enchanting maiden could become the witch.

    Read More

  • The Obedience Of Women In Snow White, By The Brothers Grimm

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    This characterization of the woman shows how she overpowers her husband, as opposed to the first wife (Snow White’s mother) who is characterized as being obedient and “sitting and sewing by a window with a black ebony frame” (Grimm 249). This characterization contrasts starkly with the dominant woman who plays the archetype of the evil stepmother. The original mother’s wishes came true as she wished for “a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame” (Grimm 249). In this imagery, we are given a color palette that represents a beautiful woman (pale white skin, red rosy cheeks and black ebony hair). Anne Sexton never offers a description of Snow White’s real mother, perhaps showing the reader how it is less important whether the mother is evil or good, but rather how the stepmother and daughter relationship became muddled by the fear the stepmother had to have beauty surpass her own.

    Read More

  • The Reality as Opposed to the Disney Versions of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Presently, many books and fairytales are converted movies and often, producers alters the original tales to grasp the attention of a large audience. However, some of these interpretations hide the primary interpretation. The original interpretations of the Disney classics Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are greatly reinvented from the original fairytales Sun, Moon, and Talia and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of the brutal nature of the treatment women in these original forms. Although there are differences in certain aspects from the original tales to the movies, there are many issues that are influential to the young girls who are still watching the Disney version. I realize this when my youngest niece, Anella asks me, “Why can’t I be beautiful and fall asleep and suddenly wake up to finally find my prince?” This is true in all cases of the four different translations of the fairytales. Every single girl in these stories are in a “beautiful” state of half-death who wake to find a prince who if eager to carry them off. This can lead to negative psychological effects on young girls as they are growing up, creating a large amount of pressure and low self-esteem due to the beauty that these stories portray and maintaining restrictions that these women experience in the stories. While it is true that Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are considered Disney classics that entertain children and provide meaningful role models, it is evident that the true, vulgar nature of these tales are hidden; these stories are about women who are thrown away.

    Read More

  • Sinister Predators In Frankenstein Essay

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    This creates sinister predators within her short stories through the use of empowering and dangerous women. in ‘The Snow Child’, the use of subversion turns the traditional fable of Snow White’s existence from maternal desire into a child who is the product of paternal desire and sexual fantasy. The original tale of Snow White explores a queen who is driven by her desire for beauty and youth, this is similar within ‘The Snow Child’ as the Countess becomes jealous of the child as the Count begins to favour her. The countess and the child are portrayed as binary opposites throughout the story; as one is clothed, the other is naked. This could reflect the importance of appearance within society, and explain the Countess’ antagonistic response to the child and acts of neglect due to her jealousy of the child’s beauty. Carter’s description of the Countess’ clothing leaves the reader with an idea of her dangerous nature; she wears “pelts of black foxes”, an association suggesting a predatory and cunning nature. She also wears “scarlet heels, and spurs” and it may be that the colour of the heels comes from the actions of the spurs, which adds to this idea of violence. We see this nature when she is threatened by the child regarding the Count’s affections, “wife” becoming “the Countess” in a shift emphasised by finally having her own thoughts and feelings in the

    Read More

  • Donald Barthelme’s Snow White

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Barthelme’s novel Snow White, the protagonist, Snow White, is a 22 year old woman living with seven men. These men do not perceive her as a person with emotions, but rather as a sexual object to be used whenever they want and a housewife to tend to their every need. Snow White has unsatisfying sex in the shower with these seven men and also tends to their other physical needs. She is also expected to clean the house from top to bottom. “Snow White was cleaning. Book lice do not bite people, she said to herself. She sprayed the books with a five percent solution of DDT. Then she dusted them with the dusting brush of the vacuum cleaner. She did not band the books together, for that injures the bindings. Then she mended some torn pages using the strips cut from rice paper” (Barthelme 43). Snow White is well educated in women’s studies, as well

    Read More

  • Snow White Compare And Contrast Essay

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    Roses are red, violets are blue, Snow White has changed, everything’s new. This is a different beginning than the original story of Little Snow White by the Grimm Brothers and retold by the director Rupert Sanders, in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman. The original story portrays Snow White as a beautiful, but naive, young woman, leading up to her eating a poisoned apple from the evil queen. The evil queen has been jealous of Snow White after she has grown up and become more beautiful. Although in both the story and the movie, Snow White eats a poisoned apple, Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman is portrayed as more brave and courageous, even after she wakes up from the poisoned apple. In the end, both the story and the movie show that Snow White’s triumphs out rules all, no matter what is thrown at her, but the difference is in how. While there are many common motifs across the story and the movie; Gender roles have changed over time, as shown in the

    Read More

  • Symtorical Interpretation Of 'The Shroud'

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    For those who know this, they may see this story in a literal way. Creating stories with fictional characters like Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel and many other imaginary creatures. This approach to the short story would cause one to see the little boy as a ghost after he dies. This would mean that the mother’s body is not responding to a traumatic event and having a mental confrontation with her own self. Instead, she is physically seeing the ghost of her deceased child and not only in her head. The Brothers show their side of fantasy almost immediately in this story by stating “THERE was once a mother..” This is a classical statement used in a broad range of fairy tales. Even when people create their own fairy tales, spoken or written, they often begin with the words “Once Upon A Time” which is similar to how this story is started. It brings creativity to the mind and makes one wonder how the story might continue on to be. This style of writing is a signature for the Grimm Brothers considering it is what they are most widely known for. This particular piece brings a part of reality that readers can relate to and turns it into a fairy tale and nightmare all in one. It describes one of a parent’s worst fears and ways they may actually react and

    Read More

  • A Different Snow White Story

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the years, Snow White’s story has been told in numerous different versions then its original version in 1812 by the Grimm Brothers. The main basis of the story has remained the same. Only a few minor tweaks to the story have changed. The three versions of the story that are going to be analyzed are the original story “Little Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Disney, and “Mirror, Mirror” by Disney also. They each were created in very different times and the original story has changed over the years to appeal to the audience of that time. No matter how many versions there are Snow White is considered, one of the most cherished fairy tales of all time. They each use different methods to get their story across by using different colors, word usage, and scenes.

    Read More

  • Fairy Tales teach children to be stereotypical in terms of gender roles

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Not so Happily Ever After? The Grimm Truth about Gender Representations in Fairytales (Article) Patricia Louie

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Little Snow-White

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is used in this story as it helps to create a contrast between the good and pure Snow White and, the evil Wicked Queen. The two main characters represent the seven holy virtues and the seven deadly sins respectively. The characteristics of each aid the audience in determining how to act truly good and truly evil. At the end of the story we realize how good will triumph over evil. After realizing Snow White is still fairer than she, “The wicked woman uttered a curse, and she become so frightened, so frightened, that she did not know what to do. At first she did not want to go to the wedding, but she found no peace (8).” We see that the Queen’s envy and wrath has overcome her yet again and it is ultimately her evil actions that lead to her demise against the purity of Snow White. Using main characters to exemplify the characteristics of virtue and sin allow young audiences to easily recognize the difference between good and bad. This use of symbolism allows the audience to be able to understand the moral of the story, which is that good will always triumph over

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    The generation I am viewing for my final research project is "Snow White and the Seven dwarfs" which was produced and filmed by Walt Disney in 1937. "Snow White and the Seven dwarfs" changed history because it was the first full-length animated movie to be made in full color. The Movie has been continuously watched by kids, and still has been since it was released. Even though "Snow white and the seven dwarfs" was incredibly popular in the mainstream public, the movie has many hidden representations in it that many people do not know about--representations that might change a person's perspective of the film.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Neil Gaiman's 'Snow, Glass, Apples'

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” is far from the modern day fairy tale. It is a dark and twisted version of the classic tale, Snow White. His retelling is intriguing and unexpected, coming from the point of view of the stepmother rather than Snow White. By doing this, Gaiman changes the entire meaning of the story by switching perspectives and motivations of the characters. This sinister tale has more purpose than to frighten its readers, but to convey a deeper, hidden message. His message in “Snow, Glass, Apples” is that villains may not always be villains, but rather victims.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: The Fairy Tale "Rapunzel"

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over centuries, fairy tales were passed down by word of mouth to portray a story with a hidden meaning. As these fairy tales were passed on they traveled to different destinations and were modified to conform to other cultures. One example of this is the story of Grapnel. Most people are familiar with the Brothers Grimm version of Rapunzel; however, an earlier variant that comes from Italy was the forerunner to the Grimm version. The Italian version, Petrosinella, written by Giambattista Basile, is an example of how culture has an influence on literature. Although this is the case, both fairy tale versions portray jungian archetypes that are often misinterpreted by mainstream portrayals of these fairy tales.

    Read More

  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first opening scene, Snow White is referred to as a “lovely little princess.” In her first appearance, she is cleaning and looks as though she is in despair waiting to be saved. Snow White is portrayed as young, virginal, pretty, obedient and incapable of helping herself. This movie having been released in 1937, conveys what the “proper” gender roles of the time were. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, power is segregated between genders and even to this day, the stereotypical gender roles seen in this movie still hold some weight in our society.

    Read More

  • Cinderella Literary Analysis

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cinderella 's stepsisters spend many hours dressing for the ball because they know the only quality that matters is their looks. Even Cinderella is fascinated by the nice clothing her fairy godmother gives her. Prince Charming falls in love with her at first sight not because of personality but because of the beauty of her attire. The message is that a woman 's worth is in the way she dresses and the way she looks. That message teaches little girls who listen to Cinderella 's story over and over to grow up becoming women who obsess over their appearance rather than the quality of their

    Read More

More about Snow White Literary Analysis

Open Document