Grimm's Little Snow White

The Grimm version of Snow White is exactly that: grim. Relative to the fairy tale stereotype that the current society as adopted, it is no secret that the Brothers Grimm carry a darker tone and air that keep them relevant through the years. Little Snow White carries the same aspects of gory action that has been aligned with the Grimm standard. However, because this is a fairy tale, I do fail to grapple with some of the logic behind the plans of the evil step mother in achieving her goal. The step mother presents an extremely interesting character, as she possess the rage and power that make her a force in the story, yet she fails to have the wherewithal to complete tasks to the fullest extent on her own. She initially delegates the killing of Snow White to her huntsman. While this is very understandable as a queen could not be seen in public leading her step-daughter to the forest to slay her, the queen displays the vile savagery in her blood by eating what she believes is Snow White’s remains. A person that is willing to complete these acts would theoretically have no qualms with completing a heinous act herself, and instead may even relish in it. As the queen realizes that her goal was not accomplished by the huntsman, she then turns to magic to mask her appearance in order to complete her goal. This creates another conflict as it leaves the reader confused as to why she could not disguise herself in order to kill Snow White in the woods on her own. Later in the story, the queen shows an affinity for poison and tactics that claim to kill their victims, yet they are simply and easily foiled with the removal of the poisoned item. A queen so well gifted, as she is portrayed to be, in the dark magical arts would not resort to methods that can so easily be foiled. A person with that much perceived desire should instead look to accomplish her goal of killing Snow White in a manner that leaves no possibility of her return, for instance using literally any medieval weapon with a sharp edge or even those without and killing Snow White in a manner accustomed to that time and to Grimm stories as a whole: gruesomely. This puts the Queen’s true motives into question. While she possesses the capability of achieving her goal, she instead opts to utilize tactics that leave the possibility available for her downfall. This leads the reader to two conclusions. The first, and probably less likely, is that she shares the same appreciation that the huntsman did for her beauty. She simply cannot bring herself to kill a creature that is so perfectly constructed, as it goes against the fiber of her being. This would hypothesize some form of appreciation or even love she has for Snow White’s physical appearance, as she cannot bring herself to destroy the perfect human. The second and more likely option is that the queen falls into a pattern found in many criminals, one that has been detailed in the texts of Edgar Allen Poe in The Tell-Tale Heart. While the queen believes she needs to murder Snow White in order to allow for her to eventually be defeated. She sees Snow White as her foil, and her simply cannot continue in her life without having an antithesis to her being.