Snow White reading response

I found it interesting that the evil queen who was jealous of and tried to kill Snow White was her step mother. I had not remembered that this was the case prior to reading. I was reminded of the classic fairy tale trope- the evil stepmother, with Cinderella being the tale that first comes to mind. I also appreciated the irony that Snow White’s beauty is why the queen wanted to kill her, but it was also what why the huntsman saved her. It was quite gruesome that the queen ate what she thought was the heart of Snow White, and I found it funny that the author specified how the heart was cooked - salted. While the cottage is being described, the phrase ‘the seven little …’ is repeated over and over again which gives a nice rhythm to the writing, and is in my opinion a very classic fairy tale technique. Another concept that I feel is common in a lot of fairy tales, is that of something being ‘just right’, classically in goldilocks, but is also present in Snow White, as she found the seventh bed to be right. I also found Snow White praying to be a very interesting addition to the story, showing the ideals of the time it was written, that praying was something someone who is pure and good does. Another similarity to the goldilocks fairytale is the “Who has been …” that is repeated through all the dwarves. Clearly 7 is a very important number, there are seven dwarves who each have their own bed, plate, candle, etc; this emphasis on the number seven can also be interpreted biblically as seven was a very important number in the bible. There is also an interesting emphasis on the equal distribution of things, ie- snow white took a little bit of wine out of each of the dwarves cups, and the seventh dwarf slept in each of other beds for one hour each. I think the patriarchal values of the time Snow White was written are especially evident in the part of the story where the dwarfs tell Snow White that in order to stay with them she must clean the house and cook the meals. I did not know that originally the queen tried to choke/bind Snow White to death with string and lace. Snow White is portrayed as kind of stupid in this tale, she keeps opening the door for old women, even though they keep trying to kill her. I suppose this reflects the norm of the time that young girls are silly and naive and need men to take care of them and tell them what to do. I found it a little creepy that the dwarfs only let the prince take Snow White when he promised to keep her as a possession. The ending is certainly gruesome, but not nearly as gruesome as some of the brothers grimm tales. Overall, I found that Snow White the character did not have a mind of her own and constantly had to rely on the men in her life (the huntsman, the dwarves, the prince), which likely is a reflection of the ideals that dominated the time it was written.