Snow White Reading Blog

Obviously, this was written in a different time period in which there were different standards and worldviews on race and inclusion, but I do think it's funny how right of the bat, beauty is defined to be "white" with the rest of the story settling around that. Also the Queen really just lost her cool because a mirror told her a 7-year-old was more beautiful than her. If that ain't low self-esteem... Also really weird how everyone is okay objectifying a little kid from the Queen to the Huntsman. This is definitely not what I remember from the movie, but I guess some changes were probably made for the better. One connection I made was how the Huntsman went out to kill a young Snow White but spared her and instead killed a boar, which very much parallels the story of Abraham and Isaac from the Bible. Clearly, motivations and themes are different, however, the general framework is very similar. Also, the Queen wanted to eat a young kid's heart... didn't realize how messed up these stories really were. Additionally, the part where the dwarves come in is very reminiscent of Goldilocks and the three bears. The story also reinforces gender stereotypes very heavily. The way Snow White has to take care of the dwarves' (good working-class men) house really shows what was expected of women at the time due to gender stereotypes. Very strange how also in this story, the Queen binds Snow White up to try and kill her, and then tries a poisonous comb, whereas, in the movie, Disney just uses a poisonous apple. I wonder why that change came to be? Also interesting how the Queen initially tries to kill Snow White with items typically associated with beauty. And why is Snow so weak-willed? So much for "fool me once...." Her inability to resist probably says something about the way people viewed women at the time, but I wonder what the intended moral was of her falling for the same trick three times. And of course, Snow has to be rescued by a charming male Prince from the aristocracy. It's actually kind of impressive how much perceived social norms permeated the literature of the times. I wonder if future generations will look back at the products of our culture and say the same thing, or will we be as progressive as we think we are? It's also pretty dark how the Queen dies in the end, dancing with hot shoes on... Definitely see why Disney got rid of that one.

Overall, I thought the story was pretty basic, no major plot or character development beyond the central arch. Disney definitely took a lot of creative liberty, but honestly, as far as storytelling is concerned, I think it was for the better. I am honestly struggling what the moral of the story was by the Brothers Grimm other than potentially literally just that women should work in the house, be loyal to men, and not be envious. Other than that, I don't really see what else the takeaway is supposed to be. Usually, with short stories like this that don't have much development, there's a strong theme, but I feel like that was sort of lacking here and I wonder why. Maybe we're just too used to the Disney version, but I guess I'll just have to see through the other readings we get!