Andrew Z. Ho

Writing 39B

Professor Ludisaca

The Truth Behind Fairy Tales

What are fairy tales? These stories are usually told to children and are very innocent or light-hearted. There is a clear distinction between good and evil, with a happy ending and a lesson taught. However, when taking a closer look, we realize that these stories are not all sunshine and rainbows. Instead, there is a much darker meaning in the history of these stories. An example of this is the Grimm Brothers version of Snow White. The story's structure is the same as the Disney version that most people know. Snow White is our main character hiding away from the evil Queen trying to get rid of her. However, this story differs in how the author instills many elements of fear and horror into the story. The Queen in this story is obsessed with beauty. She constantly asked her magic mirror, "which is the fairest in the land?". The mirror would usually reply by telling the Queen was the prettiest, but that all changed when Snow White came into the picture. As a result, we see the Queen slowly fall into insanity. She cannot couldn’t accept the fact that someone challengeschallenged her in beauty. In addition, we also see these dark elements through the way characters interact based on gender and dark figures in the story. Not only will weWe will learn more about the characters themselves but also about the, the time periodtime in which the story takes place,, and the dark undertones of society back then.  Overall, Snow White by the Grimm Brothers utilizes dark fairy tale elements such as examining villainous figures, gender-motivated interactions, and dark symbolism to show the way women were treated in the 19th century.

By examining the antagonist's violent actions, we can see how Snow White, as a dark fairytale, dives into the complex human emotions of greed and envy. In the case of Snow White, the antagonist would be the Queen. The Queen was built upon the obsession with beauty as she is described as "proud and arrogant and could not bear being second to anyone in beauty." The Queen also symbolizes greed and envy. Her greed is not based on money but deals with wanting to be the prettiest. She becomes envious of Snow White and her looks which results in wanting to eliminate her. Instead of looking for a more peaceful way of accomplishing her goal, she chooses to go down the route of violence. She first orders a hunter to kill Snow White and bring back her heart and liver. This r was to prove that the hunter finished the job and because the Queen wanted to eat them, which adds an element of cannibalism into the story. While the hunter chose to bring back an animal's heart and liver instead, the fact remains that the Queen still ate them, thinking they belonged to a human. When she found out that she was lied to and that Snow White was still alive, all that did was make her crazier. She decided to take matters into her own hands with two separate attempts to kill Snow White, which led to failure as the prince would save her in the end. Afterward, Snow White would marry the prince, and the Queen was invited to their wedding. While the Queen did not want to go at first, her curiosity to know who challenged her beauty took over. Till the very ending, the Queen's obsession did not change and showed just how much emphasis was put on women for their looks within society. Without her looks, the Queen would have felt like she had nothing and, as a result, no value. So to get that back, she went down the route of violence to get rid of anyone who might have challenged her beauty. 

We also have to remember that the Queen was also Snow White's stepmother and that their relationship affected how they treated each other. Generally, in fairy tales, most step-relatives are seen in a bad light. Snow White's birth mother was kind and wanted the best for her daughter. However, things changed after her mother passed and her stepmother came into the equation, things changed. Growing up, it is evident that the two did not see each other much as the Queen would have been well aware of Snow White's growing beauty. However, she only found out through her magic mirror. When she foundfinds out that Snow White wasis prettier than her, instead of choosing to talk to her and praise her, she wants to kill the child instead. The Queen's heart "turned as cold as a stone" as her hatred for her stepchild grew. In Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook, in the section titled "Step Relatives," it states, "previously victimized stepchildren directly witness (or perhaps even order) the execution of their stepmothers…." The Queen terrorizes Snow White throughout the story, causing Snow White's heart to fill with hate and rage. We see this come out at the end of the story when the Queen goes to the wedding. When seeing Snow White, the queen "was so terrified that she just stood there and could not budge an inch." She would then be forced to dance to death wearing a pair of red-hot iron shoes. While that act in itself is scary, that initial reaction from the Queen must be from the way Snow White looked at her. Just as the handbook stated, we see Snow White watch her stepmother die and get her revenge on her for everything she did to her.

In addition, when taking a closer look at the character interactions, we can see that many are very gender-based and reflect the way women are treated and seen during the time. The Grimms Brothers wrote Snow White in the early nineteenth century when women were not seen with much social status and with the sole purpose of supporting their fathers and husbands. They would stay at home and perform domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning. In a way, women were seen more as objects for men rather than actual humans and would be taken advantage of whether it was for the cleanliness of their homes or personal enjoyment. Women had little to no say in what they wanted.

When taking a look at the actions of the dwarfs, we can see how they dehumanize Snow White as they make her succumb to their needs and the gender norms of women at the time. At first, the dwarfs seem kind as they offer Snow White a place to stay and hide from the Queen. However, they only did this if Snow White did domestic chores. As mentioned in the text, the dwarfs said, "If you will keep house for us, cook, make the beds, wash, sew, knit, and keep everything neat and tidy, then you can stay with us, and we'll give you everything you need." Remember that Snow White is still a child, and the fact that the dwarfs decided to treat her more like a utility rather than a child is absurd. The actions of the dwarfs perfectly reflect how women were treated at the time. They also talk about giving "you[Snow White] everything you[Snow White] needs." which draws more suspicion. What does a child need besides a place to rest and food? These actions start to question the dwarfs' true intention of the act even more as they can be wishing for some other benefits as well.

Another character we see dehumanizing Snow White would be the prince's thinking behind saving Snow White. Like in many other fairy tales, the prince, in the end, did save the girl, but when looking at the events preceding this event, it makes you question his true intent. One day when the prince was walking around in the forest, he stumbled upon Snow White in her glass coffin. However, the transaction that follows after this between him and the Dwarfs makes it sound like they are fighting over an item rather than a human. He said, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you whatever you want for it… I will honor and cherish her as if she were my beloved." The dwarfs responded by saying they "wouldn't sell it for all the gold in the world." This whole transaction made it look like they viewed Snow White more as an object as the dwarfs brought up gold giving human life a quantifiable value and referring to Snow White as "it" rather than "her."

Through examining the dark symbols within Snow White, we can see their effect on creating and enhancing the dark elements within this fairytale. The first example is the woods, according to "Fairytale Adaptations: Horror and its Effect on Audience.", "One of the main signifiers of fear within fairytale literature is the depiction of the forest. The Brothers Grimm explain that the forest is 'unconventional, free, alluring, but dangerous". Since Snow White is a story by the Grimm Brothers, we see its significance as a universal symbol of fear. When Snow White was leaving to go into the woods, the text says she was left in the "vast forest" with "wild beasts" around her. The story depicts the forest as something she should be afraid of while never explicitly stating it. The author's choice of words helps create the right atmosphere to show fear in the text creating an environment surrounding the character that leaves the reader not knowing what can happen next. 

The color black is another symbol that enhances dark elements and reflects how women were viewed. While many might see this as just a color, it represents death within the story. While it is not mentioned as explicitly as the forest, it still is essential in defining the story and Snow White as a character. Snow White can be described as a girl "white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony." While initially describing her appearance, it foreshadows events later described in the story. She experiences many near-death experiences through attempts done by the hunter and the Queen. She also causes one with the Queen at the end of the story. In addition, we see that this color was introduced as a description of Snow White, showing just how much an emphasis was placed on women back in the day.

In conclusion, Snow-white by the Grimms Brothers fits into the dark fairy tale genre. By analyzing the actions of the Queen and gender-based interactions, we can see how this pure light-hearted story took a dark turn with this version. The use of dark symbols within the text also helped establish the atmosphere and identify many of the story's undertones. Through these dark elements, we can also see how they reflected women and society at the time.

Annotated Bibliography

Garry, Jane, and Hasan El-Shamy. "Step Relatives" Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook. Sharpe, 2005.

This section helps explain common relationships between step-relatives, specifically within fairy tales. It explains the reasoning behind their actions and the historical context to them as well. It also provides supporting evidence to arguments made in the story. This source is credible because it’s a published book. It uses a handful of sources within their writing to ensure that the information being disseminated is credible and that they know all the facts. The author, Hasan El-Shamy, is also an established professor in folklore and can be seen as an expert on the topic. The source also doesn’t have any identifiable biases as it’s used to inform the reader about archetypes and motifs within stories, not to persuade the reader based on some bias. This section is relevant to my paper because it helps support my thesis. ThroughBy exploring the relationship between Snow White and her mother, we see the dark elements and many gender norms as well.

Sandwell, Danielle. "Fairytale Adaptations: Horror and its Effect on Audience." Westminster Research, Westminster University. 2014. 

This source provides information about symbolism within fairy tales and their significance. It also talks about the history of the symbols and how they’ve been viewed. This information comes from a book and is a scholarly source. It has been peer revied as it’s a research paper done at Westminster University. This source also doesn’t have any identifiable biases as it’s mainly to inform the audience about horror within fairy tales and its effect on audiences... I will use this information to support my claims about symbols and how they reflect horror within these fairy tales.