Versions of Snow White Critique - Essay Example

due: Snow White The fairy tale that is known as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs today can be traced back to older versions that have been modified over the years. Two versions, an Italian tale titled The Young Slave and the Scottish Lasair Gheug, the King of Irelands Daughter are usually identified as the originators of Snow White. These versions from different cultures vary in terms of the plot, the intended audience, the moral values being emphasized, and the social wrongs being discouraged. However, the main theme is changed only subtly to suit the aims of the authors or reflect the culture of origin. The following essay will critically analyze the three versions of this story, pointing out any connections between the authors and the plots. All three stories are based on the jealousy of an older woman directed to a younger girl who is related to them in one way or another. In the Italian tale, the older woman finds out that her husband’s niece has been hidden in a secret room in the palace, and concludes that she was having an affair with her husband. She proceeds to mistreat her throughout her life until one day when the husband finds out the girl’s story from her conversation with her doll. The Scottish version tells of rivalry between a woman and her stepdaughter over inheritance. She devises plans to kill the stepdaughter severally to no avail; an effort which ultimately leads to her demise. The same plot is seen in the modern tale of Snow White, only that, in this case, the rivalry stems from the fact that the stepdaughter is thought to be more beautiful than the mother. Another similarity is seen between the tale of the king’s daughter and the modern version. Both girls find princes towards the end of their stories, and their troubles are supposedly sorted out. The stories portray the importance of royalty during the time the stories were developed. Kings and their relatives were respected and had privileges that were not available to the other citizens of the country. Marrying a member of the royal family, therefore, was the best possible chance of succeeding that any girl could have. Also, in the story of the king’s daughter, the plot is based on royalty and the dispute between the two women results from the vast wealth that kings possessed at the time. The approval of a king or prince is portrayed as the highest level of success that a woman of that time could attain. The stories also point out the fact that most women determine their attractiveness based on opinions from other sources. In the story of the king’s daughter, the queen first envies her stepdaughter because she is led to think that her stepdaughter might inherit more wealth than her. However, later on we learn that the queen has visits a well in the king’s garden where a trout tells her that she cannot be the most beautiful woman in Ireland as long as the king’s daughter is alive. Similarly, the queen in Snow White’s tale asks a mirror if she is the most beautiful woman while the queen in the Scottish tale envies the king’s niece based on her perceived good looks. All three stories send the message that women are most likely to come to conflicts of a sexual nature as opposed to wealth or other belongings. Another version of Snow White by implies that she might one day become like her stepmother. The author states that as her stepmother dances in hot shoes to her death, Snow White occasionally looks into a mirror, implying that she might one day become insecure of her looks just like her mother did. The stories also make references to religion, which is also considered important in the society. In the tale of the king’s daughter, she has three children with a prince she met in the forest, and they are referred to “unchristened children” throughout the story. Being christened seems to be a vital thing in the society at that time otherwise the author would not have to stress this fact. Also, the queen in the story of the young slave compares the king’s niece to Mohamet (Mohammed), the Islam prophet. Mohammed is considered a false god that the King is alleged to be worshipping in secret. However, the queen hates the girl mainly due to her good looks which she fears the husband might prefer to hers. The stories also have significant differences developed gradually through a change of culture. The original stories mostly targeted the young women and were meant to teach them the values of being humble and avoid jealousy and other vices portrayed by the antagonists. The stories also emphasized the importance of beauty and gentle character since they were desired characteristics in women. The more recent version of the story, however, excludes most of the sexual messages such as the Queen envying the king’s niece because she thinks the king might love her due to her good looks. Instead, the stories are tailored to be read by small children. Other descriptions of bloodshed are also omitted. For instance, the details of what Snow White’s stepmother instructs the huntsman to do are edited in modern versions to omit certain descriptions, thus be more appealing to children. Unlike the plot and characters, the theme of the story has not been altered much by newer versions. Several scholars have argued that the tale of Snow White represents the development of a young woman, hence its stability over the years (Jones 32). Snow White, Lisa and Lasair Gheug represent typical ladies in the society who develop amid hardships to attain happiness in the end. Other authors maintain that the reason the stories have remained the same is because of their representation of the male-dominated society, which has remained unchanged with time (Bettelheim 203). Although in the modern version not much is said about the relationship between snow white and her father, it could be reasonable to assume that it is the attention of the father that sparks the hatred between the stepmother and Snow White. As for the other two, it is clear that the approval of the father is central. Also the looking glass and the glass coffin are likened to the judgmental watch of the men in the society. The influence of the male dominated society is further explored by Gilbert and Gubar. The authors argue that the patriarchal society portrays the ideal lady as gullible, ignorant, sweet and passive, whereas the active, artful and fierce woman is labeled a witch. According to the authors, the older woman is: ”a plotter, a plot-maker, a schemer, a witch, an artist, and impersonator, a woman of almost infinite creative energy, witty, wily, and self-absorbed as all artists traditionally are” (38-39) It is this woman who also foreshadows the fate of Snow White who, after gaining the throne, will be trapped by the judgment of the mirror, in the same way, her stepmother was. In conclusion, regardless of the perspective taken by analysts, stories continue to play an important role in the society as a reflection of our moral values and as a tool for education. The plot, characters, and themes change periodically to suit the audience and the current state of the society. However, most folk tales retain their main themes. In the case of Snow White, all three tales talk of jealousy, hatred, expulsion, adoption, resuscitation, death, and resolution. It is evident from the analysis that depending on the perspective, the tales can be educational or portray detriment in the woman’s role in the society. Works cited Basile, Giambattista. "The young slave." M. Tatar, The classic fairy tales (1999): 80-83. Bettelheim, Bruno. "The Uses of Enchantment. New York: Alfred A." (1976). Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination. Yale University Press, 1980. Grimm, Jacob, et al. The complete fairy tales of the brothers Grimm. Bantam, 2003. Jones, Steven Swann. The new comparative method: structural and symbolic analysis of the allomotifs of" Snow White". No. 243. Suomalainen tiedeakatemia, 1990. Philip, Neil, ed. The Penguin book of Scottish folktales. Penguin Group USA, 1995. Read More