Snow White: Strength in Weakness (Snow's three deaths)

So I have been the BIGGEST slacker with this blog. I think it has been over a month since I have written in this blog. I will be graduating soon so I will have more time to actually be able to commit to this blog.

This week's blog will feature Snow White's three deaths and how she grew each time.

Many adaptations of the story of Snow White leave out the fact that the Queen had attempted twice before the apple to try to kill Snow. There is only one adaptation that I can honestly think of that includes this fact and that was a mini-series made in the early 2000s called The 10th Kingdom. I know that some can argue that eliminating the first 2 attempts is okay, because it was the last attempt was the only one that really mattered. If you haven't figured out by this point, I completely disagree with the idea that the other deaths don't matter. I believe that they do serve a purpose and will try my best to explain it.

Let's begin by looking at the Queen's disguises then looking at the manner in which she tried to kill Snow White. I will go into more depth after laying out these basic reminders.

The three disguises:

1. Old Woman
• The Queen painted her face to look like an elderly woman who sells pretty things
• I know I said three, but she dressed up as an old woman twice
• I totally believe that she dressed up as two different old women because Snow White, as young as she was, would remember the woman who tried to kill her the first time
2. Peasant Woman
• In the version I have, she dresses up as a peasant woman, which I find very interesting, but I won't go into that yet.
• I have read a version that she dressed up as a farmer's wife as well
• This disguise is easier to image the Queen to do
•  I imagine her trying to dull down her looks and looking like the average citizen 
•  Also, the idea of a farmer's wife/ peasant woman can bring a more welcoming woman
• Anyone recall the scene from Mary Poppins about the old bird woman who feeds the bird. It's kind of like that.

The three deaths:

1. The Corset 

"Good wares, beautiful wares," she answered. "Bodice laces in all colors." And she took out one that was braided from colorful silk. "Would you like this one?"
"I can let that honest woman in," thought Snow-White, then unbolted the door and bought the pretty bodice lace.
"Child," said the old woman, "how you look! Come, let me lace you up properly."
The unsuspecting Snow-White stood before her and let her do up the new lace, but the old woman pulled so quickly and so hard that Snow-White could not breathe. (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html)

2. The Poison Comb

Snow-White looked out and said, "Go on your way. I am not allowed to let anyone in."
"You surely may take a look," said the old woman, pulling out the poisoned comb and holding it up. The child liked it so much that she let herself be deceived, and she opened the door.
After they had agreed on the purchase, the old woman said, "Now let me comb your hair properly."
She had barely stuck the comb into Snow-White's hair when the poison took effect, and the girl fell down unconscious.
"You specimen of beauty," said the wicked woman, "now you are finished." And she walked away. (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html)

3. The Poison Apple

Snow-White stuck her head out the window and said, "I am not allowed to let anyone in. The dwarfs have forbidden me to do so."
"That is all right with me," answered the peasant woman. "I'll easily get rid of my apples. Here, I'll give you one of them."
"No," said Snow-White, "I cannot accept anything."
"Are you afraid of poison?" asked the old woman. "Look, I'll cut the apple in two. You eat the red half, and I shall eat the white half."
Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the red half was poisoned. Snow-White longed for the beautiful apple, and when she saw that the peasant woman was eating part of it she could no longer resist, and she stuck her hand out and took the poisoned half. She barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead. (http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html)

Now that we have each of those parts covered in case you have forgotten it, now it is the time to dive a bit deeper.

I believe that the Queen dressed in these two ways for a very specific: making this child trust her. I do not believe that the Queen looked like she did in the Disney movie, cause who on earth would trust a person that looked like that in a black cloak (she looked way too sketchy even for a kind child). Also, the first time the Queen came, Snow White believed she was on a honest person. The Queen did not dress up without already figuring out how to get her stepchild to trust her. The Queen was cruel and knew that she could deceive this kind child due to her kind nature.

Another point to remember is that after the first time she potentially faced death, she did show hesitation and did listen to the dwarfs. So many times people assume that Snow White was just foolish due to the fact that she fell victim three times. She, once again, showed hesitation and care, especially during the last contact she had with the Queen. She did not eat the apple until the Queen had already taken a bite.

I'm sure by this point you are wondering how strength through weakness comes in. Guess what? I'm going to start talking about that now!

There is a line from The 10th Kingdom that I believes fits perfectly with this Post, because this is the line that made me view Snow White in such a different way.

Why did I let her in? Didn't I know she was bad? I did. Of course I did. But I also knew that I couldn't keep the door closed all my life just because it was dangerous. Just because there was a chance that I might get hurt.  ~ Snow White

I believe that this line shows a strength in Snow White's character is that she may have showed hesitation with strangers, but didn't close the door on her life. If she would have never taken the apple then she would have never have met her prince nor would she have ever had her happily ever after.

Now I'm not saying taking something from a stranger is a good idea. Come on, this is the era of "Stranger Danger!" That may have also been a lesson in this story too, but that's a completely other thing.

The weakness comes in is something that  I personally deal with as I assume many others: Kindness and trust is thought of as a weakness. Snow White is the perfect example of believing  in the best of people. In every film adaptation shows this and people always think that this is a huge fault, yet this is also her greatest strength. With this strength, she gives hope to all. This story is not showing that she was too weak because all she did was clean, cook and wait for a man, but she decided to look for the goodness of people. If that is what is considered a bad story just because she cooks and cleans and wants a man, but has such a strong character because she does face the Queen in the end.

Snow White may be considered one of the "weaker" princesses of the Disney world, but I believe if it wasn't for her kindness, gentle nature, and her seeing the good in others, then I don't believe so many people would be able to relate to these stories.

And also to just point out the obvious: She survived THREE Deaths! Yeah, she pretty much rocks.

Snow White: Father, where did you go?

Does anyone else find it strange that Snow White's father is not present in the story? I'm assuming most are like me in thinking that Snow White's father was killed or died before these events. So, while looking at this story a few months ago, I noticed that it never once says that the King had passed.

A year later the King took himself another wife.

That is it. The King is never mentioned after this. No funeral; no death; nothing.

So here is where my thinking comes in to play, I don't think the King ever died. I think that the King was alive when all of this played out. I understand that this is a twisted view, but I believe that the King's death would have been a traumatic part of a story and would have had an effect on Snow White.

But in thinking in both of these areas, whether the King was alive or not, it is tragic. I honestly see it potentially being tragic in four different ways:

1. If her father was dead, that means Snow was truly alone with the Queen and probably had a lot of issues
2. If her father was alive, then that means he was a weak 
3. If her father was alive he may not have cared about Snow White
4. Or the trauma from his first wife's death was too dramatic for him and caused him not to be able to help his daughter because it caused him too much pain

Any of these are depressing in their own right and I think it puts a new perspective on the story. Think about it, Snow didn't have the love of a mother, but she didn't have the love of her father either. It doesn't matter if the King was dead or alive, he did not show love. He let the Queen kill his daughter three times and that is not a sign of love.

Now I am not going to blame the King for the crimes of the Queen, because that is not fair. Everyone has faced something traumatic in their lives, but whether we let those events shape our lives is our choice. If the King was alive, the death of his first wife may have caused him not to be the father he should have been. He may have been mourning for the rest of his life over the death of the woman he loved. This doesn't give him the excuse to let his second wife abuse his only child.

I know in many film adaptations, they show her father being dead or in the more recent movie, "Mirror Mirror," he was in a different form and thus being taken away from his daughter. I believe the film world finds it easier to just kill the King off because it is almost too painful to think of the idea that the King did not stand up for his child. Maybe it is the idea that a character like Snow White cannot be that broken, because of the idea that she is so pure.

The reason I like to believe that the King is alive is that Snow was still pure and kind even with all the utter pain around her. She had the ability to rise above it all and still find love. Snow White had a broken family in more than one way, but she was able to rise against it and find her happily ever after.

Next week's blog, if I actually hold to my schedule that I wanted to do with this blog, will be entitled:
Snow White: Strength in Weakness (Snow's three deaths)

Snow White: Time Frame

One of my favorite items to look at in literature is the period of which the piece is set in or the time frame that all these events happened. Little Snow White is not immune from this piece, because I believe that the order the events happened are very interesting.

In many interpretations, Snow is a young child typically between the ages of 3 to 9 years old (this is a rough estimate from the interpretations that I know). These interpretations are partially right with Snow being young, but she was even younger than that. In fact, Snow knew the Evil Queen more than she knew her own mother.

And as soon as the child was born, the queen died. A year later the King took himself another wife.

So from the story, Snow was a year old when her father remarried. They never mentioned if the King courted her or if she was a member of the court. We never know if she knew the Queen or had a connection with the royal family before this. We do know that she was the woman who had a lot of influence in Snow's life due to the fact that she was in her life since she was at least a year old.

Snow white grew up and became ever more beautiful. When she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the light of day, even more beautiful than the queen herself.

At age seven, Snow was even more beautiful than her step-mother; At age seven, Snow was still a child; At age seven, Snow angered the queen all because of her beauty. Snow was cast out of the castle and had a planned assassination on her life at the age of seven. I know I keep writing the age of seven, but there are really two points that come up in my mind when I realize she was this young when this all happened.

1. That it is crazy that a young child like this has to go through this
2. Seven is a number known for completion

Going back to the first point, she is seriously a child. This is something traumatic for any child to go through and the sad thing is, there are children like her today who feel unloved by parents and step-parents. I cannot even imagine the psychological  issues she had later in life due to the fact that she had no real stability in her early child years. I wonder if this caused issues in her married life or when raising her own children? Unfortunately, we will never really know the out come of those questions and must assume that she and her prince lived happily ever after.

The second point I find a little more interesting and honestly I just picked up on this earlier today. In the Christian tradition, the number seven represents completeness. Now I'm not going into a religious post due to this fact, but I find it very interesting that at the age of seven, Snow was this beautiful. She was complete with beauty, but I don't believe that this was just skin deep beauty. No, I believe that Snow White had the type of beauty that transcends physical beauty, but a spiritual beauty that related to her actions.

After this age, there are no more ages or years mentioned in this story. I personally always imagined that Snow was in her early to mid teen years when the prince found her. I can say that we do know that Snow White was in the glass coffin a long time as stated below.

Snow White lay there in the coffin a long, long time, and she did not decay, but looked like she was asleep, for she was still as white as snow and red as blood, and as black-haired as ebony wood.

I personally think that the time frame of this story changes the perspective of the story a bit and makes it a little more dramatic (or traumatic depending on the way you choose to look at it). Knowing that this story didn't happen to a teenager who was having a few rebellious thoughts that her step-mother was treating her unfair because her father was dead, but happened to a child who probably did not understand what was happening and did not understand why her step-mother wanted to kill her.

Next week, and I promise I will not procrastinate and will actually post in a week, I will be addressing Snow White's father. I always think he is a character who is always left out of the story or always categorized as the father who was never a part of his daughter's life because he perished from something ill.

If you want to read the story for yourself and pick up on some fun points, I recommend this website. I personally have a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales at home, but it can be a pain to carry it around, but the website is good for a quick read when you are not able to curl up with a book.

Next Week's Blog Title: Snow White: Father, where did you go?  

Once Upon A Time

       Well, aren't all fairytale related items start with this classic line or something very similar to it? So just as my predecessors did before me, I will start with wonderful line.

       Once upon a time there was a business student who missed being creative and being able to analyze literature, but not just any type of literature, specifically fairy tales. As she began to near the end of her college career she started reverting back to reading these delightful tales, which in one way is brilliant and in another way foolish since she did not really enjoy reading some of the business periodicals she was required to read for class.
      Anyway, this future business woman was longer to write a paper or not necessarily a paper, but something that related to the magnificent world of imagination and folklore. As being a business student who enjoys focusing on online business, specifically social media, she began to realize that there was a way to be able to find this creativity through a different sort instead of trying to do this for a class.
     That is the tale of how this blog is being formed. I love fairy tales and still to this day pick up a different piece each time I read one. I am hoping to blog at least once a week about fairytales, specifically written by the Brother's Grimm. I may carry a specific story for a couple weeks, with different themes I believe are important in them.

     As a side note: I am not an English major nor an expert by any means of these tales. These are my personal opinions and does not mean that they are right nor wrong. They are what I view as important points, themes and motifs in a story.

    Also, you may be hearing a lot about Snow White. That is personally my favorite fairytale and that will be the first tale I will be writing about. Just want to warn you if you want to read it as a refresher or read the story for the first time. Believe me, these tales are not like the ones that Disney created.

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” ~ C.S. Lewis