White as Snow, Red as Blood, Black as Ebony

The Brothers Grimm version of Snow White was surprising close to Disney’s version.  They both had an envious evil queen who dressed up as an old woman but in Disney there was only one poisoned apple and no strangling with staylaces or poisoning with combs.  The mirror on the wall was esentually the same except that I don’t remember the mirror ratting Snow White out and telling the evil queen her location in the Disney version.  The dwarf part seemed pretty similar too.  I remeber them coming back from the mines in Disney to find Snow White and Snow White doing all the cleaning with all the animals.  And when they thought Snow White had died they put her in the glass coffin in both versions and the prince stumbled upon her.  It was love at first sight in both versions but instead of true love’s kiss saving Snow White the Brothers Grimm version had her cough up the poisoned apple.

There were also some major differences.  There definitely wasn’t any cannibalism in the disney version and the queen didn’t die by burning her feet to death.  I don’t get why she even put the iron slippers on.  She could have just turned around right then and lived.  But I guess second place wasn’t good enough for her.

Also there wasn’t any blood on the snow in Disney’s Snow White I’m pretty sure but it did remind me of the movie Snow White and the Huntsman with Kristen Stewart when I think Snow White’s mother pricked her finger on a rose and blood fell on the snow.

What surprised me about the story was the similarity to the classic story I know – Goldilocks and The Three Bears.  I’m not sure if that story is based off of the Brothers Grimm version of Snow White or not but it was essentially the same idea with a young girl coming in and eating the food and sleeping in the bed that’s too big, too small and just right.

Another surprise was Snow White’s age in the Brothers Grimm version.  She got married at the age of 7?  I feel like that’s young even for that time.  And how old is this prince?

Anyway, I think the theme of the story is how jealousy is bad and only leads you to do terrible things.  It contradicted a bit in that Snow White “the fairest of them all” was cool crashing in a strangers house and got the prince right away even in the darker version of the story.  But overall the queen got screwed over because of her envy and because she just had to go to the wedding and see Snow White she was willing to go through the torcher of burning hot shoes and it eventually lead to her death.

Rebecca Autey