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Week Three

Updated: Apr 9, 2021

"Schneewittchen" or "Tale 53" or "Snow White"


"Mirror Mirror on the wall/tell the original tale for us all".

The Facts


Text: Snow White (aka "Schneewittchen" aka "Tale 53") Author: The Brothers Grimm

Genre: Folktale, Fairytale, Children's story Year: 1854

Available: Public Domain (Free!)


The Fiction


This week every answer in my "The Facts" section should come with an asterisk. From the fact that the original Snow White being in German means that it was published under multiple and translated titles, to the politics of categorizing of this as a children's tale when it gets a little dark, to attributing "authorship" of this story to the Brothers Grimm when as a German folktale passed down and among people the Grimm's' weren't really authors so much as transcribers, and even to how the Grimm's published multiple edits of the story confusing the year of publication. Then there is the matter of finding a version of the story in English that is close to the original. As a small anecdote I found in my search for an original version of Snow White that it should not be confused with "Snow White and the Red Rose" which is a completely different Grimm fairytale. I posted a link to the exact version of Snow White I used above to save you all the trouble.


So, as a piece of folklore, this weeks story is already a little different from the gothic horror/thrillers of the past two weeks as its status as folklore makes the facts of authorship, date, and even "original" story version impossible to pin down. But I deliberately chose a fairytale because I wanted to venture into something different this week, so, here we go: something different.


There are few stories in western imagination that hold as much sway or stick with us quite as powerfully as fairytales. From our bedtime stories, to Disney blockbusters these stories are foundational and familiar in their innocence and happy endings. I remember being a teenager and learning that these sweet familiar tales from children's books and the mouse's films were very old, and originally very dark. That's right, you might think you know the story of Snow White, but this week's short story is worth reading just to see the differences in the sweet tale you remember, and the more disturbing German folktale.


The Feeling


What are the big "disturbing" details of the original story? Well, for starters, Snow White is seven when the mirror proclaims she has surpassed the Queen in beauty, driving the Queen to her murderous jealousy. Which is, uh, creepy. Next when the huntsman brings the Queen the lungs and liver of an animal, the queen has them salted and eats them, thinking they are Snow White's. Which is also obviously creepy, but so far down the path that it loops back around to being awesome. Can you imagine hating a child so much you eat her lungs? Because she's prettier than you? That's commitment.


The Queen tries three different methods of killing Snow White, going in disguise each time and tricking the little girl to open the door to the dwarves cottage. (It should be noted the story is unclear how much time passes between these murder attempts hopefully enough that Snow, White while still young, isn't seven anymore, but the fairytale never clarifies this). From tying her laces too tight, to brushing her hair with a poisoned comb, the Queen finally succeeds in killing Snow White on her third try with the poisoned apple.


The dwarves put her in a glass coffin, and a prince rides by. Here the story is both more, and less creepy than the one I grew up with. Less creepy: he doesn't kiss the sleeping/dead princess. More creepy: he asks the dwarves for the coffin so that he can treasure it and her because he's fallen in love with the beauty of her corpse. So. Staggeringly creepy.


Speaking of staggering, the coffin is jostled on his journey home, the apple lodged in Snow White's throat becomes loose, she wakes up, falls in love with the prince too and becomes a queen in his kingdom. The (evil) Queen gets invited to the wedding, goes, and, this is my favourite part, is forced to wear iron shoes that had been warmed by the coals of a fire and is she is forced to dance in them till she dies. Absolutely Fantastic. Just that brand of so creepy it loops back around to being cool.


Whether it be Disney, or the bedtime story version modern Snow White has always had some consent problems, what with the prince kissing a sleeping/dead woman. The original version has some of these same problems in a way that is stunningly both lessened and worsened given Snow White's unclear age by the end of the story and the whole prince wanting to keep her body to look at it thing. BUT some of the more disturbing aspects of this original version are actually so wild they're awesome. I love a good villain and the evil Queen is just so evil. They don't make villains like her anymore. Eating what she thinks is a child's lung and liver? Trying to kill her with elaborate disguises and traps/poisons three times? The dancing till she dies ending? The original Snow White is just so evil its good, and so dark its fun.

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