Analysis of the Snow White Stories
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most popular stories that many young children and parents are familiar with in the United States. A young woman named Snow White runs away from home to be safe from her evil stepmother to find a cottage owned by seven dwarfs is a very unlikely story that captured many hearts. People are anxious to see if she gets away and how she survives all of the turmoil that comes her way. Everyone is always looking for that happy ending.
Between Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Crystal Casket, and The Vain Queen, there are various similarities and differences. In the Disney version, readers know that Snow White’s mother passed away when she was a baby but in the other two versions, all we know is that the father in the story is a widower. However, in all three stories, the stepmother is evil and has the plan to mischievously kill the female character. In The Crystal Casket, the stepmother sent in a witch to kill Ermellina. The witch had to try two times to get the job done. In The Vain Queen, similar to the Disney version, the stepmother requests a part of her stepdaughter’s body in order to know that she was truly murdered. Both of the people who were sent to kill her backed out and brought that body part from an animal instead. Allison thinks it is interesting the different ways that the stepmother wants the female character to be killed. There could be various reasons behind each method according to that culture. For example, one of the techniques from the Italian story was sweetmeats. Sweetmeats are from Naples, Italy and are familiar within that culture. Allison did not hear of those until she read that story. It’s interesting to read how much a culture can truly affect a classic story.
Another aspect of the story that everyone knows about is the seven dwarfs who love and care for Snow White. They played a substantial role within the Snow White fairy tale and were not used in the other versions. “Snow White” did have someone or a group of magical beings. In the Italian version, “Snow White” or Ermellia, was taken to a house of fairies. There, the fairies looked after her and tried to make sure that she would not open the door for anyone which is similar to the seven dwarfs not wanting Snow White to open the door for strangers. Both the fairies and the seven dwarfs were devastated when they found “Snow White” after the evil stepmother succeeded with her plans. In the Portugal version, “Snow White” did not have numerous people to care for her but a man instead. Allison thought it was interesting how the man offered the princess two options of her being his wife or his daughter. It was something different but he cared for the princess just like the seven dwarfs and fairies. This version had a feature similar to Cinderella in it by how the man turned into a power emperor, the pigs transformed into dukes towards the end of the story.
Lastly, in each story, “Snow White” gets married at the end. No matter what she was put through, she gets her happy ending. In the Italian version, Ermellia put on a dress by a witch that caused her to die. The fairies created a beautiful casket with diamonds to put her in and sent her away on a horse. While the horse was leading her throughout the town, the prince saw her and wanted Ermellia to be his wife. What Allison thought was bizarre was the fact that the prince knew that Ermellia was dead but wanted to keep her in his room anyway. When he had to leave, he asked his mother to take care of her casket by dusting it. His mother neglected to do so and right before he returned she had the chambermaids clean it. When they put a stain on the dress, they had to take it off her and when that happened, she woke up. In the end, the prince and Ermellia got married. Allison thought it was interesting that the prince did not have to do anything in order to cure Ermellia like in the classic Snow White version. All she had to do was take off the dress. On the other hand, in the Portuguese version, the princess never got anything from her stepmother in order to try to make her die. Instead, the princess would go on a walk and see a mysterious gentleman in the distance. She would get scared each time and would return back to the farmhouse. The prince in this story was love-struck by the princess and in order for them to be together, she had to come to the palace. When she refused, the Queen came to her and begged her to marry the prince. She eventually did so and they were very happy together.
Between Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Crystal Casket, and The Vain Queen, there are various similarities and differences. In the Disney version, readers know that Snow White’s mother passed away when she was a baby but in the other two versions, all we know is that the father in the story is a widower. However, in all three stories, the stepmother is evil and has the plan to mischievously kill the female character. In The Crystal Casket, the stepmother sent in a witch to kill Ermellina. The witch had to try two times to get the job done. In The Vain Queen, similar to the Disney version, the stepmother requests a part of her stepdaughter’s body in order to know that she was truly murdered. Both of the people who were sent to kill her backed out and brought that body part from an animal instead. Allison thinks it is interesting the different ways that the stepmother wants the female character to be killed. There could be various reasons behind each method according to that culture. For example, one of the techniques from the Italian story was sweetmeats. Sweetmeats are from Naples, Italy and are familiar within that culture. Allison did not hear of those until she read that story. It’s interesting to read how much a culture can truly affect a classic story.
Another aspect of the story that everyone knows about is the seven dwarfs who love and care for Snow White. They played a substantial role within the Snow White fairy tale and were not used in the other versions. “Snow White” did have someone or a group of magical beings. In the Italian version, “Snow White” or Ermellia, was taken to a house of fairies. There, the fairies looked after her and tried to make sure that she would not open the door for anyone which is similar to the seven dwarfs not wanting Snow White to open the door for strangers. Both the fairies and the seven dwarfs were devastated when they found “Snow White” after the evil stepmother succeeded with her plans. In the Portugal version, “Snow White” did not have numerous people to care for her but a man instead. Allison thought it was interesting how the man offered the princess two options of her being his wife or his daughter. It was something different but he cared for the princess just like the seven dwarfs and fairies. This version had a feature similar to Cinderella in it by how the man turned into a power emperor, the pigs transformed into dukes towards the end of the story.
Lastly, in each story, “Snow White” gets married at the end. No matter what she was put through, she gets her happy ending. In the Italian version, Ermellia put on a dress by a witch that caused her to die. The fairies created a beautiful casket with diamonds to put her in and sent her away on a horse. While the horse was leading her throughout the town, the prince saw her and wanted Ermellia to be his wife. What Allison thought was bizarre was the fact that the prince knew that Ermellia was dead but wanted to keep her in his room anyway. When he had to leave, he asked his mother to take care of her casket by dusting it. His mother neglected to do so and right before he returned she had the chambermaids clean it. When they put a stain on the dress, they had to take it off her and when that happened, she woke up. In the end, the prince and Ermellia got married. Allison thought it was interesting that the prince did not have to do anything in order to cure Ermellia like in the classic Snow White version. All she had to do was take off the dress. On the other hand, in the Portuguese version, the princess never got anything from her stepmother in order to try to make her die. Instead, the princess would go on a walk and see a mysterious gentleman in the distance. She would get scared each time and would return back to the farmhouse. The prince in this story was love-struck by the princess and in order for them to be together, she had to come to the palace. When she refused, the Queen came to her and begged her to marry the prince. She eventually did so and they were very happy together.