Examples Of Femininity In Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

Few people can grow up within today's society without knowing the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, it has been told and retold to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story. Fairytales typically have underlying messages that can be found written between the lines, generally in terms of the key themes. Snow White discusses the themes of envy and beauty, and shows how humans' obsessions can lead to their own downfall as well as the harm of others. When focusing on the relationship between Snow White and her step-mother the Queen, it is evident that the combination of these two themes results in a power struggle in which beauty

The old version of Snow White contains dark and violent stories and harsh elements that were not proper for kids. However, the Snow White that is familiar today is very friendly and well adapted for children. The original story of Snow White is written by the Grimm Brothers in the 19th century at German. In several of the Grimms’ stories, it contains various odd scenes and violent parts. According to the Disney version of Snow White the queen tells the huntsmen to bring the heart of Snow in order to check whether she is dead or not. However, in the Grimm version of Snow White, the queen, which is the witch, sells a corset to Snow and makes her try on the corset and squeeze her by tightening it. Also, in the original version, it is not the prince’s

Snow White is a fairy-tale known by many generations; it is a beloved Disney movie, and a princess favoured by many kids. But did you know the fairy-tale was made to teach young children, especially little girls, their duties in life? It also values beauty over knowledge, portrays women to be naive and incompetent, and assumes that women cannot understand anything other than common household chores. Throughout this criticism, I will be using the feminist lens to analyze the fairy-tale, Snow White, through the perspective of a feminist.

Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite

Bartyzel’s wide array of evidence to support her claim that princess culture narrowly defines what femininity means to young consumers makes her argument compelling. She used Disney’s unfitting princess makeover of the character Merida from Brave - who desperately fought against princess ideals in the movie - as an example of how Disney has a habit of backtracking their own progress. Bartyzel also provided accounts from mothers who support her claim by expressing that their daughters’ behavior had been shaped by princess culture. Additionally, Disney routinely overshadows the darkness of traditional fairy tales with overly idealistic narratives and has a history of depicting harmful racial stereotypes, problematic female characterizations, and unrealistic storylines (Bartyzel, 2015). Bartyzel examined these stereotypes and problematic characterizations with the design alterations made to Disney princesses; specifically, princesses of color. Finally, Bartyzel reinforced her argument by conveying that women are diverse and to overlook these differences affects how young girls view themselves. Bartyzel’s professional presentation, the various forms of evidence, her counter-arguments, and her examination of the different issues tied to princess culture helped convey a strong argument.

The queen had a magical mirror that always told her she was the fairest of the land until her stepdaughter turned seven. This made the queen envy Snow White, as she was just above her in the noble classes, and therefore refused to be below her in any shape or form. Furthermore, colonialist work is noticed when Snow White lived with the seven dwarfs and was continually visited by her evil stepmother. The dwarfs lived alone in the words clearly separated form society, and as an act of western domination, the queen often trespassed on their land in attempt to kill Snow White. In addition, problematic post-colonial identity is presented in the queens disguise as it pulled on Snow Whites heart strings forcing her to open the door, putting herself in harms way. This shows social classes and ones appearance is strongly regarded when one decides if someone nearby is of aid or misfortune.

In Disney's version of Snow white, Snow White is an isolated princess who lives with her evil stepmother who is the queen of the land. The Queen became paranoid that Snow White will become more beautiful than herself, so she forces Snow White to work as her maid. Every day the queen would ask her magic mirror “who is the fairest one of all” and the mirror would respond, telling the queen that she was. One day, the mirror responded saying that Snow White was now the fairest. The queen, jealous of Snow White, orders her personal huntsman to kill snow white and bring her heart back as proof of her death. The huntsman, unable to bring himself to do so,

Everyone knows that when the queen discovers that Snow White’s beauty is greater than hers, she asks the huntsman to kill her. Finally, we all know that the dwarves take care of her until her death, at which point the prince comes to the rescue and awakens her with a kiss. These are all elements of the story that we come to expect when we hear the name Snow White.

Negative female antagonist play a very particular role within fairy tales. The female antagonists are often very dominant, they are not married and unable to bare children due to the fact that they are usually old. However there are times in which the antagonist is a beautiful women who’s jealously often overbears her physical appearance. In “Snow White” Snow’s Step mother is constantly looking for assurance about her physical appearance, so she confides in her magic mirror, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all?” (Grimm 54). Snow white’s stepmother is taken aback and enraged after later being told that she is no longer the prettiest woman. “You my queen, are fair; it is

“Through the cheerful music, funny characters, and happy ending, the character of Snow White starts the Disney trend of a domestic woman who becomes a damsel-in-distress relying on a prince to come and save her” (Barber, 2015). The original 1812 tale of Little Snow White by the Brothers Grimm portrays Snow White as a small, naive, self centered little girl who can’t seem to listen to anything she is told, and who has to rely a prince she doesn’t even know to wake her up from the dead. Two hundred years later, in the 2012 movie version Snow White and the Huntsman, the director Rupert Sanders revisits the original tale of Snow White, but decides to change it up a bit. In this version of the tale, Snow White is a strong, independent young woman who seems to be able to do anything she decides to do. In Sander’s version, Snow White not only conquers the cruel queen, but she conquers the labels society often places on women. Unlike the Grimms Brothers, Sanders develops his Snow White's character in a way that fits with women’s empowerment that the current generation now fights for everyday.

Despite being the protagonist, Snow White is never given a chance to lead her own life. From the very beginning of the film, she is always owned by someone else. First her stepmother controls her life, then the huntsman orders her to leave, then it is the dwarfs (sic) who control and care for her well-being, and then it is the prince. Never once does she resist or attempt to go out on her own. By the end of the film, she does not even protest a near stranger kissing her as she sleeps. In fact, she figures that 's reason enough to run away with him!

Snow White was kind to the Wicked Queen. She did not wish any evil on her even after she sent her in the woods to die. Snow White only wished for the love of her step mother.

Lastly is the worst aspect of her mirroring self to the queen. Her transformed self is different and even in the night of her wedding, the night where she is supposed to have complete happiness she lets her cruelty get the best of her, “when the wicked queen entered she was recognized right away by Snow White and iron slippers had already been heated up over a fire of coals” (Brothers Grimm, “Snow White”89). Even though the queen tried killing Snow White in various occasions, a compassionate and pure being as was Snow White at the beginning of the story would not kill someone; her new self has rancor in her heart and allows the killing of the queen by dancing until she dropped dead.

The older mentality for the female was that their purity on the inside reflected their countenance on the outside. Thus, Snow White, being the fairest, was also the purest of them all. The plot relies heavily on the queen trying to remove Snow White. Yet, even though this is important to the queen, to the readers there is still the question of why. Why was it so important for the queen to be the fairest of them all when she had the highest status for a woman? The Grimm Brothers claim it was her envious heart at work, that her vanity filled every want and whim she had. They Portray her as Aphrodite, beautiful and fair for sure, but ready to destroy any girl who might take her place.

Some of the recurring themes and messages I found while reading "Snow White", were women, (even Queens) actually like to do domesticating chores like sewing; that women are so indecisive that even after they get what they ask for they will still find some measure of dissatisfaction. Extreme vanity is a priority, being the most beautiful in comparison