Snow White vs Snow White

“Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh wall, in the cottage of the seven dwarfs, dwells Snow White, fairest one of all.” Snow White is a classic fairytale, most known by the Walt Disney version in 1937. The original tale was actually organized by the Brothers Grimm. While both versions follow the same plot line and characters, the Grimm version is more dark, compared to the light-hearted Disney romantic, whimsical version. 

Brothers Grimm:

• Snow White is 7 years old
• The evil queen asked the huntsman to bring back her lungs and liver for her to eat
• The dwarves demand that she must keep house for them if she wanted to stay with them
• It took the queen three tries to kill Snow White
• The lace
• The comb
• The apple
• The prince comes and thinks shes beautiful and wants to take her back to the castle in the coffin
• Snow White comes back to life when the servants drop the coffin and the apple is dislodged from her throat
• The evil queen is invited to Snow Whites wedding, where she was made to dance in hot iron shoes until she fell dead

Disney:

• Snow White is 14 years old
• The evil queen asks the huntsman to bring back Snow White’s heart
• Snow White offers to keep house for the dwarves if they let her stay
• It took the queen one attempt to kill Snow White with an apple
• The prince kisses Snow White, which brings her back to life

Similarities between the two:

• The evil queen is Snow White’s stepmother
• The magic mirror plays a role in both versions
• Snow White takes care of the dwarve’s house
• There are 7 dwarves
• The huntsman is ordered to kill Snow White in both versions
• Snow White is poisoned by the apple
• Snow White marries the prince at the end

Disney diverted from the original version of the tale, because he wanted to make it less dark and gory, with a more romantic twist. Disney came out with Snow White during the Great Depression, so people needed hope and happiness in their life. This is why Disney added the romantic happy ending, instead of the sad story line. Disney also added more description and embellishment to his writings.

Rags to Riches Through Magic or Marriage: Realistic or Not?

In the fairytale, Cinderella, at the end of the story “They lived happily ever after”. This fairytale embodies the definition of a “rise tale”, meaning it follows the strict pattern of “rags to riches through magic and marriage”. Cinderella begins the tale poor and her life is full of hardships. Then, all of a sudden, she meets a prince and falls in love. They get married and live happily ever after with all the riches she could possibly imagine. Nobody questions this pattern, or deems it wrong, that a young maid can go from rags to riches because of a little magic and marriage. Nobody questions this logic because its a fairytale, but it's not very realistic.  

In real life, it's not normal for someone to go from rags to riches, but its not entirely untrue. Rags to riches stories were popular at the turn of the century, enticing people to strike out on their own in hopes of making it rich but none of those stories involved magic or marriage, simply hard work. You can marry into money, or you can invest your money smartly, you can gamble and strike it rich, you can create a business or own a company that does well, or you can inherit money. Some of these options include marriage or family ties that can result in riches, while the other options involve smart decisions or just plain luck. None of these suggestions, however, include magic. Unlike fairytales, magic doesn’t exist in the real world. It's also not very realistic to go from rags to riches very easily through marriage either. Yes, its possible, but it seldom occurs.

What is a Fairy Tale?

A Fairy Tale, is a narrative of magic and fantasy understood to be fictional. The most important part of a fairy tale, that separates it from a myth or a legend, is the magic. For example, in the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood, the fox impersonates the grandma. Nobody questions that part of the story, because it is magic. Animals don’t have the ability to talk or sing, and people don’t have the ability to “curse” someone. Yet its not questioned. Magic is very important in the makeup of a fairy tale. Fairy tales can either be mono-genesis, or poly-genesis. Mono-genesis means that the tale originated from a specific place and spread from there, while poly-genesis means different tales were created in different parts of the world all at the same time. Fairy tales must include a sequence, or a pattern that all tales must abide by. According to the definition, fairy tales must include magic, but also most tales parallel a miniature utopian world. Meaning that the good, or hero, must defeat the bad, or evil, in the end. In most fairy tales, especially Brothers Grimm, the hero must adventure out on a quest to “find himself”. This usually means the hero must get lost in a forest, dangerous encounters with animals or supernatural creatures. In Fairy tales, the hero must save the damsel in distress, or in original tales, will win the girl as a reward. Motifs of style, usually found in fairy tales, include the use of numbers, opening and closing lines, chante fables, and happy endings. These are again, included in the sequence of a common fairy tale. Another common trait in fairy tales, is the zeitgeist, meaning whatever is in fashion at the time. The Brothers Grimm used zeitgeist when including romanticism in their tales. The brothers wanted the bourgeois, or middle class, to enjoy their stories, so they added in more description and happier details, while taking out the sexual aspects of their tales. According to Sigmund Freud, Id is the pleasure principle, the ego is the self control principal, and the superego is the moral principle. In terms of a fairy tale, id is the helping or dangerous animals, the ego is the hero or heroine completing tasks, and superego is the parental authority.

Hollywood vs Jack Zippes

FACT
* The Brothers Grimm were poor after their father died suddenly from pneumonia in 1796.
* The Brothers were scholars who dedicated their lives to researching German laws, cultures, and oral tales.
* The Brothers were extremely passionate about Germany and disliked the French.

FICTION
* The Brothers Grimm had 4 other siblings, unlike the film, who only showed one sister.
* Jacob never received magical beans for payment in reality.
* The Brothers were not supernatural "bounty hunters" conning people into believing they could get rid of ghosts.
* The mysterious woods of Marbaden is not a real place in Germany.
* The Brothers did not collect their stories by taking down an evil queen, in fact, they invited middle aged women into their house and would listen to them while the brothers took notes.
* The film also consisted of many fairy tales as the brothers went about their journey, when in reality, they never took place.