White-Snow

White-Snow is the main character of a famous tale in Europe, whose most known version is that of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

History

A malicious queen, jealous of the beauty of his/her called daughter-in-law “White-Snow”, request with a hunter to kill the child and to bring back his lungs and its liver to him. The hunter takes along the teenager in wood, but lets it flee and misleads the malicious queen by bringing back the lungs and the liver of a young wild boar to him. Whereas she wanders in the forest, White-Snow discovers a small house and enters there to rest there. It becomes acquainted soon with the seven dwarves, owners of the places. The malicious queen tries by three times to kill White-Snow to become again most beautiful, but it is it which finally loses the life.

Interpretations

As many popular tales, White-Snow is opened with multiple interpretations:

Tell seasonal

The references to time are sufficiently numerous so that one can see a seasonal tale there. Conceived during one rigorous winter, White-Snow will have great difficulty to survive until the beautiful season. The malicious queen (the winter) inhibits the development of the young organization (spring). Protected by the characters chtoniens which are the seven dwarves, (like the seven days of the Semaine or seven planets turning around the sun in the antiquated representations of the solar system), it enters during one latency period, as the seed (or as Perséphone) lives under ground while waiting for the return of the sun and the summer (the prince). The tale could thus illustrate the combat between the forces of the winter and the cold against those of spring and the rebirth.

Moral tale

White-Snow watch which one should not stick to transitory things like the beauty. Patience and humility are always rewarded, whereas vanity can lead to the fall.

Tell antifeminist

The tale of the Grimm brothers is classified by the feminists among the edifying accounts which prepare the little girl with her future role of good housewife and passive wife. Economically dependant on the men, it can survive only like pupil of her father, or while working like good with doing everything:

Les dwarf proposed to him to remain with them. “You will deal with the house, you will make the kitchen, and you will mend our linen…” White-Snow thanked and accepted, all heureuse.

When its mantle disguised as a old woman comes to try it with trinkets, White-Snow succumbs by three times. She falls then into a coma which evokes the intellectual coma in which the young girls prohibited of higher learning are maintained while waiting for the marriage.

Tell œdipien

The tale was studied by several psychoanalysts, in particular Bruno Bettelheim and Louise von Franz. For Bruno Bettelheim, the tale starts with a situation œdipienne putting in conflict the mother and the girl. The mantle remained at a narcissistic stage which makes it vulnerable and which the tale thus invites the young reader or listener to be exceeded. The jealousy of the mother-in-law is at the same time the painting of the behavior of certain parents who feel threatened at the time of the adolescence of their children, but also a projection on a figure hedge of the proper feelings of jealousy of the child. White-snow is found driven out castle, wandering in the forest, place of terror and confusion like the beginning of puberty. Collected by the seven dwarves, characters at the same time phallic but little threatening sexually, it can develop in a sure medium, but not without being exposed with narcissistic temptation (trinkets offered by the malicious queen). This period perhaps seen like one moment of initiation, where the teenager must measure himself with the dangers of the existence. Last temptation, that of apple, represent for Bruno Bettelheim the moment when the teenager agrees to enter an adult sexuality, i.e. moment when it becomes pubescent. One latency period (the coma) follows which enables him to wait in full safety until its psychic maturity united with its new physical maturity give him finally access to an adult sexuality.

Adaptations

White Snow of J Searle Dawley (1916) a silent film in black and white of 63 min.

White Snow and the 7 dwarves first feature-length film of animation of Walt Disney (1937).

White Snow, the New Adventure (1993)

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