Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs By Grimm

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Grimm

Literary Criticism of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Grimm: Mythological Strategy

Introduction

The story covers an account of a young princess, Snow White, who was very beautiful. Her who is a queen makes a wish that she desires to have a daughter who would shave clean and beautiful skin just like the snow, red lips and black hair as ebony. Subsequently, the queen had a daughter that beautiful but dies immediately. The king takes on another wife who becomes envious of her step daughters beauty and order her death. Snow White is spared by huntsman and hosted by seven dwarfs, eventually a king passes by only to fall in love with her in stupor after three failed attempt by the queen to kill her. As she wakes up, the young king declares his love for her, a wedding is soon planned. The queen learns of the weeding and is compelled to attend. As a penalty for her wickedness, the queen is brought a pair of heated iron shoes in which she is supposed to dance in. she dies afterwards and Snow White is back to the thrown.

Criticism: Mythological Strategy

Mythological strategy of literary criticism is very important since it seeks to identify literature works in the deepest universal responses. Uncertainties, wishes and expectations of a culture are analyzed (Gag 2004). The myth is not evaluated to establish its truth.

The Snow White and the seven dwarf begins on a very expressive note, its snowing when the queen pricks herself while netting, as her blood drops top the white snow, it causes her to yearn deeply for her forthcoming baby who she wishes that she would have a skin as the white snow, red lips and black hare as ebony black. . It’s quite interesting situation as the needle she is using is ebony black, the white snow and her blood (Gag 2004). Prototype primordial child and

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Grimm

the mother child is pertinently described in the beginning of the story, the color red and black helps to establish consciousness of the female gender. Transcendence symbol is depicted as Snow White’s Mother Thoughtfully visualizes her future daughter from the way Mother Nature tells it; her blood freezes on the Snow creating a beautiful picture in mind. Such prototypes create long lasting elements of the unconscious and are very critical to myths as they help in understand of the patterns of life (Gag 2004).

The storey shows women as the origin of life and is dominated by women from the beginning; Snow White’s Mother, Snow White Herself and the Queen- envious step mother. Unique to the plot is the way the story develops in threes. Mother, snow White and Queen; there is red Blood, White Snow and ebony black needle; the daughter’s beauty is described in terms of snow white skin, red lips and ebony black hair. When the fourth element comes in the story is terminated (Kay 1991).

The story is more inclined to the feminine, which seems to be very powerful, nine men are encountered by Snow White until the tenth one who came up and rescues her to the throne again considering she was a princess and a rightful heir to the palace. The men here are not of much assistance but they see her through in pursuit of freedom from the step mother (Kay 1991). Transcendence is implicated in women as beings that grow, give birth, die and life continues in that way. A woman develops from maiden into a mother and so on. Snow White Father utterly fails to protect her from the envious stepmother. He seem to be absent in her life though he is a king (Eliade 2007)

As Snow White is perceived to be a threat by the queen, another man is brought into the picture. Basically the queen wants to remain fairest on the land. When the step daughter becomes more beautiful she seeks to kill her. The huntsman is asked to kill her and bring her heart to the woman. This second man does not protect Snow White neither though he does no harm to her. It’s amazing how beauty could mask wickedness in the queen, though she looks nice, she has an evil heart (Gag 2004).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Grimm

Femininity is perpetuated when Snow Whit meets seven men, Dwarfs! They enter into mutual agreement to help each other. However as the queen makes attempts to kill here, the men are helpless. In fact they are the size o a half man in the first place and leave Snow White home unprotected (Eliade 2007).

A ten man come into Snow White Life when she is unconscious almost dead and this happens to be a young king. She has a birthright as a princess which she could have claimed but has been oppressed for a while now, and bound in stupor. A myth would have patterns like hiding or comatose just as Snow White experienced. The situation is redeemable and the evil is reprimanded (Eliade 2007).

Conclusion

There are some critical aspects of a fairy that are common to many stales that qualify Snow White and Seven Dwarfs as folklore. The principle of the pursued is depicted in the Snow white. Being robbed is another one and in this case, Snow White was robbed of her birth right- she was rightful heir of the throne and not necessity to be married to a king fro her to get to the throne. Snow White Suffers a lot before emerging as a hero, she is also easily fooled (she is gullible) by the jealous queen the last feature in suffering which the wicked queen undergoes to finish the tale.

References

Gag. W. (2004). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. University Of Minnesota Press

Kay S. (1991). Three Transformations Of Snow White. In. McGlathery J.M (ed). The Brothers Grimm and Folktale. University Of Illinois Presses

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Grimm

Eliade, J.K (2007). Myth and Reality 1968:202. In N. J. Girardot (ed). Initiation and Meaning In The Tale Of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. The Journal Of American Folklore 90 No. 357