Symbolism In Snow White

When Disney released its first animated film, “Snow-White and the Seven Dwarves”, it became an instant classic. Since then, the cheery chirpy version of the story is what has stayed in the hearts and minds of young readers. The story is based off of the Grimm Brother’s version of the tale; although by no means the oldest version of the story, it is the most popular version known by readers today. However, although the image of the Disney version is bright, even the cleaned up version written by the Grimm Brothers is significantly darker than what most people might have in mind when they think of “Snow-White”. One of these darker elements is the nature of the mother-daughter relationship represented in the story as it portrays the mother-daughter relationship as a power-struggle between a young, beautiful girl and a cunning, jealous mother figure. In the Grimm’s “Snow-White”, symbolism is used to suggest that this relationship is the defining component of Snow-White’s overall coming-to-age. In the opening of the tale, the first significant symbol is the three drops of blood that fell from …show more content…
Her step-mother, as the mature woman, has fading beauty, lost youth, stolen innocence, and only bitterness left in her heart. While the relationship between the mother and daughter seems to be portrayed as a power struggle between the two women, it doesn’t seem that there is any true struggle at all. In every instance, Snow-White wins out due to the advantage of her youth and all the important symbols emphasis Snow-White’s journey. Therefore, there is no real struggle as her step-mother was set to lose from the start because she did not – or simply no longer could -- fit the ideals for women because she has already completed the process of development and it is now the young Snow-White who naturally continues on the