Snow White Vs Rapunzel Research Paper

Fairy tales have been around for centuries, but underneath the sugar coated, Disney films we have come to know and love, lies a dark truth. The oral tradition of the fairy tale came long before the tradition of written stories. Tales were told or enacted dramatically, rather than written down, and handed down from generation to generation. After years of these stories being passed down orally, two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, became fascinated with old folktales, fables, legends, and fairytales and as they heard them, began to write them down. Over time, the Grimm brothers wrote down many stories, but among them, some of the most famous are Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. The fairytales of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel all …show more content…
Snow White is forced by her stepmother to abandon her home and finds herself living with seven dwarfs. These dwarfs propose that Snow White cook and clean for them in exchange for her protection. Snow Whites living conditions are certainly less than ideal, as she is forced to live with seven men and tend to them all day long. The story of Snow White ends with her, just as Cinderella was, being a damsel in distress saved by her prince charming. A significant difference between these two damsels is that Snow White's prince charming saved her from death while Cinderella was saved her from her wicked family. Snow White sees being saved by her prince as an act of romance and chivalry, when in reality, it couldn't be farther from it. Prince charming paid the dwarfs to let him take Snow White's coffin and by chance, Snow White awoke from her slumber. The story of Snow White depicts women as needing to be saved and protected. This fairytale disregards Snow White's own strength and ability protect herself and is and just like Cinderella, is telling women that they need a man to come to their …show more content…
This fairytale is about a king who makes a deal with an enchantress and agrees to give her his daughter after she is born. This is the first example of mistreatment of women in this story, Rapunzel's own father is using her as a bargaining tool in order get what he wants. Rapunzel's less than ideal living conditions are the tower in which she is locked up in by her new mother, the enchantress. Rapunzel spends her days locked up in a tower, away from the rest of the world. Rapunzel is the ultimate damsel in distress. If it were not for her prince charming, Rapunzel would have lived out her life in wretchedness. Rapunzel, just like Cinderella and Snow White, lived a less than pleasant life until her prince charming came along and saved