Analysing Feminist Criticism in the Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
A classic fairy tale centering on this Disney Princess, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a profound and legendary book which tells the story of the luxurious princess, Snow White. This princess lives in a great big castle with her evil stepmother, Queen, who is quite jealous of both her personality and beauty. Because of this extreme jealousy, her stepmother acquires a Huntsman to murder Snow White for her. Apprehensive in doing so, the Huntsmen and Snow White goes off to follow the Queen’s order, but upon pulling out his knife, he confesses and tells her to run far away from the castle. After running and enduring harsh conditions, she comes across a small cottage-like home where she later meets the Seven Dwarfs who come home to a clean and refurbished setting, courtesy of Snow White. After telling them about the situation with the Queen, she lives there and provides for the Dwarfs. One day, after the Seven Dwarfs attend work at the mine, the Queen, who was informed that Snow White is still alive, disguises as an old woman with a poisoned apple to give to her. Snow White soon falls for her tricks and drops to the ground as a result of the apple she eats. Soon after, a Prince that she has been dreaming of comes and awakes her with a kiss, reversing the spell forever. Feminist Criticism is the main focus in which most correlates to the concept and story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Feminist Criticism essentially examines the view of both men and woman in the world of literature. Particularly, this critical lens views the ideology of how woman are represented in society as people and their status within the plot. Feminist Criticism focusses further on the concept of gender roles and how certain genders are expected to act and behave. Additionally, this lens is also concerned with the oppression that woman endure in the literary text, whether it be socially or economically. Since the beginning of time, women have been marginalized in society and are looked down upon in constantly, while being expected to conform to gender roles and expectations. With the help of this theory, this criticism further demonstrates how exactly gender roles are prominent even in the most famous stories and what stereotypes are associated to the specific gender present in the plot. This lens finally examines the text through a female point of view and perspective through reinterpreting and reexamining the story. As a result, this lens not only views the ideology of feminist theories, but it thoroughly demonstrates how both woman and men are viewed upon and standardized in the story’s society.
The children’s storybook, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs centers on the idea of gender roles and expectations associated to woman and men in relation to feminist lens and perception. Not only is this story associated with gender roles but, it analyzes the idea of how gender roles and stereotypes are prominent, even in Disney classics. In the fairytale, the protagonist Snow White is a beautiful princess who demonstrates many typical feminine characteristics that fit the typical gender stereotypes commonly found in literature and children’s books. In the text, the princess is described as a hardworking naïve housemaid who is young and beautiful. The text examines that “Despite all the hard work, Snow White stayed sweet, gentle and cheerful. Day after day she washed and swept and scrubbed. And day after day she dreamed of a handsome prince who would come and carry off to his castle”.This demonstrates that as a princess, she is a typical female who carries common female characteristics as she is caring, glamorous and a housemaid who performs majority of the housework and matches her role as a woman. These gender roles continue to occur with her stepmother, Queen, who is a typical antagonist of the children’s story who is obsessed with the way she looks, making her look as though she is self-absorbed and vain. When told by her magic mirror that she is not the most beautiful, the Queen is cruel towards Snow White and plans to have her killed. The narrator describes the Queen by stating “Her stepmother, the Queen, was cruel and vain. She hated anyone whose beauty rivaled her own—and she watched her stepdaughter with angry, jealous eyes”. These characteristics of both the characters are portrayed in a manner in which is negative and sexist to them as women.
Throughout the story, gender roles and stereotypes are a prominent example in relation to typical feminine duties shown in the story. The overall text implies the idea that woman are weaker than men and do not have a voice, while the remaining males are seen as superior. Though this concept is not explicitly stated, the idea of gendered characteristics is evident when Snow White is tricked by the Huntsmen and lands at the Seven Dwarfs’ house. There, Snow White performs traditional woman-like roles in return for living with the Dwarfs and gaining shelter. During this time, Snow White become a traditional household maid, performing roles for the Dwarfs such as cooking and cleaning, while the male Dwarfs go to work. In the text, Snow White states: “My! Perhaps the children who live here are orphans and need someone to take care of them. Maybe they’ll let me stay and keep house for them”. Not only do these gendered traits depict the idea of masculinity and femininity, but it shows how woman rely on men to earn money, while women perform the needed duties at home. The idea of woman being dependent on males is demonstrated at the end of the fairytale when Snow White falls to the ground and dies after being tricked by her evil stepmother portrayed as an old woman. After offering her an apple, Snow White, naïve in doing so, takes and eats the apple as she cannot resist.
In seconds, Snow White falls to her death. It was only when a male Prince came about one day and saved her with a kiss that she awoke. The narrator further states: “One day a handsome Prince came riding through the forest. As soon as he saw Snow White, he fell in love with her. Kneeling by her coffin, he kissed her. Snow White sat up, blinked, and smiled. The Prince’s kiss had broken the evil spell”. This demonstrates that it took a man in order to save a woman from distress, in this case, the poison she consumes, indicating that males and females are not equal and that males are needed in order for woman to function effectively in society. The idea of sexism is another prevalent concept that relates to the main characters of the story. Not only is the message of the entire story a representation in the way that males and are expected to look, act and behave, but also in the way that the males of the society are seen as inferior to the major woman roles in the text.
Snow White is a primal example of a visual minority in society who is being taken advantage of not only by her step mother, but the Seven Dwarfs whom she lives with and provides for the time being. As a homemaker, Snow White is expected to follow traditional roles at the castle as well as in the Dwarfs’ home. The story is also a depiction and visual that society still holds expectations and typical stereotypes depending on gender. For example, the Queen is seen asking her mirror “Major Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all”, signalizing that all women are obsessed with the way they look and their beauty standards. This role is also seen with the Prince, who enters into the scene all mighty and brave to save Snow White from her poisonous state and is expected to be a hero. Snow White dreams that one day a handsome Prince will come and take her to his castle, indicating the idea that all males are should be portrayed in this manner.
Anyone who reads this book, despite age or gender, will clearly be able to see the inequality, unfair gender roles and sexism that continue to lie beneath the surface books, even a well-known classic Disney fairytale. It is altogether prevalent in the text that there are not only stereotypes associated to each character, but beneath, there is sexism, gender roles and expectations associated to the overall plot. As a result, the feminist lens is one in which looks deep within the society and roles of the text in which are assigned to each individual and proves that gender plays a large portion of it all. Feminist or not, people who read this fairytale to their children will be able to note the idea that even in today’s society, story books continue to embed typical and expected gender roles in which have changed in society today and that this so called “fairytale” is not as perfect as it seems if analyzed in a deeper matter through this lens.
