Comparative Analysis of the Stories “Snow, Glass, Apples” and 'Snow White'

Neil Gaiman’s story, “Snow, Glass, Apples,” is told by the stepmother and is very dark and violent; whereas, the brothers Grimm’s story, “Little Snow-White,” is told in a third person limited point of view where Snow-White, the queen’s step-daughter, is the main character and her thoughts and feelings are known but not directly said. Additionally, in the Grimm brothers’ story, Snow-White is shown as a saint and it is not as violent. In Gaiman’s story, Snow-White is characterized as barbaric and animalistic. Which results in the queen taking it upon herself to kill Snow-White in protection of the kingdom. While in the Grimm brothers’ story, the queen is illustrated as evil and jealous and that is what provokes her action against Snow-White. Though the stories are similar in some respects, such as the major events and symbolism, they are very different because of the points of view and the way that it is told.

The two stories were written in two very different environments. The brothers Grimm wrote their story in Germany in the early 1800’s which is when German literature was starting its romantic period. Romanticism began during the early 19th century and was based off “national languages, folklore, and a celebration of local customs and traditions”. According to the European Studies Essays, German romanticism was an inspiration to the brothers when they created the story. Gaiman’s graphic novel was written in the United Kingdom in the early 1990’s. Gaiman had earned “praise and popular success with richly imagined fantasy tales that frequently featured a darkly humorous tone”. This explains the harsh descriptions of the story. The differences in authors backgrounds could be the reason in the differences in the stories.

The points of view in the story shape how readers interpret the story by selecting specifically what the readers see. In Gaiman’s novel, “Snow, Glass, Apples,” the story is told in the first-person point of view about the queen’s experience when dealing with the troublesome Snow-White. In Gaiman’s story, the story is based around the queen’s outlook of the story. The novel lacks the opinions of other character’s which influences the reader by seeing how the queen portrays herself. Gaiman describes how the queen does not know what is happening in the forest when the Prince leaves the Palace because she “was not there” and “can only imagine” what happened. This proves that when the point of view of the short stories is such where other characters feelings and opinions are not voiced that it can results in readers forming opinions over how other characters feel which can leave a gap in the underlining storyline. While, in the brothers Grimm’s short story, “Little Snow White,” the authors use a different approach in telling the story. The brothers use a third-person omniscient point of view where the story is based on Snow-White but expresses other characters feelings and actions. When using this point of view the reader can understand how each character feels about certain situations. For example, when Snow-White died, the brothers explain how “all seven [dwarfs] sat next to her and mourned for her and cried for three days straight.” The brothers Grimm is allowing the reader to see the dwarf’s reactions and feelings, where if it was told in first person, the reader would only be able to see from the point of view and the interpretations of a single character.

The two stories have some similar ideas but are largely different in the ways that the stories are told. In both stories, Snow-White is banished from the Kingdom, but for different reasons. In the brothers Grimm’s story, the queen is told by her magic mirror that “Snow-White is a thousand times fairer than [her]”. This makes the queen very upset and jealous of the girl causing her to appoint the huntsman to kill Snow-White in the woods and to bring her back Snow-White’s lungs and liver. This differs from Gaiman’s novel due to the fact that Snow-White is sent to be killed because of her animalistic behaviors. Also, instead of wanting her lung and liver, in Gaiman’s story, the queen wants Snow-White’s heart so she can hang “it from the beams above [her] bed”.

While the two stories are very different in ways, both share common aspects of the stories. Both stories tell how Snow-White is sent to the woods, how she lives with the dwarfs, and dies by the queen by way of a poisoned apple. Both stories also share how the queen is sent to death by fire following the wedding of Snow-White and the prince. Both stories use fire as symbolism when talking about the queen’s death because it symbolizes pain and death. In “Little Snow-White,” the queen is forced to put on iron shoes that are burning in coal. She is then forced to “dance until she [falls] down dead”. In “Snow, Glass, Apples,” the queen is drenched in goose grease and brought to a kiln. The kiln turns rapidly hot and the grease “begins to melt and glisten upon [her] skin”. Both stories show a horrific and harsh killing of the queen.

Overall, there are more differences then similarities between the two stories. The difference in points of view results in very different interpretations of the story line because it’s based on different characters. The stories are also told very differently, Gaiman’s story is a retelling of the brothers Grimm’s story so the events and character interpretations are different. However, they are similar because some of the overall, big events are the same and there is also symbolism of fire in both stories. Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” and the brothers Grimm’s “Little Snow-White” are very different pieces of literature even though they stem from the brothers Grimm’s story but also have slight similarities.

Work Cited

• Denecke, Ludwig. “Brothers Grimm.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Brothers-Grimm. Accessed 9 Oct 2019.
• “European Studies Essays – Romanticism Brothers Grimm.” UKEssays.com, www.ukessays.com/essays/european-studies/romanticism-brothers-grimm.php. Accessed 15 Oct 2019.
• Gaiman, Neil, “Snow, Glass, Apples.” 1994. Accessed 14 Oct 2019.
• Ray, Michael. “Neil Gaiman.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Sept. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Neil-Gaiman. Accessed 19 Oct 2019.
• The Brothers Grimm. “Little Snow-White.” Grimm 053: Little Snow-White, www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html. Accessed 16 Oct 2019.