What Is Snow White In Different Cultures

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A Study of Snow White in Different Cultures The most well known adaptation of Snow White is the one animated by Walt Disney during the Great Depression. During this time adults and children alike were yearning for a story of good defeating evil. It can be said that this could be the same for all cultures, as the story of Snow White is known far and wide, each culture having its own variant. From the brothers Grimm to the Seven Dwarfs.” However, the question can be raised, how does Snow White and it’s cultural variants reflect real life? The best place to start with is the one most people are familiar with, the Brothers Grimm version which inspired the Disney film. The story opens on the queen pricking her finger on a sewing needle,
Switzerland has one of the darkest takes on this story. Named ‘Death of the Seven Dwarves’, this story has no relatively happy ending. It begins with the dwarves, who live near the Black Forest, being approached by a peasant girl who requests a place to stay for the night. The dwarves gave up on of their beds, but before they could sleep another woman showed up at the door. The girl got up immediately and told the woman that they did not have enough beds. The woman, enraged, accused the girl of being a slut, thinking she was cohabiting with all seven of them, and stormed off. That same night she came back with two men she brought up from the Rhine and broke into the house. They killed the seven dwarves and the story states that no-one knows what happened to the
Even in the Disney version mentioned at the beginning, the fashion itself reflects that of fashion models of the 1930s. In the case of this, it reflects beauty norms and what is acceptable. There was this home-maker role preferred for women which was reflected in the way Snow White cleaned and cooked meals for the dwarves. Snow White immediately becomes a mother figure for the dwarves and this brings weakness and vulnerability, which reflects the attitude back when the film was made. This brought the women's movement back to life. It is safe to say that Snow White reflected culture back then, and influenced the reality that we experience

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