I don’t remember how old I was when I first watched Walt Disney’s adaptation of the story Snow White. I do remember I liked the movie because it was full of color and life. This story woke up my child dreams and expectations of friendship and love. As Snow White, I thought the love of a prince would bring happiness to me. After growing up and finding a frog instead of a prince, I thought Snow White and other fairy tales were really not beneficial stories to tell young girls.
I didn’t think teaching fantasy over reality could do any good for any girl. It was my father who made me think of the hidden messages within the story. He made me think about the real lesson to learn beyond the fairy tale. My father said this tale was not only meant to feed girls’ dreams but to help any person grow from within. There are some symbolisms in Snow White that tells us how it is possible to live happily ever after. This story is very old, and it is related to some similarities with Persephone from the Greek mythology (Snow White – Wisped up).
The story has survived throughout history and has been adapted many times. Some of the most famous adaptations to he story are those made by the Grimm brothers and the so well-known Walt Disney. Accepting actual circumstances instead of trying to change them is a very difficult skill to obtain, and yet it is a sign of self realization. Poverty is not a factor of unhappiness. At the beginning of the story, Snow White lives in her stepmother’s castle. She lives there but she is not treated as a princess; instead she is a maid.
Doing errands of a maid does not break Snow White’s spirit. She lives her days enjoying the shining sun and the chirping birds. She has a cheerful attitude toward err actual condition because she accepts the situation without Judgment. Although she holds dreams for a better life outside of the castle, she does not complain or think about how her situation ought to be. Comparison creates emptiness. Snow White’s stepmother is a beautiful queen, (as described in Disney’s movie) yet a very jealous woman.
She is always asking a mirror “who is the most beautiful of all. ” She depends on the mirror’s answer to feel good about herself. “Nobody who compares itself to another person can live happy’ (SOHO 1 11). The dungeon in the castle where he performs sorcery can be interpreted as the inner part of her spirit. There is only darkness and desolation in the bottom of her heart. Fear transforms our perspectives. One of the symbolisms utilized in the story is the dark forest. When Snow White runs away into the forest, she was very afraid.
She goes through the dark forest seeing eyes in the dark and silhouettes trying to grab her. It is not until she falls down crying and letting go her fear, that she realizes those eyes were no more than friendly animals and protective trees. Her fear had blinded her and didn’t let err see she was in a safe place surrounded by welcoming friends. Grace, love, and innocence find a place everywhere. After overcoming her fear, Snow White is headed by her new companions, the forest’s animals, onto a new home. She enters this little house, clearness it, organizes it, and goes to rest.
The occupants of this little house were not very nappy when they encountered near inside but Snow White wins their heart and finds a place for herself among them because she is proper and respectful with them. In spite of her previous bad experience, Snow White does not close her heart. She gracefully gives love and service to the new people in her life. She recovered her innocence and trusted again. The story of Snow White, as I mentioned before, is linked to Greek mythology and ancient cultures. Old cultures worshiped nature.
Spring was a very important season and was represented in many ways, forms, and characters. Persephone is one of these characters: But for six months each year, when Persephone returned to the underworld, the earth once again became a barren realm (“Persephone – Wisped” pep). Snow white is represented as a very beautiful girl full of life and happiness. She is a good comparison to the hill’s flower dresses and green grass carpets which rebirth in spring. In the story, Snow White falls down after biting a poisoned apple and remains inside a coffin throughout the winter.
The prince wakes her up with a kiss and everything around turns full of life. This is a very good example of the similarity with Persephone and the relationship with spring. As my father said, stories tell us more between lines than we hear or see. Stories transform our minds and make us grow with their hidden messages. In the last scene of the movie Arabian Nights, the harasser Scheherazade says: “Stories can save us if we use our imagination” (Arabian Nights, Peter Barns 1999, ass). This is very true, for stories provide us with a living guide.
They are a reliable source of knowledge. They enclose the wisdom of many generations. This is the oldest form of teaching. In old cultures, acquiring knowledge was many times a synonym of hierarchy, especially in communities where the old consensus ruled. Keeping the innocence during the process of learning is very important. Innocence keeps a person modest, and modesty keeps a person’s mind open for new ideas and knowledge. A person with a earth and mind open is a modest person with an uncorrupted spirit.
This is something Snow White’s character teaches me because she never thought she was superior although she was taller than her friends. She never acted bitter even when she lived in the unsweetened castle. Snow white is the example of a candid fresh red rose. When I see or think about the story of Snow White, I don’t have any child dreams anymore. I still want to be like Snow White, but now, I seek for the wisdom of accepting the experiences that may come. For I know, I cannot choose the upcoming situations, but I can certainly choose how I react to them.
