The Lady Who Started it All: Snow White

(Image Courtesty Wikipedia.org with thanks)

            The first princess Disney produced in a “full length” animated feature, created in 1937: Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. Arguably one of the youngest princesses in the line up, she is usually under the ire of being a damsel in distress. But during my viewing I peered a surprising amount of character traits that could be considered useful, and good things to replicate, despite the course of her story.

             The first thing to evaluate is Snow White’s situation: she is the beloved princess of the land, but her father remarried a wicked woman and presumably died. I say this because while neither he nor her mother are mentioned, neither of them is present in her life. Given the fact that her enemy is a wicked witch, her stepmother and now queen, this leaves me to believe they are in fact dead. That, or they are simply horrible parents. Whatever the case, the young Snow White is more or less on her own, and forced to work as a scullery maid in her own castle. Given the Evil Queen has an enchanted mirror to do her spy work, an amazing amount of magic at her command, and a name far and wide feared? This was not a situation Snow White could have easily found her way out of easily.

(Image Courtesy wikipedia.org with thanks)

            However, despite rotten conditions, Snow White attempts to keep an optimistic outlook of the world. She is a hard worker, and to pass the time she sings. She demonstrates this once when she’s in the courtyard, and again when she’s at the dwarves’ cottage. Indeed she seems to have pulled singing as a coping mechanism, as she uses it after getting lost in the woods. There are worse methods of dealing with a dreadful reality then singing.

            In relation to the woodland creatures and other animals Snow White befriends, and come to her aid when they can. This is a respect for all creatures, large and small, which frankly is not a bad thing. She even confesses that in some way they can do things she can’t: build nests, dig burrows, things of that nature. When she fears she may have upset them, despite them being “just animals”, she takes the blame for upsetting them and apologizing in time.

            Throughout the course of her plot, Snow White reveals herself to be modest, polite, and empathetic. Before she realizes who the seven dwarves are, she assumes they are children and ponders why their parents haven’t helped them more. She comes to the possible conclusion they might be orphans and has earnest distress for them, demonstrating either sympathy or empathy. They also can’t pull one over on her; when Doc attempts to bluff about cleaning his hands; she puts her hands on her hips and demands evidence.

            The question of courtship comes up, and might be the one red flag Snow White causes. The prince literally scales the wall and trespasses onto another person’s property after hearing her singing. Fortunately for a time Snow White seemed honestly scared of the strange man who hopped the fence and came up behind her. She flees into the castle, but all it takes is one song to lower her guard (literally, his entire song is about how he only has one song), and she’s swooning behind the curtains. Later what might be her first crush unfolds and reveals it self to be True Love; but she focuses on it rather greatly. She sings about how this guy she met all of once will whisk her away to her castle. So smitten is she, her wish to see him again is what causes her to accept the poison apple from the evil witch, disregarding her previous knowledge that strangers are dangerous, as well as Grumpy’s final warning before departing for work. This romance is literally toxic for her, being in love kills her. And not in the “I am giving up my life for love” sacrificial sort of way-she doesn’t do it knowingly. She is so blinded by her rose colored glasses she throws caution to the wind for a guy she met once and happened to find charming (despite the trespassing). The two of them ride off into the sunset, but does their romance have the potential to last? Or is it two infatuated teenagers?

            Other then her romance, Snow White has plenty of personality worthy of emulation. She is kind, polite, hard working, optimistic, earnest, emphatic, has a sense of humor, and respects her surroundings. She has some bargaining ability, offering the talents she has (which are domestic, but that’s besides the point) in order to earn her keep with the dwarves. Snow White is not the worst role model, but to be taken with a grain of salt. She may not be the best, but there are no perfect role models; the question is how big are problems?