Snow White and Christianity

For my Children’s Literature course, we had to do an assignment that re-interpreted a fairy tale from a different perspective. So that I remained actually interested in the assignment, I chose to watch Disney’s Snow White, and re-interpret it from a Christian perspective. At some stage, I’ll probably re-edit the assignment into a blog post and turn it into a more fair, well-rounded analysis of the Christian themes (and more importantly, the bits that on the outset appear Christian, but pretty clearly aren’t), but until that point, you’re more than welcome to read this one!

Snow White from a Christian Perspective

From Milton’s visions of a lost paradise through to C.S Lewis’ allegorical tales of lions, witches and wardrobes, Christianity has always been a source of inspiration for stories. These stories, while being original in their own right, are founded on Biblical imagery, values and ideals that may not be immediately apparent to the viewer but on closer inspection are made clear.

One such story is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[1]. This classic tale has been subject to many reinterpretations over the years from many different perspectives; however it is my goal to reinterpret the story from a Christian perspective. While the story has been told in many iterations, due to the limited scope of this essay I will largely be focusing on the 1937 film (Disney).

The first character that we are introduced to in the film is the evil stepmother/wicked witch (she remains unnamed throughout). The fact that she is referred to by these descriptors is our first clue that she is a representation of evil and everything that we should not be. Pinsky (2004) writes:

From this beginning there is also the introduction of sin, presented in a clear, unambiguous, and negative light… So, within the film’s first moments the sins of envy, vanity and jealousy are presented, with much worse soon to follow.

As the film progresses, we are shown that the queen’s representation is more specific than generic sinfulness – rather than being a nameless embodiment of evil, she is intended to be representative of the devil himself. Certainly her use of fruit to tempt Snow White cements this in our minds (a clear allusion to the fall of man in Genesis 3), but there are several more subtle nods in this direction. As an example, the throne that she is seated on is in the shape of a peacock (the symbol of pride – Lucifer’s first sin), while on the backrest we see carved images of suns and snakes (biblical imagery used to describe Lucifer – being described as “the morning star” in Isaiah 14:12 and appearing as a serpent in Genesis 3).

Snow White, on the other hand, is meant to be interpreted as a representation of innocence. All of her actions throughout the film – from cleaning the dwarfs’ house through to looking after the disguised witch – are the embodiment of Jesus’ command to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, English Standard Version). Even after being mistreated by Grumpy, her reaction is not one of hatred or annoyance, but rather to pray for him.

With this in mind then, why does Snow White succumb to the witch’s scheme and eat the apple? The argument has been made that, like Eve in the garden, Snow White was simply ignorant to the witch’s scheme (Brashares, 1938). However, both the film and the Genesis account portray the women as knowing full well what they were getting into as they accepted the fruit. In the film, we see several acknowledgements that there are good and wholesome ways of having your dreams come true – Snow White makes her requests both to a wishing well and also prays (although the recipient of her prayers is never mentioned[2]). Trying to take the easy way out is clearly portrayed as wrong, and in fact we should simply do everything we can to make the time enjoyable while we wait for our dreams to come (such as “whistling while we work”).

With this moral in mind, we know that as the hag offers Snow White an easy solution to her dreams, she knows in that moment that it is wrong of her (just as Eve knew this in the garden). And thus, with one bite of the apple, we see the story of the fall of man unfold in the film – only while in Genesis 3 we read that Eve’s eyes were opened, Snow White’s eyes are closed forever.

Up until this point, our whole evaluation of the film fits within a Christian perspective, but not a distinctly Christian one. The argument could be made that this is also a Jewish or Islamic perspective, as these faiths also use Genesis as part of their beliefs. What sets Snow White apart as a distinctively Christian story is the role of the prince, and the Biblical allusions made therein.

Genesis 3 does not end with hopelessness. Although it would appear that all is lost once the fruit has been eaten and death has entered the world, the text makes reference to someone that would come and solve the problem:

The Lord God said to the serpent, […]
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:14-15)

This passage is known as the ‘Protoevangelium’ – that is, the first proclamation of the “Good News”, that someone would come and defeat death and the devil once more. For Christians, this protoevangelium finds its fulfilment in the coming of Christ.

Snow White has its own protoevangelium – the sleeping death can be defeated only by love’s first kiss. There is absolutely nothing that Snow White can do to save herself by this stage – she is doomed to sleep for the rest of time. Her only hope is to be found in love’s first kiss, which she cannot pursue herself due to her condition. It is this message that gives Snow White a distinctively Christian perspective. The prince pursues his princess long and far, in order to bring her the salvation that she herself could not obtain in her death. The prince brings life.

Once familiar with the biblical story, one cannot help but allow this imagery to bring to mind Christian passages such as Ephesians 2:4-5:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

The prince, out of love for Snow White, even while she was dead as a result of her sin, made her alive again. And then, in the final shot of the film, we catch a glimpse of his palace that he takes her to – a golden palace in the clouds. What clearer allusion could be made to the final destination of those who have been raised and seated in the heavenly places?

Thus, through the three main protagonists in the film – the queen, Snow White and the prince – we see embodiments of the three main progressions of the Biblical narrative; Innocence, the fall into sin, and finally redemption through the resurrection of the dead. While not a complete allegorical tome (there is no mention of repentance or justification in the film, just to name two other important Biblical concepts for example), it is abundantly clear that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is ripe for Christian interpretation.

References:

Brashares, C. W. (1938) “Walt Disney as Theologian”. Published in The Christian Century, August 10, 1938.

Disney, W. (Director). (1937) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [Motion Picture]. Walt Disney Productions: USA

Pinsky, M. I. (2004) The Gospel According to Disney. Westminster John Knox Press: Kentucky

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[1] There has always been controversy over whether the correct spelling should be “Dwarfs” or “Dwarves”. For the purposes of this essay, I will side with Tolkien who insisted on the plural “Dwarfs” in his Lord of the Rings series (itself being allegorical for Christianity!). This is also the spelling used in the film.

[2] We also see prayers being offered in Disney’s second film Pinocchio, in which the recipient is designated as being “fate” as embodied in a wishing star. It seems likely that this, too, is to whom Snow White directs her prayers. Does this diminish from the Christian allusions made therein?

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