Reevaluation of Snow White and the Queen in the Postmodern Retellings of Grimms’ “Snow White”

Abstract

This article examines how the two main characters of “Snow White”― Snow White and the queen―have been reevaluated, modified, and vivified in a number of postmodern fairytale retellings. First, by switching the traits of Snow White and the queen, the retellings disconnect the automatic correlation of the stereotypes of the characters at the mention of their names. And second, by depicting the relationship between Snow White and the queen in terms of the natural cycle of female life, the retellings do away with a simple opposition of good and evil and explore the complex psychology and the motivations behind the deeds of the characters. By closely analyzing the two main characters depicted in several postmodern retellings, this article substantiates that the fairytale retellings revisit the past texts with a critical impulse in mind. Using the similar elements that allow for an intertextual reading of the texts, these retellings highlight the differences. By employing the past texts while carrying contemporary sensibilities and ideology, they reevaluate the traditional ideology that has been assumed as “natural.” (Korea Baptist Theological University/Seminary)