Indeed, at its core the story is a meditation on the horrific, persistent, and often lethal forms of violence that children are often subjected to by adults. The Queen’s persecution of Snow White reveals, this mistreatment commonly comes at the hands of the men and women who are supposed to love, nurture, and protect young people the most: their parents or guardians. Moreover, although not all parental figures are as relentlessly vengeful, homicidally jealous, and cartoonish evil as the one in this story, the stepmother character reflects another dire historical reality. The grim truth of the Grimm Brothers’ “Snow White” is that, in both past times and the present day, stepparents are far more likely to murder their non-biological children than any other individual, be they adult or child, stranger or family member, friend or foe. As a consequence, her aggressive feelings toward Snow White grow even stronger: ‘“But this time,’ she said, ‘I will dream up something that will destroy you”’ (Grimm, 87). When her mother failed in her first attempt she came up with another plan to end her life. She began to plan immediately how she might kill
Indeed, at its core the story is a meditation on the horrific, persistent, and often lethal forms of violence that children are often subjected to by adults. The Queen’s persecution of Snow White reveals, this mistreatment commonly comes at the hands of the men and women who are supposed to love, nurture, and protect young people the most: their parents or guardians. Moreover, although not all parental figures are as relentlessly vengeful, homicidally jealous, and cartoonish evil as the one in this story, the stepmother character reflects another dire historical reality. The grim truth of the Grimm Brothers’ “Snow White” is that, in both past times and the present day, stepparents are far more likely to murder their non-biological children than any other individual, be they adult or child, stranger or family member, friend or foe. As a consequence, her aggressive feelings toward Snow White grow even stronger: ‘“But this time,’ she said, ‘I will dream up something that will destroy you”’ (Grimm, 87). When her mother failed in her first attempt she came up with another plan to end her life. She began to plan immediately how she might kill