Snow, Glass, Apples: Neil Gaiman. Illustrations by Colleen Doran

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This twisted tale has Gaiman written all over it. I love the fantastic illustrations and could have kept on reading. If it wasn't for me having to recreate this review half as good as my original writings, I'd swoon a bit more. Despite my grumblings about this mess-up and my rather small and pathetic review, this novel made my five-star rated list of grap

I put them down and stood there, unclothed, on the tower, humble before the night sky and the wind. Had any man seen me standing there, I would have had his eyes; but there was no-one to spy. Clouds scudded across the sky, hiding and uncovering the waning moon. Good Princess, Evil Queen: Inverted—the queen is a wise woman trying to protect the kingdom from her evil, bloodthirsty stepdaughter.Show More Today, the tale of Snow White is better known as a classic Disney story for children. This was not the case with the Grimm brothers “original” version and Neil Gaiman’s spin-off version of the story. It is clear to understand that the mood and themes of these two stories are highly influenced by the symbolism and plot.

Didn't See That Coming: Almost literally. For some unexplained reason, despite being able to see future events in dreams and mirrors, the queen never foresaw Snow White before meeting her. Our Vampires Are Different: Snow White is actually born a vampire; whether she actually is living or undead is ambiguous (especially considering she grows up and matures), but she is capable of surviving having her heart cut out. She is extremely pale and cold, and seems to have some sort of Mind Control or Charm Person powers. I do not know what manner of thing she is. None of us do. She killed her mother in the birthing, but that’s never enough to account for it.Everyone Has Standards: We are reassured that the queen didn't eat Snow's heart; she's not a monster! Instead, she hung it up with garlic to protect her from its evil influence. Good Is Not Soft: The queen thinks about how instead of simply cutting out Snow’s heart or poisoning her, she should have had the girl’s head and hands and arms and legs chopped off and every part of her incinerated until she was reduced to ashes and scattered to the cold winds. She strongly regrets not doing this. She was not laughing, or jeering, or talking. She did not sneer at me or turn away. She looked at me, though; and for a moment I saw myself reflected in her eyes. The Bad Guy Wins: Snow White marries her prince, takes over the kingdom and makes a public spectacle out of roasting her stepmother alive in a giant oven at her wedding. Guess "happily ever after" isn't for everyone.

The story takes place after the main protagonist has become the queen and is preparing for her wedding. Her reluctance to get married is made explicit throughout the story. She is aware that it will change her life a lot and she does not seem to be too excited about those changes. As she explains: “It seemed both unlikely and extremely final. She wondered how she would feel to be a married woman. It would be the end of her life, she decided, if life was a time of choices. In a week from now, she would have no choices.” (Gaiman The Sleeper and the Spindle 14). Whereas the traditional princess follows the rules, the brothers Grimm describe her as “willing” (169) to marry a stranger whom she has just met, and the vampiric princess decides to marry the prince who woke her up as well, the queen is much more reluctant to conform to traditional ideas of how a female should behave and enter the “‘enchanted’ state” (Rowe 250) of marriage. In fact, she seems to believe that marriage will be the end of her life, one way or another. She contemplates all the possible ways she could die, whether as a monarch in a battle or during childbirth. Either way, marriage is seen by her as the first step leading to her inevitable death. The queen struggles with these thoughts which come into sharp contrast with unexpected liberty that circumstances temporarily give her. I did not see it. Let us imagine though, the girl returning, frustrated and hungry, to her cave, and finding my fallen basket on the ground. She nodded. I had always been scared of the little princess, but at that moment I warmed to her and, with my fingers, gently, I stroked her cheek. She looked at me and smiled — she smiled but rarely — then she sank her teeth into the base of my thumb, the Mound of Venus, and she drew blood. Neil Gaiman’s modern “Snow, Glass, Apples” revolutionizes the Snow White tradition. First, Gaiman offers a shift in perspective, fleshing out the Queen’s character in a move that provides insight into the original tale’s most enchanting character. However, rather than making the Queen the focus of the narrative, Gaiman utilizes the Queen as an intermediary through which readers experience the feral Princess’s terror firsthand. Gaiman employs the Grimms’ color palette as a means of transforming the young Princess from victim to predator. Gaiman moves away from the Grimms’ puritanical approach to the representation of sexuality, and instead uses sexual dominance as a means of highlighting the Princess’s complete control over those around her. Moreover, the Princess’s search for a cohesive family unit culminates in the re-animated vampire’s match with a necrophiliac, signaling a perfect perverse match. Finally, Gaiman’s resolution rebels against fairy tale justice: the evil pair is rewarded, allowing for a subversive but appropriate ending wherein, once again, the younger overtakes the older generation. My husband, my love, my king, sent for me less and less, and when I came to him he was dizzy, listless, confused. He could no longer make love as a man makes love; and he would not permit me to pleasure him with my mouth: the one time I tried, he started, violently, and began to weep. I pulled my mouth away and held him tightly, until the sobbing had stopped, and he slept, like a child.Noodle Implements: One of the ingredients in the queen's poisoned-apple recipe is a brown dust made of "dried herbs, and the skin of a particular toad, and from certain other things." I imagine his loins, now, as he rode, a knot of frustration at the base of his manhood. I imagine his pale lips pressed so tightly together. Then I imagine his little troupe riding through the forest, finally coming upon the glass-and-crystal cairn of my stepdaughter. So pale. So cold. Naked, beneath the glass, and little more than a girl, and dead. The story begins with a twist on the classic fairytale of Snow White, told from the perspective of the evil queen. The narrator is a young queen who marries an older king and is subsequently faced with an unusual problem. Her stepdaughter, Snow White, is not only beautiful but possesses an otherworldly charm that makes everyone, including the queen's husband, adore her. Riddle for the Ages: Even in-universe, no one knows how Snow White, a vampire child, was born to two parents who by all appearances are perfectly normal people. Neil Gaiman changed the perspective of Snow-White and gave a different meaning to some of the symbols within the story. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s symbolism in “Little Snow-White” reflects a lot of Christian beliefs that make it come off as innocent. While Neil Gaiman’s dark symbolism in “Snow, Glass, Apples” helps it reflect more of a realistic and sinister story. Symbolism is strong in both stories of Snow White. In …show more content…