Snow White has the potential to hold some pretty powerful themes.
There is the ideology of beauty and what defines it.
There are opportunities to explore jealousy, pain, betrayal, grasps for control, and the way people react to trauma in their lives.
There are reflections of truth and honesty, if you explore the role of the mirror.
There are people who will show kindness, mercy, and forgiveness.
There will also be judgements and consequences.
There is family, friendship, true love.
So today I want to ask you about beauty, based on your Snow White retelling or on your knowledge of a Snow White story. What is beauty? How would you define it in your story? How have you seen it defined in Snow White stories? What is good or bad about these definitions?
In the context of my story, Mirrors Never Lie, beauty is equated with goodness. The stepmother sees greater goodness in Skadi (Snow White), and despises her for it. However, for most of the story, the mirror is a cursed thing that shows the opposite of goodness/beauty: it highlights flaws and fears.
ReplyDeleteYour questions in these countdown posts are so thought-provoking! I'm really enjoying them. :D
Beauty, I think, is a combination of physical and inner virtues. And the physical ones are judged in a varied manner -- what is beautiful to one judge isn't the same to another judge. And, in my own life experience, I tend to find the inner beauty more appealing than the physical anyway.
ReplyDeleteIn my story, I threw both of those out the window, instead going with the traditional idea of one single standard of physical beauty agreed upon by the entire nation, the dwarves, and the mirror.
However, while the status as the most beautiful in the land was judged in such a shallow manner, I talk more about the inner characters then the external appearance because I think the internal is more important.