Diluting Evil

Through the countless variations of the Snow White stories, the "villainess" generally falls into one of two categories: evil stepmother to Snow White that becomes queen through marriage, or an evil witch with a vanity vendetta against Snow White. The final Brothers Grimm version of Snow White takes the former route. The evil stepmother tries to kill Snow White so that she will be the fairest of them all. The same can be said for Disney's film adaptation of Snow White; the stepmother is in place from the beginning of the story and is out to eliminate her competition. Representing the other malicious faction is Briar Rose, which personifies evil in the form of a non-blood related witch. Finally, combining elements of both of these factions is the 1916 film version of Snow White, which included both an evil witch and a (pawn-like) stepmother.

All of these versions represent different pathways to dilute the evil within the fairy tale. In order for a story to truly be a "Snow White" story, there has to be someone after Snow White, whether for her beauty or other half-schemed reasons. The original Brothers Grimm version involved the mother attempting to kill Snow White in response to her increasing beauty. However, this version was cleaned up in order prevent audiences from being terrified while still maintaining the evil (regardless of how diluted). Consistent with most themes of fairy tales, maternal characteristics are ideal, so making the mothers the villains of the story is out of the question. Yet by placing the cruel deeds on a stepmother or evil witch, the evil is maintained while protecting the domestic inner circle. The general evolution of the Snow White fairy tales has steered away from slandering this inner circle, especially mothers, and placing the blame elsewhere.