Intelligent or a bit slow?

Disney's version of "Snow White" portrays a somewhat intelligent young woman (snow white) who the Wicked Queen wants killed. She sends her out with one of her hunters who is supposed to kill her and he brings the heart of the wild boar back to the Wicked Queen.The Queen finds out that Snow White is still alive because she talks to her magic mirror while Snow White finds her way to the seven dwarfs. She lives with them and is eventually saved by a handsome prince who comes and kisses her which brings Snow White back to life.
In the Grimm's version the Wicked Queen does not want Snow White's heart but much more gruesome, her lungs and liver. When the boar's insides are brought to her, she boils them and eats them, thinking that they are Snow White's. It takes three attempts to kill Snow White with the Queen using the same disguise, insinuating that Snow White must not be too smart. A prince comes and he thinks that the body is beautiful, so he wants it. It is only when servants drop the coffin that the piece of poison apple dislodges from Snow White's throat and she is brought back to life.

It is interesting to see the turn of events and personalities of the characters that make up the flow of the story. Why is it that the woman must be quite slow and can only be seen as an object of desire vs. being intelligent and being silenced and then being saved by a prince? Another revelation of the ideals of society and culture during the times these versions were created? I think so.