| Snow White | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Snow White |
|
First Appearance |
Unknown |
|
Original Publisher |
German Folklore |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
One day in winter before Snow White was born, her real mother was sitting by the window embroidering at an ebony frame. And she pricked her finger, so she opened the window and shook the drop of blood on the snow outside. And it looked so beautiful that she said, "Oh, how I wish I had a little daughter with hair as black as ebony, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as blood. She'd never had a baby before; but a little while after a baby daughter was born with those very features.
But then Snow White's mother died and the King married another. As long as the King lived, the Queen was as sweet as sugar to Snow White. Then, she grew awfully jealous of Snow White. Of course, everybody loved the Princess best. First Brangomar pretended that Snow White might grow up vain, so she took away all her princessy clothes and made her wear old, rag-baggety things. Then she pretended that she might grow up lazy, so she made her sweep and dust the Palace. And Snow White is really almost like a kitchen-maid, and sleeps in a little closet under the stairs where the servants keep the umbrellas and overshoes.
Eventually, the Wicked Queen sent Snow White in the woods with a huntsman who was under orders to kill her. However, Snow White convinced the huntsman to spare her life and she escaped further into the forests. There, she met seven dwarves who gave her a home and protected her. The Wicked Queen, learning that Snow White was still alive, made several attempts to kill the fairest maiden herself. On one attempt, she was nearly successful with a poisoned apple, but Snow White's life was saved by the dashing prince. Snow White married the prince and the two of them made the Wicked Queen pay for her crimes.
In another fairy tale Snow-White and Rose-Red, later recorded by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White has a sister named Rose-Red who is portrayed as the more rambunctious, associated with summer as Snow-White is with winter.
Their story features a wicked dwarf and a bear who becomes a prince. Snow-White marries this prince, with Rose-Red marrying his brother. The story also features a kindly mother who tells the two sisters they must always share all they have.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Snow White from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Snow White, by the Brothers Grimm (1812)
- “Death of the Seven Dwarfs,” by Ernst Ludwig Rochholz (1856) – Swiss variant
- “Gold‐tree and Silver‐tree” (Mar. 1888) – Scottish variant
- The Blue Fairy Book (1889)
- Grimm's Household Tales, Vol. 2 No. 161
Public Domain Stage Appearances[]
- Snow White (dialogue), by Theodor Storm (1851)
- Snow White (musical), libretto by Adelheid Wette, music by Engelbert Humperdinck (1888)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (play), by Jessie Braham White (1912)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Snow White (1902)
- Snow White (1916)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Fairy Tale Parade #2
Notes[]
- In the original stories, the Wicked Queen, the huntsman, and the handsome prince were not named. The names Brangomar/Alice, Berthold, and Florimond came from later adaptations.
- Although most believe the Snow White contained in this story is a different character than the one who appears in Snow-White and Rose-Red, there is no solid evidence to confirm this (other than this Snow White not having a hyphen while the other does). With the original author of this tale being lost to time, no one will ever know the true intention of this Snow-White's origin versus the other's.