Snow White and the Household Covenant

In terms of quality, the recent live action Snow White film is about as far away from the 1937 original film as one could be. More importantly it lacks a crucial message.

I genuinely believe that the Snow White remake is cursed. I think that the sheer cynical disrespect that the current Disney is showing to its foundational film has goaded Uncle Walt’s spirit into a vengeful wrath, causing him to inflict it with every possible injury so as to ensure its failure. From a lead actress who couldn’t seem to open her mouth without enraging half the internet (and whose casting contradicts the very title of the film), to snubbing a whole class of actors only to replace them with vomit-inducing CGI alternatives, all the stars are aligning to make this a wreck of ages; a film that is not only unwanted, but loathed on a personal level by just about everyone who encounters it.

In that spirit, let us imitate Dante and leave this cursed creation to wallow in its own failure while we turn to better things; namely the revered original film.

The story, as everyone knows, is of a young princess with ‘skin white as snow.’ Her wicked stepmother, the Queen, is jealous of the girl’s youthful beauty and forces her to work as a servant. But when even this fails to prevent the princess from overshadowing her, the Queen tries to have her murdered. The woodsman she hires for the deed, however, cannot bring himself to harm the girl and urges her to flee. Snow White then comes to the cottage of the seven dwarfs, who agree to give her shelter.

It’s a beautiful little story, full of wisdom as most fairy tales are, and Walt Disney’s adaptation is nothing short of a masterpiece. For today, however, I want to dial in and focus on the dynamics of Snow White’s role in the dwarfs’ cottage.

Despite the fact that she is desperate and fleeing for her life, Snow White doesn’t simply beg shelter from charity, much less demand it as a right. Instead, seeing the state of the place, she judges that they need a ‘mother’ to clean and take care of the cottage, and so sets to work dusting and sweeping the place with her animal friends in the hopes that the owners will let her stay in return.

This is emblematic of one of Snow White’s key character traits: that she is humble and self-effacing (in contrast to the proud and selfish Queen). Being a princess, she could theoretically demand the dwarfs help her, but the idea never crosses her mind. She looks at the situation, sees that they have a need she can fulfill, and does it gladly as a sign of good faith.

In this way Snow White claims a place in the household, which is confirmed when she finally meets the dwarfs. The arrangement they come to is not a contract, but is more like a covenant. It is not an impersonal “I will do x in exchange for y,” in which the obligations of each party are specifically spelled out and go no further. The dwarfs are, essentially, adopting Snow White in their family circle as a mother or big sister. There is an assumption, of course, that she will uphold her end of the bargain, but the arrangement doesn’t begin and end with her household duties. It is simply that she is one of them now; a member of the family, with all the unspoken rights and obligations that go with it. She shares in both the prosperity and the work of the household, and enjoys the company and protection of the rest of the family.

That said, her being the lady of the house grants her a unique position. From the moment she sets foot in the cottage, she becomes the most important person there, the one everyone defers to and whose interests are first to be considered. She keeps the home, therefore the home is her domain, and her word there is law. A gentle law, to be sure, but law nonetheless.

This is because responsibility means authority. When Snow White takes responsibility for the home, the dwarfs have to obey her in matters relating to the home. If the dwarfs want a clean home and good food to come home to at the end of the day, then they have to follow her rules regarding these things because that’s the only way she can be sure of providing them.

On the other side of things, the dwarfs are the ones who built the cabin and who keep it running through their hard work. Snow White only has this refuge because they made it. They provide her with protection, which in turn means that she has to obey them when it comes to orders relating to her safety and the outside world. Therefore the dwarfs, as they leave for work, remind her not let anyone in the house while they’re gone. And it’s ultimately her failure to obey them in this matter that gives the Queen her opportunity.

The fact that she is a member of the household, however, also ensures the Queen’s punishment. Though the dwarfs aren’t able to save Snow White from eating the poison apple, they are able to avenge her by turning their righteous wrath on the Queen, who is killed trying to escape them. That, again, is a natural part of the covenant: that an attack on any one member of the household, much less this most beloved member, is an attack on all and will not be allowed to stand.

At the end of the story, the value of her place in the dwarfs’ home proves to be the final frustration of the Queen’s plans. Because they cared for her so much, they don’t have the heart to bury her after her apparent death. This provides the prince with the opportunity to come along and bestow “love’s first kiss” and break the spell, leading to her ascension into the new and higher covenant of marriage.

Photo Credit: IMDB