Snow, Glass, Apples: Neil Gaiman. Illustrations by Colleen Doran

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But unlike the Grimm Brothers version, the Disney adaptation was heavily whitewashed. Neil Gaiman’s adaptation of Snow White is in line with the Grimm brothers’ version; it’s as dark, or if not more dark than the original version. The Grimm brothers’ version had themes of revenge, murder, and sexual jealousy. Neil Gaiman’s version has all these and more, including pedophilia, incest, filicide, necrophilia, vampirism, and cannibalism. Animal Motif: In the graphic novel, the king is visually and implicitly compared to a deer, represented by his crown being shaped like antlers and by a stag's head mounted between his throne and his wife's. A proud and noble animal, but ultimately prey — to his own predatory daughter.

As I watched, in the eye of my mind, I saw her edge and step and flitter and pad from tree to tree, like an animal: a bat or a wolf. She was following someone. Antagonistic Offspring: Snow White tries to feed on her stepmother and only manages to get one bite. She successfully manages to drain her father dry until nothing's left of the man he was. It's all but assumed she would've probably feasted on her birth mother, if given the chance. In my fancy, I can almost feel the sudden hardness of his manhood inside his britches, envision the lust that took him then, the prayers he muttered beneath his breath in thanks for his good fortune. I imagine him negotiating with the little hairy men – offering them gold and spices for the lovely corpse under the crystal mound. The snow was falling as they carried me — two men at each hand, two men at each leg — utterly exposed, and spread-eagled and cold, through the midwinter crowds; and brought me to this kiln. Straying Baby: As a maiden, the queen found a lost child who had strayed from her mother by staring into her mirror.Good Princess, Evil Queen: Inverted—the queen is a wise woman trying to protect the kingdom from her evil, bloodthirsty stepdaughter.

Surely not, I read on, hoping something will be explained, no, this child is repeatedly described as a monstrous step daughter who is completely evil. She is portrayed as the perpetrator and her father the victim. The short story “Snow, Glass, Apples” is retold from the point of view of the princess’ stepmother who reminisces about the time she has known the princess as she is slowly dying in a kiln. It could be said that the traditional roles of the heroine and the villainess are reversed in this version. The traditional versions of the story present a simple dichotomy in the form of the two main female characters: “the one sweet, ignorant, passive, the other both artful and active; the one a sort of angel, the other an undeniable witch” (Gilbert and Gubar 36). This dichotomy no longer applies in Gaiman’s rewriting. Instead of a villain who tries to murder the princess out of jealousy, the queen is actually presented as a “wise” (Gaiman “Snow, Glass, Apples”) ruler, who is merely trying to protect the kingdom from the mercilessness of her stepdaughter. The princess, on the other hand, is a murderous vampire who drinks blood and ultimately takes the lives of people to satisfy her needs. The princess thus challenges the limits of the role that has been allotted to her in the traditional tale. She is no longer a helpless child that is persecuted by a cruel stepmother for being more beautiful than her. Instead, the princess herself is the threat, she is the one who poses a danger to the people in the kingdom, because of her need for blood. This challenges the widespread fairy tale notion that any woman who does not behave passively is automatically evil. The queen is actually shown to be a caring and wise woman whose unwillingness to take the life of a dangerous and homicidal child when she has the chance, causes her eventual downfall. Nothing but Skin and Bones: The king is eventually reduced to this state by his daughter Snow White continuously feeding on him. When he dies, he weighs almost nothing, is covered in scars, and his hair is faded and limp. Please,” he said, softly. “You must neither move, nor speak. Just lie there on the stones, so cold and so fair.”Snow, Glass, Applesby Neil Gaiman is a chilling retelling of the old German fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers in 1812. The story became a worldwide phenomenon after the Walt Disney animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsin 1937. Face Death with Dignity: In the final moments of her life while being roasted alive in a giant oven, the queen decides not to scream and give her tormentors the satisfaction of hearing her in agony as she dies. Alternative Character Interpretation: In-universe, the queen's stepdaughter is a vampire and she preys on victims until they've lost all her blood. The queen kills her to save the kingdom, only to fail when a prince saves Snow and sees the power in her, executing the queen. Snow and her Prince tell the story so that the roles are reversed.

I don't want to say that I am becoming a fan of Neil Gaiman's work, but so far I really enjoyed the few books by him that I have read - the last being 'Stardust'. His award-winning works stand to reason for his unique, macabre flavor and his incredible talent in the storytelling craft is superb. Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Snow White has this look, and she's considered attractive (in her necrophiliac prince's opinion, at least). This trope is ultimately deconstructed, as this story shows how unsettling it would be to have a human (or human-shaped being) that's literally pale as snow. I find the next part unbelievable, when her father dies, it's noted that his daughter's bite marks (age 6 now, yes the same one who 'killed' her mother in childbirth) were found on his testicles and penis.Gaiman’s description of Snow White is in line with the Grimm Brothers’ version of the fairy tale and yet takes on a wholly different meaning. I love dark retellings, I specially like them of fairy tales from my childhood, because as a kid I wanted something fluffy and positive, I grow up and find that the world is a dark place and so flipping those stories is fascinating! The Bad Guy Wins: Snow White marries her prince, takes over the kingdom and makes a public spectacle out of roasting her stepmother alive in a giant oven at her wedding. Guess "happily ever after" isn't for everyone. I spent time with old books, for I could read a little. I spent time with the gypsy women (who passed through our country across the mountains to the south, rather than cross the forest to the north and the west). Snow, Glass, Apples" is a tantalizing short story by the brilliant author Neil Gaiman, filled with enough intrigue and bewitching metaphors to keep readers enchanted. The story was first published in 1994 as a benefit book for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and later included in the anthology 'Love in Vein II', edited by Poppy Z. Brite.