Snow White Archetype Essay

Many different recurring motifs or themes known as archetypes have been seen throughout literature and film. However, one archetype in particular, the wicked step-mother archetype, has proven to be a quite popular archetype throughout history. This archetype often portrays a female villain who fills the role of the main character(s) mother and turns out to be wicked and merciless toward her step-children. One of the more well-known examples of this archetype is the story and film of Snow White, where Snow White’s step-mother sets out to kill Snow White in envy of her fairness. We see this archetype being portrayed yet again in the story Tangled, a more modern piece of film and literature, where a wicked woman kidnaps Rapunzel and locks her

She continues telling Snow-White that she is simply selling things but what Snow-White doesn’t realize is that the “elderly woman” is really her stepmother who is trying to poison her with the items she is “selling”. Snow-White is successfully manipulated by her stepmother in disguise several times and the dwarves keep having to save her each time she is poisoned. A similar pattern of deception also occurs in the film, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, when Snow-White’s stepmother disguises herself as an elderly woman and brings Snow-White a poisoned apple that she claims is really a magic apple that is able to grant wishes. And once again, Snow-White is deceived into taking a bite and being poisoned. This time though, the dwarves are unable to wake her and her stepmother is granted a sense of relief for a short while, before Snow White is awakened by a kiss from the

She believed and abides by her “mothers” word for 18 years. Never even stepping foot outside. And in reality, Gothel kidnapped her at a young age and locked her away in a tower only to use Rapunzel’s magical hair whenever she pleases, obsessing over the fact it can make her appear younger. The piece of literature also follows a similar storyline where a young girl, Rapunzel, is traced away to a wicked enchantress and is locked away in a tower. One day, the enchantress finds out that Rapunzel has been talking to the prince so she sends Rapunzel away and cuts her hair and uses it to lure the prince into the tower and tells him that she has casted Rapunzel away and that he will never see her ever