Generally found in novels, stories, images, or movies, archetypes play an imperative role within the lines of literature. The concept of an archetype refers to the complexities of people, situations, or symbols that have been repeatedly used in different pieces of literature that aren’t always obvious to the reader or viewer. Almost like an allusion, archetypes are recognized and compared to other segments of writing that have the same plot or perception. Varieties of differing archetypes could easily be found within the contents of fairy tales that are often most likely enjoyed by people of all ages. Throughout the centuries, archetypes have been reused and identified in any given text or film. Even though a diverse variety of important archetypes …show more content…
For instance, written by the Grimm Brothers, it is stated that "Take Snow-White out into the woods. I never want to see her again. Kill her, and as proof that she is dead bring her lungs and her liver back to me" (Grimm 2). This evidences that the queen obtains so much envy to the point where she would rather have Snow White dead, and in the future eaten by herself, than to have her alive at all. Dating back to ancient times, humans believed that if they ate the body part of another person whose traits one wanted, one would then inherit the traits from the eaten parts of the body. If Snow White was dead and the queen had inherited her traits, she believed that then the mirror would return to saying that she was the fairest of the land. When the queen asked the mirror for the fairest in the land, she got a response stating that "Snow-White is a thousand times fairer than you" (2). This then triggered the several attempts of murder leading to Snow White's death by the queen, which was only wanted to prove the queen’s identity of being fairest in the land. By this being said, it proves that the archetype of The Magic Weapon was used for the queen to get her role. When the queen asked the mirror for a fourth time on who was the fairest, it responded with “You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But Snow-White, beyond the mountains With the seven dwarfs, Is still a thousand times fairer than you” (8), deceiving the poor old queen once again. The queen, even more enraged than ever before, she shouted “‘Snow-White shall die, if it costs me my life!”(8)’ After the queen had tried to kill Snow White again, this time she had succeeded. By repeatedly using the mirror to advantage to find out if Snow White had died yet, she had fulfilled her wishes by getting the statement from the mirror of “You, my queen, are fairest of all” (9). The