Snow White and Aristotle

Almost all of us are familiar with the Disney movie, Snow White. To many of us, this movie might simply be one of the countless fairytales we watched while growing up. It may come as a surprise to learn that this movie, that we watched as a form of entertainment, demonstrates one of Aristotle's main arguments. In Snow White, we meet a young princess, Snow White, and her evil stepmother, the Queen, who is incredibly jealous of the girl's beauty. This jealousy leads her to do an unthinkable act. Let us now look at how the Queen's actions depict Aristotle's beliefs about tragedy.

The Queen's Transformation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9GJtM9lN-I&feature=related

Snow White's Death: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE08AxkIQQ4

According to Aristotle, in order for a tragedy to be truly effective it should be a "representation of an action that is serious, complete, and of some magnitude" (64). It must also have a beginning, middle and an end. Aristotle also states that the most important element of tragedy is "the plot, the ordering of the incidents; for tragedy is a representation, not of people, but of action and life" (65). From the clips above, it is clear that not only is the issue at hand serious because it is dealing with life and death, but there is also a smooth movement from one event to the other, ultimately leading to Snow White's death.

Snow White is presented as a sweet, young, innocent girl who is unfairly hurt. In the eyes of the viewer, she's simply a child who has done absolutely nothing wrong. This goes hand in hand with another of Aristotle's key points: the victim "characters should be good" (76). This allows the viewer to feel sympathy for the character. Also, the fact that something so tragic is happening to such a good character is what inspires fear and pity in human beings. Aristotle states that "our pity is awakened by undeserved misfortune, and our fear by that of someone just like ourselves--pity for the undeserving sufferer and fear for the man like ourselves" (73). Had Snow White been a wicked, crazy, murderer, for example, we would not feel any pity for her. Her death would have been justified by her evil doings.

Another component of Aristotle's tragedy is reversal, or "a change from one state of affairs to its opposite" (70). This is apparent when the Queen, disguised as an old lady/witch, offers Snow White the poisoned apple. She misleads her by telling her that it is a magical apple that will make her wishes come true. In reality, it is the fruit that leads her to her death. This was the complete opposite of what Snow White expected.

The Queen also fulfills Aristotle's idea that "sufferings involve those who are near and dear to one another" (74). Although, the Queen never showed any love for Snow White, she was still her stepmother. Her actions are then seen as much more appalling and fearful.

Who would have thought that a fairytale could demonstrate such a complex idea?

Works Cited

Classical Literary Criticism (Penguin Classics). New York: Penguin Classic, 2001. Print