comp lit essay

Submitted By Anna-Conaway
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Pages: 5
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The evil Queen’s actions in Little Snow White show her attempt to protect her “physical autonomy” in a patriarchal society that emphasizes the importance of beauty. Snow White promotes an unhealthy gender stereotype by glorify women's passivity, dependence, and sacrifice. While also promoting that the inferiority of women and teaching girls they will be most successful by being the most beautiful. portrayed as the most essential commodity for a woman, and is the central focus of the story. In tale Snow White beauty is portrayed as the most feline quality, and the most valuable thing a woman can posses, but she must not be vain and glorify her own beauty or the woman will suffer consequences. It is continually stressed throughout the tale how beautiful both Snow White and the Queen are. For example “quotation of Queen’s beauty” the Queen’s beauty is known throughout the land and consults a mirror every day to ensure that she is the most beautiful in the land. Beauty is proven to be a quality that will get you far in the tale Snow White. For example, when the huntsman is ordered to kill Snow White he instead takes pity on her and presents another animals organs to the Queen. The huntsman takes pity on her not because she cried of pleaded for her life, but instead he “took pity on her because she was so beautiful.” A second example of beauty’s value is when little Snow White is found sleeping in one of the bed of the dwarfs, and they take pity and cry out “she is so beautiful.” Finally, a prince rides along once buried in her glass coffin who becomes infatuated with Snow’s beautify and carries her corpse with him until she is awoken, and they marry. The story established the ideas that women must not use their beauty to their advantage or in vanity, because that is an “evil” quality which will lead to punishment. Punishment, such as being forces to wear iron shoes and dance to ones death. Even little Snow is punished for showing her vanity when the witch comes to trick her by presenting gifts “example of laces and comb.” The story also established that beauty is an important quality for women, because it is also a valued quality that men seek in women. Although there is not much detail given on the Queen’s background one can assume her obsession with beauty arises because it is so obsessed over by men. This can be inferred, because when she speaks to the mirror it is typically portrayed as a mans voice “example of speaking mirror.” The message on female gender stereotypes is not by change in Snow White, because these tales are told to children in order to teach them about the world and their role in it. The function of this tale is to shape young girls perceptions and to conform to a gender identity by portraying stereotypical female characters like a wicked step-mother, and a beautiful, helpless daughter. The purpose of this tale is to teach girls, and boys that women should be attractive to men but not vain. Women must remain demure, submissive, preform household tasks, and listen to men. These traits are backed by the scenes in which Snow White first enters the household and is allowed to live their as long as she keeps the house tidy. Another example of these traits is when she ignored the prohibition of the seven dwarves and open the door for the Queen. Snow is intrigued by the laces and comb, which shows the young girls vanity and ultimately suffers consequences. These encounters strongly stress the point that beauty and obedience to men are the highest values a woman can posses. In contrast a woman with knowledge and power is dangerous and a woman who does not step aside for a youthful counterpart is evil. Snow White ingests a poison apple, which is similar to Eve eating an apple from the tree of knowledge and being the downfall of women for all eternity. As is the message in Christianity so is this message emphasized in Snow White; curiosity, knowledge, and power in a woman is wrongful and fearful. This
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