Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/04/15/a-darker-grimmer-snow-white.html
…
1 Like
21 Likes
Well, its a german fairytale. Of course it has cannibalism and ritual sacrify. We´re into that shit!
14 Likes
Not that much worse than Hansel and Gretel. At least it didn’t have anyone cutting off their own toes and heels, having their eyes pecked out or dancing in red hot shoes until they die like Cinderella.
16 Likes
If you’re interested in variations on the “Snow White” theme, you should take a look at Neil Gaiman’s version in his collection “Smoke and Mirrors”. It sent chills down my spine. In fact, just remembering it sends chills down my spine. It is the last tale in the book, but as the stories build on one another, you are best to read the whole thing consecutively, as if it is a novel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_and_Mirrors_(Gaiman_book). The last story is titled “Snow, Glass, Apples”. I won’t spoil it for you.
13 Likes
I recall also how with a simple twist, Gregory Frost melded elements of Snow White to the tragedy of Derdriu and the Exile of the Sons of Uisliu in his novel Tain. Note that it’s just a minor part, as the main tale is of course the Tain Bo Cuailnge.
1 Like
This really should be an Unhappy Meal™.
4 Likes
There’s also an audiobook version read by Bebe Neuwirth that’s pretty good.
1 Like
That was how the Evil Queen was killed in the Grimm version, in front of Prince Charming and Snow White’s wedding guests no less.
5 Likes
7 Likes
“Snow White as monster/villain” goes back at least to Tanith Lee’s “Red as Blood”
7 Likes
murderous jealousy, ritual cannibalism, sexual temptation, necrophilic imagery and capital punishment.
For all that, you have to subscribe to Disney+.
12 Likes
This all rings true, but still calls up a great big [citation needed].
1 Like
Well, it’s always been a maleficent story, one way or another.
(Really just an excuse to post this stunning rendition once more.)
2 Likes
The 1812 version of Snow White is on line but the German is a little dated. 
. I hadn’t read that one until now and yes, it’s that nasty. These things are a good reminder for me just how glum the world used to be and just how nasty the stories were that we told our kids.
“Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.”
I’m tempted to link to the Rammstein “Sonne” video. Another “modern” take for you; it’s their fairy tale so I guess that’s OK.
5 Likes
Related cocktail fact: the Brothers Grimm, in collecting their stories in the German-speaking countryside before the language was standardized, found certain very regular rules governing sound changes across time and language families… These become “Grimm’s Law,” a basic one in the field of comparative historical linguistics.
9 Likes
14 Likes
2 Likes
A misunderstanding.
9 Likes
