Snow White and the Queen
Based on 'Little Snow White' by the Grimm Brothers
Woman, a powerful, shuddering force. Like the mighty undercurrent in the ocean of man the woman rules under its cool exterior with cunning and deceit.
It is often said that behind every powerful man is a powerful woman. And such a woman was one mighty queen, who was the wife of a weak and naïve king. With her tongue in his ear she ruled the kingdom with an iron fist. A cruel and stony heart had she, befouled with the dark arts at her disposal... It is at this point most would be imagining a dark sorcerous, cloaked in black with a hideous form. At this point most would be wrong.
The Queen in all essence appeared to be the daughter of Venus. Her eyes mirrored the twinkling lights of the heavens, her hair held the rays of the sun, her skin shone with an opalesce quality like the moon, and her voice quivered like the strings of a lyre.
While the nobles adored her, her subjects feared her as a mighty enchantress. Thus the kingdom lived under her spell.
The Queen knew her power of course. She grew vein and haughty as she foolishly hung much of her success on her beauty alone. She would often go to her mirror, look deep into its reflection and ask:
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all."
The faint reply from beneath the glass was always the same.
"Thou, O Queen though this be true,
Lord help whosoever challenges you."
A naughty response as it was the queen couldn't help but smile at the power it made her feel. And true it was, the Queen had taken an oath, that as long as she lived, no-one would surpass her in beauty.
One day in mid-winter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, the beautiful Queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. Whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. The red on white dazzled her eyes so she thought to herself, "I wish that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood and as black as the wood of the window frame."
The Queen had always dreamt of possessing all kinds of beauty and it wasn't long before she gave birth to a daughter, with lips as red as blood, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow. Hence she became known as Snow White.
The Queen recovering from the birth continued her ritual of standing in front of her mirror and saying:
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?"
As usual the mirror answered;
"Thou, O Queen, though this be true,
Lord help whosoever challenges you."
She was satisfied, for she knew her mirror could only speak the truth.
But Snow White was growing up, more and more beautiful still, and when she was seven years old the Queen noticed too. Snow White's complexion was like glistening snow, her graceful walk and stunning sidelong glances which unleashed cupid's arrows, only served to pierce the Queen's heart with a sickly green envy.
One day the Queen went to her mirror:
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?"
Her reflection stared back with a sour expression. Embers danced in her eyes and her mouth twisted with underlying rage. The glass answered.
"Thou art fair, O Lady Queen,
But Snow White is more beautiful as I ween."
Poisonous thoughts ran through the Queen's mind like rivers of magma. Her own blood had defied and betrayed her. Hence the consequences must be brutal.
The Queen dressed her fair daughter in rags and rubbed charcoal into her face and skin. She matted straw into her glossy black curls then sent her off to work as a servant in the kitchens and the yard.
So except when tending her royal duties, Snow White mixed with the servants. She received both praise and scorn from both parties and grew awkward and unsure of herself. Much of the praise she received was for her beauty, but her mixed social standing rendered her an outcast bereft of any real friends.
In her spare time of during her outdoor duties she would often talk to or sing with the birds and they began to trust her and eat seed from her hands. They were her only true friends, they loved her and gave her joy.
But none heard her pains like the sorrowful blackbird.
Snow White would spend many hours a day relieving her life's burdens and small joys to the blackbird who seemed to devour her words keenly.
So for a time the Queen was once again able to relish in being the most beautiful of all while the mirror adopted a new tune:
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?"
it answered:
"Thou, O Queen art fairest to see,
Vanquishing those who challenge thee."
But as the months passed Snow White's beauty increased and began to shine through her guise and once again surpassed the Queen. So when the Queen asked her mirror:
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest on of all?
It answered:
"Thou art fair, O Lady Queen,
But Snow White is more beautiful as I ween."
This was the last straw for the Queen, she called the King to her.
The King was a round indulgent man who had a lust for all pleasures in life and little care for his kingdom or family. He grew weak under the Queen and dared not resist her will.
"Yes my love, what is it?" he answered with an air of impatience in his voice as he'd been torn away form the important matter of properly instructing his maidservants on ways to better serve and please their king.
"It's about Snow White," the Queen's voice took on a tone of despair, "she has become frivolous, unruly and unchaste, like a common place maid. She is not fit to be a princess, how can you bear to keep such a child?"
"what would you have me do? Is there no remedy?"
The poor king did not know his daughter but had thought her to be a fine and beautiful possession like his Queen. Still the Queen always knowing how to get her way gave him many a 'Alas, Alas' there is no cure for a daughter who has been spoiled thus, like milk left to stand and curdle in the summer sun and so on with many a dramatic statements.
Now in her twenty fifth year the Queen already feared age was upon her. She had come to the peak of her youth and splendour. Married at fifteen to an uncaring man, dreams of a satisfying youth left her cold and bare. She felt like an old spinster alone, and unloved in an ocean of sorrow. Fear percolated throughout her veins that perhaps someone would steal her dreams before age did.
The Queen pleaded that her husband take Snow White into the forest to pick wild flowers, then kill her. As proof he must bring back her heart, a lock of her hair and a piece of her snow white skin.
The king had no choice, the price of keeping an enchantress was high. For though he loved her beauty, he feared her mind. It was not only that which persuaded the king to agree, he knew he could not rule the kingdom without her and she'd threatened to take her own life if he didn't.
So it was the King took his fair daughter out into the woods one fine day in spring where she happily picked wild flowers for some time. Snow heard a rustle in the trees and looked up to find That Blackbird staring down at her. She smiled up and told him what a wonderful day she was having.
The Black bird turned its head then flew off quickly a though being pursued. When Snow White turned her head there stood her father with a mighty dagger ready to strike. She screamed and fell to the ground begging for her life.
The king looked at the girl and perhaps for the first time recognised her, not as the pearl necklace in his treasury, but as the daughter he had given life to. He wept as he cut off a lock of her hair and even more as she screamed from the torment of having the skin from behind her ear cut out. He then bade her to run away into the woods and never return.
The King returned to the castle where he summoned a butcher to bring him a freshly cut pigs heart, which he in turn offered up to the Queen along with the lock of hair and the skin.
Snow White meanwhile was shocked and scared. She wandered aimlessly around the woods lost for the rest of the day. Her whole head throbbed with so much pain she could scarcely make out the trees in front of her. As the moon began to rise the smell of the wounded creature attracted the attention of wolves and she heard their echoing cries way up in the mountains drawing closer. Thirst, hunger and fatigue took over. The girl laid down in a bloody mess and aloud the ants to come and gnaw at her pain. Soon after a small band of seven theives came by on their way to town for a nights pillaging, when the shortest one spotted the small girl, lying in a crumpled heap.
"Hi Ho! Come hither." He called to the others .
"What do we have here?" They exclaimed.
The men picked up the bundle which they found was still alive and took it back to their camp where the women took care and tended to her wounds.
"My, she is so beautiful," they exclaimed as they noted her clothes and unmarred complexion.
She was undoubtedly of noble background and it puzzled them to find her in this state in the woods.
"A great crime has been committed here, and we must wash our hands of the evidence or surely we will be sort out and hung for murder." The men decided.
The women would not hear of it. Such a sweet and innocent child could become one of them. The tribe therefore decided to move camp to the forest of a neighbouring kingdom. They set off at dawn the following day, and loaded the still sleeping Snow White into their wagons along with all their other belongings.
Now once again back at the palace the Queen received the pigs heart which she had ordered to be boiled with salt for her consumption. After eating it she felt a grim satisfaction that she had somehow bought herself more time. She went to her mirror and peered deep into her reflection. She saw the lines on her face relax and smooth out, her eyes reflected the light and took on a sapphire brilliance. She asked the glass,
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
who in this land is fairest of all?"
But the Queen could not make out the voice beneath the glass.
"Why don't you answer? I bade you speak!"
It seemed that the wind outside picked up at that moment and whistled through the trees. A deep unrest settled upon the Queens heart and she began to wonder. What if the king didn't do his duty? Should she have sent her faithful huntsman instead?
The Queen now filled with anxiety called the guards and alerted the town to the disappearance of her daughter. She put out a great reward for the return of Snow White which she added, dead or alive.
Now although the offer was tempting and many fair maidens were brought before the Queen, none were Snow White. Worst still were the rumours about that Snow White had been taken by forest dwellers. Blood thirsty thieves, giants, ogres, gypsies and witches were among those to blame. Yet the citizens feared going too deep into the woods lest they encounter these creatures that lurk there. Thus many search parties returned empty handed and quite often with men missing, who were left behind as they were pursued by unimaginable horrors.
Meanwhile Snow White had awoken in safety surrounded by a large party of forest dwellers moving to a new destination.
They arrived a couple of days after their journey had begun in another part of the forest apparently not under the rule of the Queen. They set up camp in the hideout of many more forest folk. The atmosphere was almost like an outdoor Tavern but with Theatre and dance. There was music on flutes, banjo's and tambourines, while men and women drank and danced together. There were men in corners playing cards and flashing daggers to warn any cheaters. There were indeed some giants and dwarfs amongst the crowd as well as other shady characters lurking in the shadows. Most seemed out to have a good time. The atmosphere was welcoming to the young girl and in time she became much accustomed to the lifestyle.
So it was for a time Snow White travelled lands far a wide with various groups, sometimes musicians, actors or thieves. There was much variety of people who one could meet on the road and experiences to be had, both good and bad.
Still Snow White never had a place to belong and nothing was permanent. The people she knew would come and go. She was passed around like a toy with no hope for building her own life. At least that Blackbird was still there, he still followed her wherever she went. Sometimes he would call to her from up in a branch, she'd look up and there he was his black feathers shining like a coat of mail in the sun. He was here to save her again. She'd smile and tell him everything that'd happened. Sometimes he even spoke back, just one sentence at a time, but his logic and advice was undeniable. Snow White often looked up to him, he laughed and cried with her, then he flew off again in search of that place where all colours were in rainbows and he could trade his black feathers for red, green and yellow. Snow White wished she could follow too as her heart seemed to reflect that blackness right back.
The Queen on the other hand grew weak and frail, she barely ate nor slept but spent many hours looking into her mirror hoping for a response. Her maidservants saw her state but they cared not to comfort her for she had never shown them love. Her complexion became sallow where roses once bloomed, her breast shrivelled, eyes hollowed and one could count the ribs under her skin. The kingdom suffered from crime and famine which the king could not cure.
Many physicians were called to cure her condition but none could find a cure She would not speak nor look at them but mumble inaudibly from time to time.
It wasn't until one of the Queens spies returned after some months in a foreign land, did rumour of Snow Whites existence reach the ears of the Queen. It seemed then that some of the Queen's consciousness came back to her. She went to her mirror and spoke in a whisper;
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest one of all?"
An exultant voice greeted her that she had not heard in years and it filled her consciousness, ringing in her ears.
"Thou, my Queen art fair; tis true,
But now Snow White beyond the seven mountains,
Is a thousand times fairer than you."
The beacon in her black heart was once again re-lit so it seemed she was cured but to look barely a shadow of her former self remained.
From then on the Queen sent many spies to track the whereabouts and movements of Snow White.
So it was that one day Snow White found herself back with the original seven thieves who had saved her life in the woods many years before. She was happy to be reunited with them as they mined towns and villages for gold and jewels.
And so it happened that soon they found themselves reunited with the woods in which they first met as well.
When the Queen heard news of Snow White being so close to her kingdom she seized the opportunity to plot her murder once again. The Queen took up an apple, a beautiful apple with a deep glossy crimson cheek and a small yellow one. She concocted a poison which she was able to inject into red cheek, the yellow remained un-poisoned. The Queen then dressed as an old pedlar woman and taking a basket of apples including the poisoned one, set out for the forest where Snow White lived. The Queen walked deep into the woods until she found the encampment. Only the women were there at the time and they watch suspiciously as the old woman approached.
The Queen looked around for little Snow White, but her eyes fell upon a beautiful maiden at the pinnacle of her youth and beauty. She seemed to emit the iridescent beauty of aurora borealis on the snow-clad mountains and her glassy black hair like polished ebony wood. It was Snow White, but barely recognisable to the Queen whose jealousy now burned at a new intensity.
Snow White on the other hand looked upon a helpless decrepit figure with hollow smoky eyes and opaque yellow hair. Worry lines etched the sallow skin which had begun to loosen slightly as the clock ticked and gravity took hold. The Queen smiled at Snow White and asked if she would be kind enough to assist an old woman in walking to a nearby waterfall to pick more wild fruit to fill her basket. Snow White watched as the sorrowful figure limped closer. It was a beautiful spring day, the blackbirds were singing in the trees so she agreed to take her.
When the two reached the waterfall they could see water curling around the jagged rocks before it fell like a sheet of glass down into the crystalline pool below. The Queen bade Snow White to walk through the crevice behind the sheet of water that twinkled in the sunlight like glass to reach the fruit trees on the other side, but the Queen stopped there.
She said; "Here, you've taken me far enough, and for your pains I'll give you this delicious red apple."
Snow White saw it as an innocent gift but still she hesitated. The old woman did not seem wholly trustworthy, something in her eye suddenly remembered her of her mother. She paused fearfully.
"It ain't poison you know, here I'll eat one half with the yellow cheek and you can eat the red one."
This seemed fair to Snow White who now felt stupid for doubting the old lady. She took a bite as the old lady took a bite of hers. There was a strange almond-like taste, she wasn't sure so she took another bite.
"That's it eat up," Said the old lady. "Care to sit down?"
So they sat and ate.
Snow White began to feel dizzy and her head began to spin. The Queen laughed evilly and the Blackbird settled itself down on a rock beside her. It looked at Snow White and spoke.
"Do you feel free yet? Come away with me and we will search for rainbows together."
It fluttered down and pecked her on the cheek, she smiled faintly but the already spinning world began to spin faster. The Queen then threw back her hood and cried,
"Now I am the fairest of all."
Snow White could recognise her now, yes it was her mother.
"Mother,.... you look so different...., it's been so long...."
With that Snow White was gone, her head hit the rocks and her breath came to a standstill.
The Queen was left alone. Something had struck her stock still..."different", she thought as she bent over to look into the water at her reflection. A haggard and prematurely aged face stared back. How had she not noticed her years creeping by. Even the plainest faces were fairer than the one that stared back. She had spent her beauty and sanity trying to stop her own daughter from surpassing her in beauty just so she may stay young and find happiness first. She remembered a wish from long ago.
"Would that I had a child, as white as snow, as red as blood, as black as ebony."
So the Queen wept as though for the first time. She took out a vile of the poison she had used in the apple and fumbling spilt some on Snow Whites face. She rubbed it in so it wouldn't show then drank the rest herself. With her last breath she whispered
"I love you Snow White."
Then she layed down next to her to sleep for eternity.
The poison preserved Snow Whites face for a time and even in her death her beauty shone like snow, twinkling in the sunlight under the gushing sheet of glass on her coffin where she lay. Although bound in body to her mother, the Queen, her spirit was now free.
The party of seven thieves came along with their wives and mourned. They threw the body of the Queen into the streets of the town. They left Snow White clutching a bouquet of flowers under the waterfall where the blackbirds would sing in the nearby trees and the voices of people would no longer touch her.