When you hear "Snow White," I'm sure that many of you think of mainly three things: beautiful girl, poisoned apple, seven little men. But many of us might not noticed subtle patterns that the authors placed within the story. Such as, how these authors are portraying women in fairy tales. "Little Snow White" is a story written by the Grimm brothers. They depict Snow White as the most beautiful girl in the world. It is an image of womanhood that is present in many fairy tales. The female character is so beautiful that it attracts unwanted and wanted attention from others. Many times it leads to a happy ending with a handsome rich prince. In "Little Snow White," Snow upholds the expectations that women are supposed to stay at home cooking and cleaning; while the men go out to work. This is shown when the dwarfs expected her to take care of what needs to be done in the house by the time they get home. Women are pretty little things that are supposed to be prizes for the men. They take care of the men by preparing food and cleaning the house. However, the men look more superior for protecting and providing money for the women. Snow's beauty saved her from the Huntsmen, gave her shelter with the dwarfs, and rewarded her with the love struck prince. This image of beauty, along with the expectations of always being beautiful and staying home links Snow White to the stereotypical female gender roles.
