‘Who’s the fairest of them all?’ The impact of men on the stepmother-daughter relationship in Snow White

In fairy tales, there are no ambiguities or complications but instead, straightforwardness in the narrative trajectory, where good deeds are rewarded and wicked deeds punished as seen in the ‘happily ever after’ of Snow White and the cruel ending of the stepmother. This idea of a ‘happily ever after’ is the main crux of Snow White and its attainment is determined by masculine imagination; the female beauty as an index of female desirability, which Snow White clearly embodies. Additionally, the various adaptations of the tale expound on men being arbitrators of women’s worth, which results in her stepmother vying for male attention that is worth analysing.Bachelor of Art