Like most young children, I was both fascinated and disturbed by the classic fairy tales. Even the watered down Disney version of "Snow White" had its terrifying moments. I think it is the archetypes represented by fairy tale characters that speak to us on a primitive, visceral level: mother, child, rescuer, that make us identify with them so strongly and therefore feel their hopes and fears so vividly.
The theme of death, or the likeness of death in a spell-induced coma, is a common thread in these stories, as was banishment and other cruelties. As an adult, I choose to interpret Snow White's death as her transformation into womanhood. Her stepmother sends her off and attempts to kill her. She is jealous of Snow White's youth and beauty. As a woman on the verge of her "crone" phase, I can relate. Jealousy is a primal emotion, especially for women. Does that make the stepmother evil? No, just human. Maybe she sees in Snow White something she's lost in herself, and by killing Snow White, she has a chance to get it back. She is a woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants in life. She has no doubts, no regrets. This is what makes her frightening.
Snow White leaves an innocent, escapes death, survives her trek through the woods, learns to take care of herself and others, is put into a deep sleep and awakens to find love -- which in this case takes the form of her Prince, although he can represent anything that will "save" her and make her whole. The sleep of transformation is something we all must go through at some point... some longer than others, depending on how much work we have to do. The Biblical reference to the apple is obvious. After she takes a bite of the apple, Snow White will never be the same. Here eyes will be opened, both literally and figuratively. In this respect, the stepmother has done her a favor.
Perhaps Snow White and her stepmother are two sides of the same coin... the face of "good" and the face of "evil," and the whole person is somewhere in between, just trying to keep it together.
Borrowing very loosely on Cindy Sherman's work, I have used myself to portray Snow White. However, my props are added in Photoshop, to give the illustration a surreal quality.
