John F. Francis, Still Life, Apples and Chestnuts (1859). Wikimedia Commons
Schneewittchen
The one with the beautiful girl, the poisoned apple and the evil stepmother.
To Explore
The preserved female body
How does the depiction of the preserved, passive female body function within the tale? In what ways might it be understood through German Romanticism and its ideas of beauty?
The forest as a space of transformation and danger
How does the forest function in this tale as a site of transformation and threat? In what ways does this differ from its role in Hansel and Gretel?
The wicked queen and dangerous femininity
How is the queen constructed as a figure of power, vanity, and threat, and how does she reflect Romantic-era anxieties about female power?
Food as entrapment
What is the significance of food being used as a tool of deception and harm? How does this inversion of nourishment reflect broader patterns across the Grimm tales?
reference materials
Books
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Key figures
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