One observation that stood out to me in Bettleheim’s reading is him pointing out the narcissism in the story. This narcissism was not only pointed out for the evil queen, but for Snow White herself. Snow White even though already being the fairest in the land, wanted to enhance her beauty more, the letting the evil queen in the house twice, one item being a comb, and one being a corset. Before I read this breakdown of the story I did not view Snow White’s folly as narcissism, however I can see that conclusion being made. This led me to think of Connie in the story “Where are you going, where have you been”. In this story Connie is very proud of her looks and in love with her self. This leads her to seek out attention which unfortunately gets the attention of Arthur Friend. Connie’s narcissism leads to her demise, her loss of herself as we don’t know what actually happened after she left the house. It was intriguing to me that when reading both of these stories, I was a bit annoyed by the gullibility of the protagonists from both of these stories.
2 thoughts on “James Terry Discussion 15”
James, I agree that the idea of narcissism is central to both the fairytale and to the Oates story. In “Little Snow White,” the girl’s temptations center around objects designed to enhance beauty, and of course, the mirror is a very obvious reference to vanity. Envy is also an element that figures in both works. Thanks for the good post and for jumping in early in the week.
I really liked your analysis of the narcissism present in both stories. It’s interesting how Bettelheim’s reading opened up a new perspective on Snow White’s actions and how they can be seen as a form of narcissism. Your connection to Connie’s character is spot on; her pride in her looks and her search for attention ultimately led her to a dangerous encounter with Arnold Friend. It’s thought-provoking how the protagonists’ gullibility in both stories stems from their narcissism, and how that contributes to their respective challenges. Your comparison between the two stories definitely added a new layer of understanding for me.