Kiara Gonzalez Discussion Board 15

I believe Bettelheim’s analysis of Snow White related the most to the details presented in the poem by Anne Sexton. For example, in the beginning of the poem, Snow White’s stepmother hired a hunter to kill her, and Bettelheim interpreted the hunter’s role as “not a figure who kills friendly creatures, but one who dominates, controls, and subdues wild, ferocious beasts” (Bettelheim page 205). In the beginning of the poem, Snow White’s purity was emphasized through details of her appearance. The color “white” comes up a lot and is even included in her name and, “She was unsoiled… lovely virgin” (Sexton lines 12-14). White is a symbolism of purity and because of this, the hunter could not bring himself to kill Snow White because she was not a beast nor evil. However, the hunter dominated and controlled the stepmother by deceiving her and giving her a boar’s heart because the stepmother’s character was that of a beast. Another observation that related to the poem was the analysis of Snow White’s naivete. It is presumed that beauty means you’re dumb and, in the poem, even when Snow White was given specific instructions by the dwarves to not open the door for her safety, she was a “dumb bunny” (Sexton stanza 7) and proceeded to open the door and got hurt each time. In Bettelheim’s analysis, he pointed out how that was a reflection of not only the beauty stereotype but also her position as an adolescent. This reflects innocence in Snow White’s character despite knowing that her stepmother was out to get her, she was still oblivious to the evils in her world.