Snow White
In this version Snow White is only seven when her stepmother first tries to kill her.
It begins with Snow White's mother, the queen, sewing and pricking her finger blood falls on the snow. She then wishes to have a daughter with ebony hair, blood red lips and snow white skin. She does and names her Snow White. The queen dies shortly after, and the king takes a new wife a year later, who was very vain and prideful.
Every night the queen would ask her magic mirror who was the fairest, and it would answer that she was. But when Snow turned seven, it said that she was fairer than the queen. The queen grew envious, and hired a huntsman to take the little girl out into the woods and kill her, bringing back her liver and lungs as proof. But he could not do it and let her go, instead bringing back the lungs and liver of a boar, which the queen cooked and ate thinking them to be Snow's.
Snow ran through the woods and came across a cottage, where there was a setting for seven. She ate and drank, and made a mess and fell asleep, where she was found by the residents, seven dwarves. They decided that she could stay there is she cooked and cleaned for them. They warned her to be careful and not let anyone in.
The queen meanwhile asked her mirror again, and found out that Snow was alive. So she disguised herself as an old peddler woman and went to the dwarve's door, selling bodices. Snow was tempted and the queen laced the bodice so tight that she couldn't breathe, and passed out. She was left there for dead, where the dwarves found her and saved her.
When learning she was still alive, the queen then disguised herself as a different old woman and enchanted a comb to be poison, and again tricked Snow into letting her in. But again the dwarves found and saved her.
Finally, the queen disguised herself and went to the door with apples. To show Snow that she was trustworthy she only enchanted the red half, and ate the white half. A piece of the apple got lodged in Snow's throat when she ate it killing her. The dwarves, not knowing what was wrong with her could do nothing and made her a glass casket.
A prince saw her in the casket one day and persuaded the dwarves to give it to him, as he said he would cherish her in it. His servants tripped while carrying it and the apple became dislodged, and Snow woke up. The prince proclaimed his love, and she left to be wed with him.
The queen went to the wedding, because the mirror said the bride was fairer than her. When she got there to find out it was Snow they put shows of hot coals on her feet and made her dance till she died as punishment.
Underlying Meaning
Snow White is a fairy tale that has a lot of deep meaning for people, and fascinates almost like a myth. (Flynn) The colors at the beginning are representative of the stages that Snow must go through - a "coming of age" story. "White represents innocence (birth), red represents life and passion, while black represents death" (Rahn). She experiences all of these within the tale. The numbers seven and three are predominant here - the seven dwarves and the three visits from the queen, as well as the three resurrections. Both numbers hold significance within the bible as well. (Rahn) The seven deadly sins are actually all present within Snow White: the evil queen's vanity with her mirror; her royal lustful extravagance; her eating the liver and lungs of the boar thinking that they are Snow's is gluttony; her greed; sloth is represented in the dwarves sadness after she dies, as well as wrath in their anger at the queen; and finally envy is also the queen, being envious of Snow. Snow is the opposite of these sins, containign all the virtues - Humility, Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, and Kindness. (Rahn) The prince is again a Christ figure, saving Snow from her death-like sleep (though completely by accident). (Zaleski) The queen, embodying all of these sins, ultimately represents the devil or serpent - she offers temptations to Snow, resulting in the death of her immortal soul. The bodice and comb represent material temptations - Snow, being beautiful could easily fall under the vanity sin's influence, but is saved. The apple represents the primordial sin - when the serpent tempts Eve with the apple in Eden and her and Adam are banished. (Rahn) The forest and the house within the forest are present - and it is this house in which Snow must undergo her tests (which she fails all of, I might add). Ultimately, it is the Christ figure of the prince that saves her and punishes the evil queen.