Moral: Vanity leads to Destruction
The story of Snow White is a widely popular fairy tale loved by many people. But have you ever wondered what is the moral lesson this story teaches us? This story attempts to define the moral of the Snow White. First, let’s look at the story of Snow White.
The Story of Snow White
Snow White a fair and lovely princess lived with her stepmother, the queen. This stepmother was evil, vain and wicked. Every day she would stand in front of her magic mirror and say, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” The mirror always answered that the queen was the fairest of all. But one day it answered that Snow White was the fairest one of all.
The jealous queen ordered a huntsman to take Snow White to the forest to have her killed. The huntsman, feeling sorry for the poor princess, abandoned her in the forest and brought back a wild boar’s heart to prove to the queen that he had murdered the princess. Alone and hungry in the forest, Snow White came across a little cottage which belonged to seven dwarfs. The dwarfs let her stay at their cottage back, and they all lived happily until one day when the mirror told the evil queen that the princess was still alive and living with the dwarfs.
The evil queen disguised herself as an old woman and went to the dwarfs’ cottage. She offered Snow White a poisoned apple. Snow White fell unconscious as soon as she took a bite out of the apple. The queen thought she was dead and went away happily. The dwarfs built a glass coffin for her. One day a prince came by the cottage and saw how beautiful Snow White was. He gave her a kiss and Snow White woke up. Snow White married the prince, and they lived happily ever after.
In most versions of this story, the evil queen is punished for her misdeeds or she dies of grief and anger unable to accept the defeat.
Vanity leads to Destruction
What is the Moral of Snow White
This story teaches children many lessons. One of the most important lessons it teaches is the danger of vanity. The evil queen wants Snow White dead because she cannot accept the fact she is not the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. But it is this vanity that destroys her at the end.
The concept of real beauty is another theme discussed in this story. The evil queen may be beautiful on the outside, but she is wicked and ugly on the inside. Snow White, in contrast, is beautiful both inside and outside. Perhaps the mirror names her as the fairest of all not because of her physical beauty, but because of this real beauty. The queen will never be beautiful as Snow White because her heart is not pure. Therefore, the idea that real beauty comes from within is also discussed in this fairy tale.
This story also has another message for children. Just like in the tale of the Little Red Riding Hood, this story also contains the message don’t trust strangers.
Image Courtesy:
“Snow White” by William Creswell from Seattle, Washington, USA – Snow White, c1919, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
