“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton: A Critical Analysis

Introduction: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton first appeared in Transformations (1971), a poetry collection that reinterprets classic fairy tales with a dark, feminist, and psychoanalytic lens. This poem, like others in the collection, deconstructs traditional narratives to expose their unsettling undertones, particularly regarding beauty, power, and female subjugation. Sexton’s retelling presents Snow White as an objectified, passive figure—”rolling her china-blue doll eyes / open and shut”—who remains trapped in a cycle of male possession and societal expectations. The poem critiques the idealization of feminine innocence and the destructive nature of vanity, embodied in the queen’s obsessive rivalry. The haunting imagery, visceral language, and biting irony make the poem a staple in feminist literary studies and modern poetry anthologies. Its continued use in academic settings stems from its ability to challenge the sanitized versions of fairy tales and provoke discussions on gender roles, beauty standards, and psychological depth in literature.

Text: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

No matter what life you lead
the virgin is a lovely number:
cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper,
arms and legs made of Limoges,
lips like Vin Du Rhône,
rolling her china-blue doll eyes
open and shut.
Open to say,
Good Day Mama,
and shut for the thrust
of the unicorn.
She is unsoiled.
She is as white as a bonefish.

Once there was a lovely virgin
called Snow White.
Say she was thirteen.
Her stepmother,
a beauty in her own right,
though eaten, of course, by age,
would hear of no beauty surpassing her own.
Beauty is a simple passion,
but, oh my friends, in the end
you will dance the fire dance in iron shoes.
The stepmother had a mirror to which shereferred–
something like the weather forecast–
a mirror that proclaimed
the one beauty of the land.
She would ask,
Looking glass upon the wall,
who is fairest of us all?
And the mirror would reply,
You are the fairest of us all.
Pride pumped in her like poison.

Suddenly one day the mirror replied,
Queen, you are full fair, ’tis true,
but Snow White is fairer than you.
Until that moment Snow White
had been no more important
than a dust mouse under the bed.
But now the queen saw brown spots on her hand
and four whiskers over her lip
so she condemned Snow White
to be hacked to death.
Bring me her heart, she said to the hunter,
and I will salt it and eat it.
The hunter, however, let his prisoner go
and brought a boar’s heart back to the castle.
The queen chewed it up like a cube steak.
Now I am fairest, she said,
lapping her slim white fingers.

Snow White walked in the wildwood
for weeks and weeks.
At each turn there were twenty doorways
and at each stood a hungry wolf,
his tongue lolling out like a worm.
The birds called out lewdly,
talking like pink parrots,
and the snakes hung down in loops,
each a noose for her sweet white neck.
On the seventh week
she came to the seventh mountain
and there she found the dwarf house.
It was as droll as a honeymoon cottage
and completely equipped with
seven beds, seven chairs, seven forks
and seven chamber pots.
Snow White ate seven chicken livers
and lay down, at last, to sleep.

The dwarfs, those little hot dogs,
walked three times around Snow White,
the sleeping virgin.  They were wise
and wattled like small czars.
Yes.  It’s agood omen,
they said, and will bring us luck.
They stood on tiptoes to watch
Snow White wake up.  She told them
about the mirror and the killer-queen
and they asked her to stay and keep house.
Beware of your stepmother,
they said.
Soon she will know you are here.
While we are away in the mines
during the day, you must not
open the door.

Looking glass upon the wall . . .
The mirror told
and so the queen dressed herself in rags
and went out like a peddler to trap Snow White.
She went across seven mountains.
She came to the dwarf house
and Snow White opened the door
and bought a bit of lacing.
The queen fastened it tightly
around her bodice,
as tight as an Ace bandage,
so tight that Snow White swooned.
She lay on the floor, a plucked daisy.
When the dwarfs came home they undid the lace
and she revived miraculously.
She was as full of life as soda pop.
Beware of your stepmother,
they said.
She will try once more.

Looking glass upon the wall. . .
Once more the mirror told
and once more the queen dressed in rags
and once more Snow White opened the door.
This time she bought a poison comb,
a curved eight-inch scorpion,
and put it in her hair and swooned again.
The dwarfs returned and took out the comb
and she revived miraculously.
She opened her eyes as wide as Orphan Annie.
Beware, beware, they said,
but the mirror told,
the queen came,
Snow White, the dumb bunny,
opened the door
and she bit into a poison apple
and fell down for the final time.
When the dwarfs returned
they undid her bodice,
they looked for a comb,
but it did no good.
Though they washed her with wine
and rubbed her with butter
it was to no avail.
She lay as still as a gold piece.

The seven dwarfs could not bring themselves
to bury her in the black ground
so they made a glass coffin
and set it upon the seventh mountain
so that all who passed by
could peek in upon her beauty.
A prince came one June day
and would not budge.
He stayed so long his hair turned green
and still he would not leave.
The dwarfs took pity upon him
and gave him the glass Snow White–
its doll’s eyes shut forever–
to keep in his far-off castle.
As the prince’s men carried the coffin
they stumbled and dropped it
and the chunk of apple flew out
of her throat and she woke up miraculously.

And thus Snow White became the prince’s bride.
The wicked queen was invited to the wedding feast
and when she arrived there were
red-hot iron shoes,
in the manner of red-hot roller skates,
clamped upon her feet.
First your toes will smoke
and then your heels will turn black
and you will fry upward like a frog,
she was told.
And so she danced until she was dead,
a subterranean figure,
her tongue flicking in and out
like a gas jet.
Meanwhile Snow White held court,
rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut
and sometimes referring to her mirror
as women do.

Annotations: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

Section	Summary	Key Themes	Literary Devices	Quotations
Opening Lines	The poem begins with a reflection on purity and virginity. Snow White is introduced as an idealized, fragile beauty, emphasizing the theme of innocence and objectification.	Purity, Innocence, Objectification	Metaphor (virgin as “a lovely number”), Simile (“cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper”), Symbolism (white as purity)	“No matter what life you lead / the virgin is a lovely number”
Introduction of Snow White	Snow White is portrayed as a delicate, doll-like figure, reinforcing traditional femininity and desirability. Her passivity is emphasized.	Idealized Beauty, Passive Womanhood	Imagery (delicate, doll-like features), Symbolism (youth as purity)	“Rolling her china-blue doll eyes / open and shut”
Stepmother’s Vanity and Rivalry	The stepmother, obsessed with her own beauty, consults the mirror. The mirror’s response triggers her jealousy and desire to eliminate Snow White.	Jealousy, Power Struggles, Vanity	Personification (mirror as judge), Irony (beauty as obsession), Symbolism (aging as decay)	“Pride pumped in her like poison”
Stepmother Orders Snow White’s Death	The stepmother orders the hunter to kill Snow White and bring back her heart as proof. The hunter deceives the queen and lets Snow White go.	Betrayal, Deception, Mercy	Diction (violent commands), Irony (hunter’s mercy), Grotesque imagery (queen eating the heart)	“Bring me her heart, she said to the hunter, / and I will salt it and eat it.”
Snow White in the Wildwood	Snow White wanders alone in the wilderness, facing numerous dangers. The imagery of wolves, birds, and snakes suggests both sexual threats and the harshness of the world.	Danger, Sexual Threats, Loss of Innocence	Personification (wolves, birds, and snakes as threats), Symbolism (dark forest as loss of innocence)	“Each a noose for her sweet white neck.”
Snow White Finds the Dwarfs	Snow White discovers the dwarfs’ cottage and finds safety. The dwarfs accept her, emphasizing the fairy tale motif of sanctuary and protection.	Sanctuary, Safety, Domestic Role	Repetition (seven motifs), Fairy tale conventions (dwarfs as guardians), Symbolism (small size as wisdom)	“Seven beds, seven chairs, seven forks”
First Attempt to Kill Snow White – Lacing	The stepmother disguises herself and tricks Snow White into wearing a too-tight lace, causing her to faint. The dwarfs save her, warning her about future dangers.	Naivety, Deception, Revival	Foreshadowing (warnings), Symbolism (tight bodice as oppression), Dramatic irony (reader knows the stepmother’s disguise)	“She lay on the floor, a plucked daisy.”
Second Attempt – Poison Comb	The stepmother tries again, selling Snow White a poisoned comb. Snow White faints but is revived by the dwarfs, reinforcing her naivety and passivity.	Repetition of Mistakes, Trust Issues	Symbolism (comb as a poisoned tool), Hyperbole (revival as miraculous), Repetition (queen’s persistence)	“A curved eight-inch scorpion”
Final Attempt – Poison Apple	The final, fatal deception occurs when Snow White eats the poisoned apple. This time, the dwarfs are unable to save her, and she is placed in a glass coffin.	Final Betrayal, Death, Fate	Imagery (gold piece, stillness), Symbolism (apple as original sin), Tragedy (Snow White’s helplessness)	“She lay as still as a gold piece.”
Snow White in the Glass Coffin	Snow White’s beauty is preserved in death, reinforcing themes of passive femininity and the male gaze. She becomes an object to be admired rather than an active figure.	Eternal Beauty, Male Gaze, Objectification	Symbolism (glass coffin as preservation of beauty), Male Gaze (Snow White as a display object)	“So that all who passed by / could peek in upon her beauty.”
Prince’s Arrival and Snow White’s Revival	The prince arrives and becomes obsessed with Snow White. She is only revived by accident, emphasizing the arbitrary nature of her fate and lack of agency.	Passivity, Arbitrary Fate, Male Ownership	Irony (prince’s love for a dead girl), Symbolism (revival through accidental action), Objectification	“The chunk of apple flew out of her throat and she woke up miraculously.”
Stepmother’s Punishment	The stepmother’s brutal punishment (dancing in red-hot iron shoes) serves as a grim moral lesson, though its cruelty undermines the simplistic ‘good vs. evil’ narrative.	Justice, Revenge, Moral Hypocrisy	Dark humor (gruesome punishment), Symbolism (red-hot shoes as poetic justice), Irony (excessive cruelty)	“First your toes will smoke / and then your heels will turn black”
Closing Reflection on Snow White	Snow White, now a queen, mirrors the stepmother’s vanity by continuing to gaze into her own reflection. This suggests a cycle of female competition and objectification.	Cyclical Nature of Beauty Standards, Feminine Competition	Symbolism (mirror as vanity and self-surveillance), Irony (Snow White becomes like the stepmother)	“Rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut / and sometimes referring to her mirror / as women do.”

Literary And Poetic Devices: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

Literary Device	Example from the Poem	Explanation
Alliteration	“Snow White walked in the wildwood”	The repetition of the “w” sound enhances the fairy-tale quality of the line and creates a smooth, lyrical effect.
Allusion	“She opened her eyes as wide as Orphan Annie.”	Refers to the famous comic strip character, known for her large, round eyes, emphasizing Snow White’s innocence and naivety.
Ambiguity	“She is as white as a bonefish.”	The comparison suggests both purity and death, leaving multiple interpretations open.
Anaphora	“Looking glass upon the wall…”	The repeated phrase reinforces the mirror’s power and obsessive influence over the queen.
Assonance	“The birds called out lewdly, / talking like pink parrots”	The repetition of vowel sounds in “called,” “out,” and “lewdly” creates a musical, rhythmic effect.
Connotation	“Rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut”	The phrase “china-blue doll eyes” suggests fragility, passivity, and objectification, reinforcing Snow White’s lack of agency.
Dark Humor	“The queen chewed it up like a cube steak.”	The grotesque image of the queen eating what she believes is Snow White’s heart adds a macabre sense of humor.
Diction	“The seven dwarfs could not bring themselves / to bury her in the black ground.”	The phrase “black ground” evokes death and finality, contrasting with the idea of preserving Snow White’s beauty.
Dramatic Irony	“Snow White, the dumb bunny, opened the door”	The audience knows Snow White is in danger, but she remains unaware, creating tension and frustration.
Enjambment	“And the snakes hung down in loops, / each a noose for her sweet white neck.”	The line break forces the reader to pause, emphasizing the sinister imagery of the snakes as execution devices.
Epiphora	“Beware of your stepmother, they said. / She will try once more.”	The repetition of warnings underscores Snow White’s repeated failure to heed advice.
Euphemism	“She lay as still as a gold piece.”	Rather than explicitly stating that Snow White is dead, the comparison to a “gold piece” softens the imagery, making it poetic.
Grotesque Imagery	“First your toes will smoke / and then your heels will turn black / and you will fry upward like a frog.”	The exaggerated and unsettling depiction of the queen’s punishment adds to the fairy-tale horror element.
Hyperbole	“A prince came one June day / and would not budge. / He stayed so long his hair turned green.”	The extreme description of time passing emphasizes the prince’s obsessive devotion.
Imagery	“His tongue lolling out like a worm.”	The vivid comparison of the wolf’s tongue to a worm paints a disturbing picture of predatory hunger.
Irony	“Now I am fairest, she said, / lapping her slim white fingers.”	The queen believes she has won, but the audience knows Snow White is alive, highlighting the irony of her false victory.
Metaphor	“The virgin is a lovely number.”	Snow White is not literally a number; this metaphor equates purity with an abstract, measurable quality.
Personification	“Pride pumped in her like poison.”	Pride is given the qualities of a physical substance, emphasizing its destructive nature.
Repetition	“The queen came, / Snow White, the dumb bunny, / opened the door”	The repetition of the queen’s arrival and Snow White’s mistakes reinforces her passive role and the inevitability of the plot.
Symbolism	“The glass coffin”	The coffin represents both Snow White’s preservation as a beauty ideal and her entrapment within societal expectations of passive femininity.

Themes: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

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1. The Objectification and Passivity of Women

• Throughout the poem, Snow White is depicted as a passive, fragile, and doll-like figure, reinforcing the idea that women, especially in traditional fairy tales, are valued primarily for their beauty and compliance.
• Example from the poem:

“Rolling her china-blue doll eyes / open and shut.”

• The phrase “china-blue doll eyes” equates Snow White with a lifeless, decorative object, emphasizing her lack of autonomy. Her ability to open and shut her eyes is mechanical, reinforcing how she is merely an object to be admired rather than an active participant in her fate.
• Passivity in Snow White’s fate:

“She lay as still as a gold piece.”

• Snow White is completely motionless, waiting for an external force (the prince) to revive her. This highlights traditional expectations of female helplessness, where a woman must be “saved” by a man rather than take control of her own destiny.

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2. The Destructive Nature of Beauty Standards and Female Competition

• The queen’s obsession with her beauty and her rivalry with Snow White reflect society’s fixation on female youth and appearance. Sexton critiques the way women are pitted against each other due to these unrealistic beauty ideals.
• Example from the poem:

“But now the queen saw brown spots on her hand / and four whiskers over her lip.”

• The queen’s fear of aging is portrayed as an existential crisis. These minor, natural signs of aging become unbearable to her because they symbolize the loss of social power tied to youth and beauty.
• The mirror as a tool of self-destruction:

“Looking glass upon the wall, / who is fairest of us all?”

• The mirror serves as a metaphor for external validation, showing how women are conditioned to seek approval based on their physical attractiveness. The mirror dictates worth, making beauty a dangerous obsession.
• Brutal consequences of beauty-driven rivalry:

“First your toes will smoke / and then your heels will turn black / and you will fry upward like a frog.”

• The queen’s punishment—being forced to dance to death in red-hot iron shoes—serves as a grotesque metaphor for how the pursuit of beauty and power ultimately destroys women.

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3. The Cycle of Female Oppression

• Sexton suggests that the oppression women face is cyclical, where young women, once victimized, may later become the enforcers of the same oppressive standards.
• Example from the poem:

“Meanwhile Snow White held court, / rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut / and sometimes referring to her mirror / as women do.”

• Even after the queen’s downfall, Snow White mirrors her behavior, suggesting that she, too, may succumb to vanity and the inescapable burden of beauty expectations. The phrase “as women do” implies that this cycle of self-surveillance and insecurity is deeply ingrained in female experience.
• Snow White’s eventual role as queen:
  • Unlike traditional fairy tales that end with “happily ever after,” Sexton’s version suggests that Snow White is not freed from the system but instead becomes a part of it. She moves from being an object to admire to one who will likely perpetuate the same standards.

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4. Violence and the Dark Realities Beneath Fairy Tales

• Sexton strips away the sanitized version of the Snow White story and exposes its inherent violence, cruelty, and grotesqueness. She highlights the brutality lurking beneath traditional tales.
• Example from the poem:

“Bring me her heart, she said to the hunter, / and I will salt it and eat it.”

• The queen’s command is disturbingly literal, revealing the cannibalistic, primal violence often present in old fairy tales before they were softened for children.
• The wilderness as a place of threat:

“The birds called out lewdly, / talking like pink parrots, / and the snakes hung down in loops, / each a noose for her sweet white neck.”

• The forest is not a place of safety but of lurking dangers, symbolizing the harsh, predatory nature of the real world. The imagery of snakes forming nooses further emphasizes the ever-present threat to Snow White’s purity and life.
• Death and punishment in the fairy tale world:

“She danced until she was dead, / a subterranean figure, / her tongue flicking in and out like a gas jet.”

• The queen’s death is graphic and relentless, reinforcing how fairy tales often contain violent moral lessons. Sexton does not shy away from this brutality but instead emphasizes it to expose the cruelty embedded in these stories.

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Literary Theories and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

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Literary Theory	Interpretation of the Poem	Textual References & Analysis
Feminist Criticism	Feminist analysis highlights the objectification of women, female rivalry caused by patriarchal beauty standards, and the passive role of Snow White. The poem critiques the way women are conditioned to be obsessed with beauty and remain submissive.	– “Rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut.” → Snow White is treated as an object, devoid of agency. – “Looking glass upon the wall, / who is fairest of us all?” → The mirror symbolizes the external validation women are conditioned to seek. – “Meanwhile Snow White held court… / sometimes referring to her mirror / as women do.” → This suggests that Snow White inherits the same vanity and objectification that plagued the queen, reinforcing a cycle of oppression.
Psychoanalytic Criticism	This approach examines psychological elements, including the stepmother’s obsession with youth, Snow White’s unconscious passivity, and the Oedipal undertones in the prince’s desire to possess a lifeless, preserved Snow White.	– “But now the queen saw brown spots on her hand / and four whiskers over her lip.” → The queen’s fear of aging reveals an obsessive neurosis, driven by anxiety over losing power and desirability. – “The seven dwarfs could not bring themselves / to bury her in the black ground.” → The preservation of Snow White in a glass coffin suggests an unconscious fear of death and decay, possibly linking to Freud’s theory of Thanatos (death drive). – “A prince came one June day / and would not budge.” → The prince’s fascination with a lifeless Snow White suggests an element of necrophilia or a desire for an idealized, passive female who cannot resist male control.
Marxist Criticism	A Marxist reading examines class struggle and economic power. The stepmother represents the ruling class that wants to maintain dominance, while Snow White represents the exploited lower class, dependent on the dwarfs, who are working-class laborers.	– “While we are away in the mines / during the day, you must not / open the door.” → The dwarfs are workers (miners) who provide shelter for Snow White, while she takes on the role of a domestic laborer (housekeeper). – “The queen dressed herself in rags / and went out like a peddler to trap Snow White.” → The queen masks her class status to deceive Snow White, illustrating class struggle and manipulation. – “They made a glass coffin / and set it upon the seventh mountain / so that all who passed by / could peek in upon her beauty.” → Snow White becomes a spectacle, reflecting commodification, where her beauty is preserved for public consumption.
Postmodernism / Deconstruction	From a postmodern perspective, Sexton deconstructs the traditional fairy tale, exposing its contradictions, dark humor, and unsettling undertones. The poem plays with irony, grotesque imagery, and an unreliable narrator to question the idealized world of fairy tales.	– “The queen chewed it up like a cube steak.” → The gruesome humor and grotesque imagery undermine the fairy tale’s traditional moral lessons. – “Snow White, the dumb bunny, opened the door.” → The mocking tone challenges Snow White’s purity and innocence, suggesting that she is not a noble heroine but a foolish, passive figure. – “And so she danced until she was dead, / a subterranean figure, / her tongue flicking in and out like a gas jet.” → The bizarre, exaggerated death scene of the queen dismantles the simplistic “good vs. evil” narrative of the original fairy tale.

Critical Questions about “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

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1. How does Sexton critique traditional fairy tale representations of women, particularly through Snow White and the stepmother?

Sexton’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” critiques traditional fairy tale depictions of women by exposing the harmful stereotypes of female purity and vanity. Snow White is passive, objectified, and reduced to her beauty, while the stepmother is villainized for her ambition and aging. The dichotomy of the “pure virgin” versus the “vain, aging woman” reflects societal expectations that reward women for youth and submissiveness while punishing them for power and age.

The poem highlights Snow White’s lack of agency, describing her as a doll-like figure, reinforcing the idea that women are valued only for their beauty and compliance:

“Rolling her china-blue doll eyes / open and shut.”

This mechanical imagery reduces Snow White to an object of display rather than a thinking, feeling individual. Even after her revival, she remains a symbol rather than an active figure, showing no personal growth.

Meanwhile, the stepmother’s descent into jealousy and destruction is tied to her fear of aging:

“But now the queen saw brown spots on her hand / and four whiskers over her lip.”

These minor, natural signs of aging become a source of existential crisis for the stepmother, illustrating how society devalues women as they age. The mirror, which she constantly consults, becomes a metaphor for female self-surveillance under patriarchy, showing how women are conditioned to base their worth on external validation. Ultimately, the stepmother’s punishment—dancing in red-hot iron shoes until she dies—demonstrates how women who seek power or defy conventional beauty ideals face cruel consequences.

Sexton’s retelling forces readers to question the fairy tale’s gender roles: why must Snow White remain passive and beautiful, while the stepmother—who fights for power—is cast as evil? The poem critiques how these traditional narratives pit women against each other, reinforcing destructive beauty standards and gender hierarchies.

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2. What role does violence play in the poem, and how does it challenge traditional fairy tale storytelling?

Violence is central to Sexton’s reinterpretation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, exposing the gruesome brutality that underlies traditional fairy tales. While classic fairy tales are often sanitized, Sexton amplifies the original Grimm Brothers’ violence, making it explicit and grotesque.

From the beginning, threats of violence loom over Snow White’s existence, driven by the stepmother’s vanity and insecurity:

“Bring me her heart, she said to the hunter, / and I will salt it and eat it.”

This cannibalistic imagery strips away the moral lessons of fairy tales and instead reveals their brutal, primal nature. The act of eating Snow White’s heart symbolizes the ultimate destruction of youth and beauty, as the stepmother seeks to consume and absorb what she no longer possesses.

Similarly, Snow White’s innocence and beauty are constantly linked with death and danger:

“Each a noose for her sweet white neck.”

This dark, predatory imagery paints the world as filled with sexual and mortal threats, making the traditional fairy tale setting much more sinister. The violent death of the stepmother, where she is forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes, also lacks the moral righteousness of classic fairy tales:

“First your toes will smoke / and then your heels will turn black / and you will fry upward like a frog.”

This exaggerated, grotesque punishment critiques the idea of fairy tale “justice”, suggesting that violence is not simply a consequence of evil but an inescapable reality in a world obsessed with beauty and power. Sexton’s use of violent imagery challenges readers to see fairy tales not as innocent moral lessons, but as disturbing reflections of real-world cruelty.

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3. How does Sexton use irony and dark humor to subvert the traditional Snow White fairy tale?

Sexton’s version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is infused with irony and dark humor, undermining the traditional fairy tale’s innocence and exposing its absurd and unsettling undertones.

One of the most striking uses of irony comes in the mocking tone applied to Snow White’s purity and passivity. Instead of being a noble heroine, she is reduced to a clueless and helpless figure:

“Snow White, the dumb bunny, opened the door.”

Referring to her as a “dumb bunny” completely shatters the romanticized image of the innocent, intelligent princess. This ironic framing makes Snow White seem foolish rather than virtuous, suggesting that her passivity is not noble but dangerously naive.

Sexton also injects dark humor into traditionally solemn moments, such as the prince’s obsessive devotion to Snow White’s corpse:

“A prince came one June day / and would not budge. / He stayed so long his hair turned green.”

This absurd image of the prince waiting so long that his hair changes color makes his romantic devotion seem ridiculous rather than heroic. Instead of a love story, the prince’s fixation appears more like necrophilia, further deconstructing the fairy tale’s supposed happy ending.

Similarly, the queen’s exaggerated death scene reads more like a twisted comedy than a moral resolution:

“Her tongue flicking in and out like a gas jet.”

By making the queen’s suffering cartoonishly grotesque, Sexton forces the reader to question whether justice has actually been served or if fairy tale endings are simply cruel and arbitrary. Through irony and dark humor, the poem de-romanticizes Snow White, exposing the absurdity and brutality hidden beneath traditional fairy tale structures.

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4. What is the significance of the mirror in the poem, and how does it function as a symbol?

The mirror is one of the most powerful symbols in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, representing vanity, self-surveillance, and the oppressive nature of beauty standards. The stepmother’s reliance on the mirror defines her existence, making her entirely dependent on external validation:

“Looking glass upon the wall, / who is fairest of us all?”

The mirror acts as an omnipresent judge, reinforcing the idea that a woman’s worth is determined by her physical appearance. The stepmother’s downfall begins the moment she is no longer “the fairest”, highlighting how women are conditioned to see each other as competition under patriarchal beauty standards.

However, the mirror’s significance extends beyond the stepmother. At the end of the poem, Snow White begins using the mirror as well:

“Meanwhile Snow White held court, / rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut / and sometimes referring to her mirror / as women do.”

This final reference to the mirror suggests that Snow White has inherited the same obsession with appearance that destroyed the queen. Instead of breaking free from the cycle of vanity and self-judgment, she perpetuates it, reinforcing the idea that women remain trapped in a system that values beauty above all else.

Sexton’s use of the mirror highlights how society forces women into endless self-surveillance, turning them into both the victims and enforcers of beauty standards.Bottom of Form

Literary Works Similar to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

1. “Cinderella” by Anne Sexton – Like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, this poem from Sexton’s Transformations collection retells a classic fairy tale with dark humor and grotesque imagery, critiquing societal expectations of women and the illusion of fairy tale happiness.
2. “Gretel in Darkness” by Louise Glück – This poem reimagines Hansel and Gretel from Gretel’s perspective, exploring themes of trauma, survival, and the psychological burden of past horrors, much like Sexton’s subversive take on Snow White.
3. “Little Red-Cap” by Carol Ann Duffy – A feminist retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, this poem shares Sexton’s themes of female awakening, power struggles, and the deconstruction of traditional gender roles in fairy tales.
4. “Rapunzel” by Anne Sexton – Another poem from Transformations, “Rapunzel” mirrors “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in its exploration of female entrapment, patriarchal control, and the illusions of fairy tale romance.
5. “The Witch’s Life” by Anne Sexton – This poem, while not a direct fairy tale retelling, shares Sexton’s signature dark tone, exploring themes of female power, aging, and societal fears of independent women, much like the portrayal of the stepmother in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

Representative Quotations of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

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Quotation	Context	Theoretical Perspective
“Rolling her china-blue doll eyes / open and shut.”	Snow White is introduced as a passive, doll-like figure, emphasizing her objectification and lack of agency.	Feminist Criticism – Highlights how women, especially young girls, are valued for their appearance rather than their intelligence or actions.
“Looking glass upon the wall, / who is fairest of us all?”	The stepmother repeatedly asks the mirror to validate her beauty, which dictates her sense of self-worth.	Psychoanalytic Criticism – The mirror symbolizes the superego (external judgment), reinforcing the queen’s obsessive narcissism and fear of aging.
“Bring me her heart, she said to the hunter, / and I will salt it and eat it.”	The queen demands Snow White’s heart to consume, believing it will restore her status as “fairest.”	Marxist Criticism – The queen, representing the elite, seeks to “consume” the beauty of the younger generation, mirroring capitalist exploitation.
“The seven dwarfs could not bring themselves / to bury her in the black ground.”	Snow White is not buried but placed in a glass coffin, where she remains on display for admiration.	Feminist Criticism – Snow White is preserved as an object of male desire, reinforcing the idea that women are valued only for their beauty, even in death.
“A prince came one June day / and would not budge. / He stayed so long his hair turned green.”	The prince’s absurd devotion to Snow White’s corpse is exaggerated, making his role comically obsessive.	Postmodernism / Deconstruction – Challenges the traditional idea of “true love,” exposing the prince’s actions as disturbing rather than romantic.
“Snow White, the dumb bunny, opened the door.”	Despite multiple warnings, Snow White naively lets the disguised queen in again, leading to her downfall.	Feminist Criticism – Critiques the portrayal of women as innocent and helpless, reinforcing passivity as a desirable trait in fairy tales.
“First your toes will smoke / and then your heels will turn black / and you will fry upward like a frog.”	The queen is punished with an exaggerated, gruesome death, forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she dies.	Postmodernism / Deconstruction – The grotesque imagery mocks fairy tale “justice,” revealing the irrational cruelty behind traditional moral lessons.
“The birds called out lewdly, / talking like pink parrots, / and the snakes hung down in loops, / each a noose for her sweet white neck.”	Snow White’s journey through the wild is depicted as sexually threatening, with predatory imagery.	Psychoanalytic Criticism – The forest represents unconscious sexual fears, with animals symbolizing the dangers of growing up.
“Meanwhile Snow White held court, / rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut / and sometimes referring to her mirror / as women do.”	In the end, Snow White, now a queen, continues to check her reflection, much like the stepmother.	Feminist Criticism – Suggests that the cycle of female oppression continues, as Snow White now mirrors the vanity and insecurity of the previous queen.
“She lay as still as a gold piece.”	After eating the poisoned apple, Snow White is described as a precious, lifeless object.	Marxist Criticism – Snow White is reduced to a commodity, her beauty preserved for male ownership rather than personal autonomy.

Suggested Readings: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Anne Sexton

1. Mason, David. “Anne Sexton and Her Times.” The Hudson Review, vol. 45, no. 1, 1992, pp. 167–74. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3852113. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
2. McClatchy, J. D. “ANNE SEXTON: SOMEHOW TO ENDURE.” The Centennial Review, vol. 19, no. 2, 1975, pp. 1–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23738229. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
3. STONE, KAY F. “Feminist Approaches to the Interpretation of Fairy Tales.” Fairy Tales and Society: Illusion, Allusion, and Paradigm, edited by RUTH B. BOTTIGHEIMER, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986, pp. 229–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x1nhz.18. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
4. Sexton, Anne. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The Classic Fairy Tales (1971): 96-100.