Finding Truth in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I’m starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for two reasons: it’s the first of the Animated Classics and it tells the basic human story from falling into sin to the salvation of the human race. No there weren’t dwarfs in the Garden of Eden nor does the Bible describe our entrance into Paradise as riding off into to the sunset with a hot Prince (but if that is how I enter heaven, I’m not going to argue); instead Snow White offers the essence of the Fall of Man and our salvation in an amazing tale.

Snow White was originally written by the Grimm brothers; however, I am going to make most of my references to the Disney classic. The basic summary of Snow White is as follows: a young beautiful princess, with skin as white as snow, has been forced to live a life of servitude to her stepmother. The stepmother becomes jealous when she learns that she is not the fairest in the land, but that her stepdaughter Snow White is. The wicked queen sends a huntsman to kill Snow White, however, he does not have the heart to do such a thing. Instead he tells Snow White to run away and never return. She ends up staying at a house with seven dwarfs, which Disney playfully named Doc, Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy and Dopey. Meanwhile, the Queen learns that Snow White is still alive and sets out to kill her herself. She disguises herself as an old peddler woman who sells apples. However, she has made one apple especially for Snow White. This apple has been cursed and whoever eats from it will fall into a sleeping death, in which the only way the victim can be revived is through love’s first kiss. Snow White bites into the apple and immediately falls into a sleeping death. The wicked queen is chased away by the dwarfs and falls to her death. The dwarfs cannot bear to bury her because of her beauty and instead place her in a glass coffin. One day The Prince finds Snow White and kisses her. Snow White awakens and the two ride off into the sunset.

Snow White represents humanity as it was designed by God to be. She is the fairest in the land; people being designed in God’s image are designed to be the greatest, fairest beings in the world. Her skin being as white as snow represents Snow White’s innocence and purity; which is that state that humanity was in before their “fall”. When I speak of the “fall of man”, or the “fall” I am referring to the moment where sin entered the world. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and eat an apple from the tree of knowledge. Here is the passage from Genesis of the Fall of Man:

“¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" ² The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³⁴ "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷” but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " After God discovers what has happened he curses the snake, women, and men, banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and now humanity has fallen from grace and will no longer live eternally but will face death, as God says “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Snow White, as stated earlier, represents how humanity was supposed to be pure. However, Snow White falls just as Adam and Even did. Just as Satan seized an opportunity to corrupt mankind in order to glorify himself over God, the Queen attempts to become the fairest in the land by killing Snow White. The queen knows there is one way she can kill Snow White, to appeal to her desires and to trick her. Thus, just as Satan did, she disguises herself and convinces Snow White, against her better judgment, to take a bite of the apple. Throughout the movie Snow White “wishes for the one she loves” and in a beautifully crafted scene we actually see her go to God in prayer for her wishes as well as to bless the dwarfs. Snow White is relying on God for all her needs just as Adam and Eve did before they ate the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. However, once the Queen offers Snow White another way to make her wishes come true, by eating the apple, Snow White turns away from God and falls into a sleeping death because of her decision. God told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge and not only did Adam and Eve become cursed with death, but so did all of mankind.

However, God offered a way to beat death. Mankind needed to be saved and God provided a savior. The only way for mankind to be saved was for God to sacrifice His only son. Snow White had one way she could be saved as well “love’s first kiss”, which represents God’s sacrifice. The Prince, who represents, Jesus, was in the beginning of the story and Jesus stated that He was there when the heavens and Earth were made. The Prince provided “love’s first kiss” for Snow White, who then awakened from death; just as we are promised through Christ. The two then ride off into the sunset towards a castle that appears to be amidst the clouds; representing our entrance into Heaven after our earthly death.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an allegory for the history of man; highlighting before the Fall, the Fall and it’s consequences, and our ultimately redemption, which every one of us need, even the fairest one of all.