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1 " Once upon a time fairy tales were told to audiences of young and old alike. It is only in the last century that such tales were deemed fit only for small children, stripped of much of their original complexity, sensuality, and power to frighten and delight. "
― Tanith Lee , White as Snow
2 " To most people today, the name Snow White evokes visions of dwarfs whistling as they work, and a wide–eyed, fluttery princess singing, "Some day my prince will come." (A friend of mine claims this song is responsible for the problems of a whole generation of American women.) Yet the Snow White theme is one of the darkest and strangest to be found in the fairy tale canon — a chilling tale of murderous rivalry, adolescent sexual ripening, poisoned gifts, blood on snow, witchcraft, and ritual cannibalism. . .in short, not a tale originally intended for children's tender ears. Disney's well–known film version of the story, released in 1937, was ostensibly based on the German tale popularized by the Brothers Grimm. Originally titled "Snow–drop" and published in Kinder–und Hausmarchen in 1812, the Grimms' "Snow White" is a darker, chillier story than the musical Disney cartoon, yet it too had been cleaned up for publication, edited to emphasize the good Protestant values held by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. (...) Variants of Snow White were popular around the world long before the Grimms claimed it for Germany, but their version of the story (along with Walt Disney's) is the one that most people know today. Elements from the story can be traced back to the oldest oral tales of antiquity, but the earliest known written version was published in Italy in 1634. "
3 " Where were you and your God when he had me down in the snow-what return must I give you for that? "
4 " Is it you?""Yes. "
5 " ...silence finding how to make a sound. "
6 " Have what you want, king," she sang at him.And then she threw something right at him. "
7 " She talks to demons."Yes, to one: herself. "
8 " So Coira grew now, with two distinct sides. The silent, loveless, light side, where everything was clear and plain and harsh. And the shadow side, softer and secretive, kind in its own way, philosophical, and convinced of spirit. "
9 " Mirrors taught: Perhaps there were always at least two sorts of reality, what you credited, and what was true. "
