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Theresa Le
Professor Greg McClure
Writing 39B
06 November 2016
Snow, Glass, Apples: A Feminist Transgressive Movement
The short story, Snow, Glass, Apples, focuses on how the power of women against
conventional characters conveys an uprising against cultural stereotypes, as they even learn to
use sexual conducts to their advantage. The daughter evolves into a character that contradicts the
expectations of an ordinary princess fairytale, while the queen struggles through a vulnerability
in which is not rooted primarily out of evil and discontent. The author, Neil Gaiman, depicts this
contrasting plot in order to demonstrate the complexities of society in regards to women and the
idea of their relentless inferiority. The princesss continuous reprisals throughout the story, such
as when she sucks the blood out of her stepmother or when she accepts the princes offer of
marriage, suggest her own empowerment amidst expectations of submissiveness. She is
considered a monster in the story due to her unnatural tendencies as a vampire, complementing
the horrific genre expectations and causing the audience to react in disbelief and disgust. This
reaction, as described by Noel Carroll in The Nature of Horror, illustrates a behavioral
characteristic that ultimately strengthens the princesss persona, as she has the power to create a
highly overpowering effect on the readers. This spinoff on the typical princess character
juxtaposes the traditional female societal role since the princess and the queen take on powerful
positions despite their necessary means in the process. The article, Power to the Princess,
explains how the original Snow White tale portrays women in their standard roles as a passive
subduer, which allows readers to understand how in contrast, the short story deals with the

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retaliation of female stereotypes. On the other hand, men adjust to the standard convention of
gender roles, and therefore execute the idea of masculine superiority, which ultimately endangers
them, like Carol J. Clover claims in her book, Men, Women, and Chainsaws. However, women
learn to use this male dominance to their advantage, realizing that sex can be manipulated to
revolt against this expectation, as Tony Magistrale and Michael A. Morrison clarify the idea of
essentially using negative standards as an advantageous resource. Eventually, the essay,
Cracking the Mirror Three Re-Visions of Snow White, talks about how the recent Snow White
stories display a progression among women, which supports the notion of its cultural
significance as an ongoing transgressive society that fundamentally diverges from the
standardized gender hierarchy.
The rhetorical reception towards the daughters monstrous traits as a vampire challenges
the continual idea of a weak female character. As she bites the queen and drinks her blood, the
stepmother began to shriek, from pain and from surprise; but she looked at [her] and fell silent
(Gaiman). This is the first encounter in the story that describes her inhuman nature in which
violently pursues others. Additionally, it is also the same moment in which the queen realizes
that her stepdaughters threatening persona contradicts the expected pureness. Therefore, the
queens descriptive response to this hurtful exertion allows the audience to understand the
difficulties of facing this situation because in a sense, the queen and the audience are both
experiencing it simultaneously. The syntax, including short phrases, connected ideas, and a semicolon, help illustrate the shocking revelation as the readers react likewise to the daughters innate
monstrosity. Noel Carroll, an American philosopher and professor, writes the essay, The Nature
of Horror, to construct the expectations of a horror genre. He reflects how both fear and disgust
are etched on the characters features (Carroll 4), which in this case is the stepmother who

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displays signs of surprise and pain. In addition, it is common that they freeze in a moment of
recoil, transfixed, sometimes paralyzed (Carroll 4), similarly to how she became completely
nonverbal. These instances also apply to the audience as they have the same reactions intuitively,
emphasizing the monster within the daughter and essentially Gaimans effectiveness of the
horror expectations. However, this monster represents a sign of strength because throughout
history, women have never been perceived as such a horrific creature. Therefore, the daughter
embodies a transformation in society from a weak character to a strong one that has the
capabilities of creating such rhetorical responses. This newfound concept can easily be
interpreted once one has an understanding of the contrasting messages within the original Snow
White fairytale and this short story.
Gaiman elaborates on the central idea presented in the original Snow White fairytale
involving the topic of female representation in society, while altogether supporting an opposing
idea about the revolution against these stereotypes. In the original fairytale, Snow White suffers
throughout her lifetime and passively relies on a prince to make her happy by turning her life
around. The idea of male reliance is addressed in Power to the Princess, an essay written by
Bridget Whelan, a professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She explains how the
first Disney princess movie, an adaptation of the original tale, conforms to societal convention
regarding girls and their place in society (Whelan 3). She attempts to establish how the cultural
expectations during this time involves men doing all the work, while the women are constantly
seen as inferior and irrelevant. This similar concept is applied in Snow, Glass, Apples, where the
queen is told by the prince to not move, and to breathe as little as possible. He implored [her] to
say nothing. He spread [her] legs apart (Gaiman). These seemingly emotionless sentences
represent how the prince desires lifelessness in the queen, while women are subjected to what the

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men want. However, the queen acts in retaliation, as she felt [her] hips rise, felt [herself] begin
to match him [She] moaned. [She] could not help herself (Gaiman). As she begins to
participate in the sexual activity, she shows more human responses, but the prince refuses to
cooperate with that because he only wants her physical body. The refusal of the feminine
emotional appeal therefore emphasizes the female role in society. Nonetheless, in this story, the
underlying message is different than the original because the queen does this in hopes of uniting
the kingdoms. Her purpose exemplifies the growing independent personalities in which women
are progressively making their own decisions by taking matters into their own hands. This
signifies the contrast to a typical female stereotype because even though the queen is still reliant,
it seems as if she chooses to do this in order to get something in return, rather than doing it
simply because she is a woman and is therefore expected to. This subversion essentially fosters
self-reliance among females who need to learn to take advantage of all those still following the
ordinary convention, particularly men.
The men in the story, such as the King, strive to display their masculine superiority
through instances of incest, which backfires them and creates a common situation among horror
pieces of work while simultaneously embracing male stereotypes, as Carol J. Clover explains.
While the King and his daughter participate in sexual activities, it soon results in his death where
his hands were cold as stone, his eyes milky-blue, his hair and beard faded and lustreless and
limp (Gaiman). The imagery and metaphor presented in this scene emphasizes how destructive
the princess is to her father. The King, nonetheless, willingly chooses to go through with these
actions, creating a controversial situation of incest that undermines the crudeness behind male
standards. To the audience, the idea of incest is clearly objectionable, so by incorporating this
concept, the author attempts to create a critique of dysfunctional masculinity. Men agree to the

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expectation of youthful hypersexuality in females, which conveys the toxicity of male superiority
in society. However, this advantageous mindset harms them in the end, as Carol J. Clover, a
professor at the University of California, Berkeley and widely published author, explains in her
book. In Men, Women, and Chainsaws, she argues how ...the man who insists on taking charge,
or who believes that logic or appeals to authority can solve the problem, or who tries to act the
hero, is dead meat (Clover 17). The death of the King proves how the actions of men who
accept female social standings and try to benefit from them ultimately ruin themselves in the
process. It is typical for men to develop a condescending mentality because of the constant
degrading of women. Male conformity furthermore results in women striving to progress
socially, even by using the act of sex to their advantage.
Women in this story, especially the princess, subvert the traditional male dominance in
order to demonstrate their independence and desire to use sexual advances started by the men to
fundamentally benefit them. For example, rather than relying on men to save her, the princess
takes matters into her own hands, like when she lures the monk after he found a coin - a tiny,
copper penny, - and tossed it to her (Gaiman). This is an act of crudeness toward female
mediocrity because the man tries to lure the princess with such a worthless object, making it
seem as if women are easy to get. Therefore, Gaiman depicts a typical perception, but the
princesss reaction suggests the developing societal norms. The consequences go wrongly for the
man after he tries to bribe her into having sex, but favorable for her as she gets all his blood. This
type of unsettlement against gender hierarchy is evaluated by Tony Magistrale and Michael A.
Morrison, professors at Purdue University and the University of Vermont, respectively. Their
essay, Introduction to Dark Nights Dreaming, discusses how people grasp the very elements
which are so divisive and destructive and try to turn them into tools - to dismantle themselves

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(Magistrale&Morrison 3). In this case, the princess garners the elements of female inferiority
and creates subversions in order to exploit herself. Therefore, women now delve into the
stereotypes that others acknowledge in order to benefit themselves and create a stronger
perception for femininity. They attempt to develop a new identity for women, and this
progression still remains relevant in society today as they continue to rise above amidst gender
inequality.
Cristina Bacchilega, a professor at the University of Hawaii Manoa, addresses how
women have always been the target of oppression through several centuries; however, even as
this remains true today, they employ those disadvantages in their favor, which will ultimately
result in a societal progression. In the original stories of Snow White, the authors never portray
the princess standing up for herself, which satisfies the societal expectation of a weak, vulnerable
female protagonist. In spite of that, Bacchilegas essay, Cracking the Mirror Three Re-Visions of
Snow White, talks about how ...these twentieth century arbitrary revisions of Snow White
do not provide any other explicit norms to account for their socially and narratively
transgressive strategies (Bacchilega 19-20). She suggests that the newer spinoff versions of the
traditional fairytale offer something much different: a look into the violation of gender
conventions. They do not create any new standards, but rather they simply consider ways to
demonstrate the violation of already existing, accepted standards. Men and women begin to stray
away from their mundane societal standings to change once and for all. In particular, women no
longer accept the behavior from men, and they know how to manipulate a mans alpha mentality,
as the princess and queen do in the story. As the queen is about to die, she expresses how [she]
will not scream. [She] will not give them that satisfaction. They will have [her] body, but [her]
soul and [her] story are [her] own and will die with [her] (Gaiman). Especially at her last dying

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moments, the author presents the queen in a much more driven, evocative tone that expresses her
desire for independence and freedom. This emphasizes the strong-willed woman she has turned
into, transitioning from simply a Kings lady to an independent queen. With the kingdoms united,
she has done her job, despite the consequences. She has lost her own battle but continues to stand
up for herself as an act of defiance. Therefore, the defiant nature highlights the subversion of
stereotypes as she gives up her body like any other women, but seeks to hold onto the human
aspects of herself. These stylistic approaches strengthen the notion that women are now
improving their stance in society despite the constant oppression of inadequateness among
females. These ideas addressed in the story in 1994 still remain relevant today, emphasizing its
cultural significance. The feminist movement will continue to thrive over the years and
ultimately result in a transgression among gender equality in the world.

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Works Cited
Bacchilega, Cristina. "Cracking the Mirror Three Re-Visions of "Snow White"" (1988): 1-25.
Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Clover, Carol J. Men, Women, and Chainsaws. London: BFI, 1992. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.
Carroll, Noel. "The Nature of Horror." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 46.1 (1987):
51-59. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Gaiman, Neil. "Snow, Glass, Apples." The Dreaming. WordPress, 10 Oct. 1999. Web. 18 Oct.
2016.
Magistrale, Tony, and Michael A. Morrison. "Introduction to Dark Night's Dreaming." (1996): 17. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Whelan, Bridget. "Power to the Princess: Disney and the Creation of the Twentieth-Century
Princess Narrative." (2012): n. pag. Web. 23 Oct. 2016