It’s hard to imagine princesses shrouded in fantasy and mystery such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, without closely associating them to the Walt Disney Corporation and the Brothers Grimm, along with dancing animals, fairies and just a little bit of pixie dust. However, as it is with all tales of make believe that have stood the test of time, there’s always some truth to their beginning - after all, they must have originated from some sort of inspiration.
Peel back the layers
The unearthing of historical documents and artifacts have uncovered the dark side of beloved tales, which have delighted so many children for generations.
By peeling back the layers, we have uncovered the truth of what really happened, which is quite the opposite of enchanted forests made up as a result of over active imaginations. Rather, they’re embellishments created in order to cover up tragedies unsuitable for any child’s consumption. As a matter of fact, the truth behind the magic would clearly ruin them for most people.
Fairy tales, happily ever after or explicitly tragic?
Little girls for generations have fantasised about meeting their prince charming and being awoken by a true love’s kiss. After all, could it get any better than being a beautiful princess, rescued by a handsome prince and a few fairies thrown into the mix? However, these embellishments are so far from the grueling reality, they are virtually unrecognisable.
Take Sleeping Beauty, for example, did prince charming really wake his princess with a kiss? Did they live happily ever after? On the contrary, the reality of the situation would be better suited to be the plot line of the latest instalment of Law and Order SVU, rather than the Brothers Grimm.
A shadow is cast
The truth behind the story is that the princess is sought out by her soon to be prince.
However, the happy fantasy ends there. Instead of being loving and gentle his hormones take over, and whether it’s the result of simply being a sexually deprived walking time bomb of raging hormones, it does not disguise the fact that a crime is committed. The princess is not awakened by an enchanted kiss, but raped while she sleeps.
This sure casts a shadow on their magical reunification.
After the rape is committed, she ends up conceiving twins and falling in love with her rapist. The man did not come to rescue her, he came to take advantage of a beautiful girl in a vulnerable situation.
Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?
Could the famous phrase uttered by the wicked queen be more murderous than we’ve been led to believe? The real princess behind the tale of Snow White has finally been identified as Maria Sophia von Erthal. The magic mirror, displayed at the Spessart Museum in Lohr am Main, Germany had a reputation for speaking. It belonged to Maria's evil step-mother, Claudia Elisabeth von Erthal who absolutely despised her.
The seven dwarfs have turned out to be real as well. Short stature minors, also believed to be malnourished children, were known to frequent the tunnels and shafts in Germany's deep forests surrounding the town of Bieber nearby.
Clearly, Maria’s step-mother’s cruelty must have been so unbearable since the thick forest worked to her advantage in order to get away from the abuse she was constantly subjected to. This is truly in sharp contrast to the happy ending of Snow White’s fictional life - there was no prince charming to carry her off into the sunset - instead, it was a life of brutal abuse and heartbreak.
Do these revelations change the way we look at fairy tales?
Certainly, it makes us see them in a whole other light.
However, the negative impact has certainly backfired. On the contrary, the ugly truth behind these tales has added to the fame and intrigue surrounding their mystical origins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_origin_of_the_Snow_White_tale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Mirror_(Snow_White) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty
