So, there's a fan theory about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that I just found out about and now I firmly believe it's true. Here it is: basically, Snow White actually dies at the end of the movie, and The Prince is a representation of Death.
So let's get into it: in the beginning of the film, we see Snow White singing into the well outside the castle.
The Prince, riding by, hears her singing and climbs over the castle wall to meet her.
But when he approaches Snow White, she's so frightened she runs into the castle. Maybe she's just very shy or embarrassed, or MAYBE she's running from something more dangerous: Death, who appeared when she came too close to the edge of the well.
Immediately following this, though, Snow and The Prince share a flirtatious moment. Is she literally flirting with death? Snow White sends The Prince a dove, a bird which could be interpreted as "the soul’s release from its earth-bound duty." Additionally, another type of dove exists called the mourning dove, whose call is low and sorrowful.
Of course we know the events following this: Snow White goes on to live in the forest with the seven dwarfs. One day, she bites the poison apple prepared by the Queen and becomes unconscious.
The dwarfs gather around her bedside. She might be dead (Wikipedia says she is "kept in a deathlike slumber by the poison"), but the title card following this scene reads "...so beautiful even in death, that the dwarfs could not find it in their hearts to bury her."
Then the dwarfs place Snow White in a coffin in the woods and sit silently to mourn her.
But The Prince happens upon the memorial soon after. He approaches Snow White and kisses her.
And then when all hope seems to be lost, Snow White wakes up...or does she? Maybe we're not giving 1930s Disney enough credit. Is Snow's spirit simply leaving its body, ready to embrace the afterlife? Was the Prince's kiss actually the kiss of death?
The Prince guides Snow White through the woods and to a clearing.
They stop at a hilltop at sunset, and the clouds form a castle in the sky.
Now that I've seen the scene again as an adult, this looks an awful lot like a metaphor for the "kingdom" of heaven, and it paints a much more bittersweet story than I had originally envisioned.
This theory also gives much more depth to The Prince, which is literally his name (it's rumored to be Ferdinand but nope, it's The Prince). If you take the film at face value, he's totally one-dimensional, doesn't really do much, and as far as the kiss goes, is pretty creepy, since Snow White is 14. But if he's not even a real person, it brings the story to new levels, and his appearances at select moments make more sense.
If you need even more convincing, just read this theory from BuzzFeed reader, Matt Morgan, who commented on another BuzzFeed post about the true backstories of Disney movies.
Some YouTube commenters agree with this premise:
But not everyone is on the same page. Alejandro does have a good point.
So what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
