Steph Scott ©2014 Adapting Snow White Today:
Narrative and Gender Analysis in the Television Show Once Upon a Time
Abstract:
This paper examines the narrative in the first season of the ABC television show Once
Upon a Time (2011-Present) and the fairytale Snow White (1857) with a particular focus on female gender representation. The reappearance of fairytales in popular media provides a unique opportunity to examine how values between two very different time periods have changed.
Utilizing a narrative approach allows the research to show the merits and limitations across adapting from an old text to a television serial. Once Upon a Time offers a progressive rendition of the character Snow White by challenging both the traditional narrative and the television serial narrative. Snow White’s relationships with other characters are also expanded upon in the televised tale and surround her heroic acts, rather than her beauty, which changes the values presented in the television series.
Methodology:
In Once Upon a Time, throughout its narrative progression the traditional narrative is challenged. The first season’s episodes “Snow Falls,” “Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” “7:15AM,”
“Heart of Darkness,” “The Stable Boy,” “An Apple Red as Blood,” and “A Land Without
Magic” are given particular attention in this analysis because they pertain to Snow White’s fairytale. Robert Stam (2005) describes adaptation narrative analysis as considering “the ways in which adaptations add, eliminate, or condense characters” (p.34). With textual analysis of the first season of Once Upon a Time, these factors can be analyzed through Snow White’s relationships with other characters. The relationship Snow White has with other characters is no longer based on hunting or appealing to Snow White’s beauty, as it is in the literary tale. Instead each character’s relationship is concerned with Snow White’s heroic acts, with the exception of the Evil Queen, whose motivation is based on revenge.
In addition to studying the adaptation of the traditional narrative, this paper will explore how adaptation impacts female representation. While much of the referenced feminist scholarship is older, this research is used to test the relevance of older ideas on an old narrative that has been adapted to a more current narrative. Based on the gender studies offered by each researcher presented, a definition of a “progressive female character” can be developed in this way:
A progressive female character has post-feminist qualities but is aligned more with third wave feminist goals. Because female characters are typically presented as dependent and passive, according to Tuchman (2012) and Stempel Mumford (1995), a progressive female character would be independent and active. In independent moments a character is able to act on one’s own, whereas dependent moments require another character to assist. However, she is also able to work in collaboration with other characters, which is in line with third wave feminism
(Levine, 2007). In addition, in active moments a character is able to make a decision, whereas in passive moments the character is rendered choiceless. Another progressive aspect, supported by
Levine (2007) and Butler (2004), is that the female character is not locked into a particular gendered role and maintains flexibility between character roles.
By applying Levine’s (2007) research and Butler’s (2004) critical theory, this textual analysis focuses on gender representation through Snow White’s relationships with other characters, including the Evil Queen, the Huntsman, the Seven Dwarfs (Grumpy in particular), and Prince Charming.
Narrative Elements:
Television Serial Narrative:
Fairytale characters in the television series are often guided, but can also be limited by the television serial narrative. Fiske (1989) argues that mythic narratives focus on two abstract binaries in concrete ways, such as “good and evil” with the representation of an attractive hero and an unattractive villain, and the narrative offers how to cope with the perpetual binary
(p.131). Abstract binaries also include “masculine and feminine”, according to Fiske (1989, p.131). In Once Upon a Time this particular binary is challenged in many ways as it moves through the six sections of a narrative arc as explained by Fiske (1989). Fiske draws from
Vladimir Propp’s research on structural analysis in fairytales and adapts Propp’s 31 point structure into six plot stages (Propp, 1968). Rather than breaking an arc into a complex set of plot points, Fiske adapts Propp’s research into a flexible narrative that is more suitable for the television narrative. The first stage is “the Preparation,” where the setting and character relationships are established. The second stage is “the Complication”: the villain wants something and/or takes initial actions against the protagonist. The third stage is “the
Transference,” where the protagonist begins their adventure or quest. The following stage is the climax of the story where the protagonist and villain confront each other and this stage is known as “the Struggle”. The final two stages are “the Return” and “the Recognition” and involve the protagonist completing a quest and a truth is recognized (Fiske, 1989). Fiske’s narrative progression demonstrates the simple story arc that accompanies a short story, like a fairytale, but also follows the television serial narrative within a single episode and the entire season arc. This narrative arc is still followed in popular television shows, but will often feature a delayed resolution to the central problem. Later, this arc will be expanded on for the television narrative in Once Upon a Time.
Within each narrative section there are “functions,” story events that are placed into a sequence and these functions can take two forms, as “nuclei,” events that move the story forward, and “catalyzers,” events that speed up or slow down the narrative in the form of summaries, anticipations, and red-herrings (Fiske, 1989). Nuclei functions are most common to fairytales because they are short tales with a clear purpose to move the plot forward. By comparison, catalyzer functions are more prevalent in television shows like the prime time drama because more time is dedicated towards characters.
Traditional Literary Narrative:
The traditional story arc for the fairytale Snow White follows a consistent path. Details are altered between versions but most traditional editions follow the model described below, which is based on the 1857 edition of the Grimm fairytale:
Once upon a time… A Mother prays for a beautiful child, Snow White, and then dies in childbirth. The Father remarries and the Stepmother becomes so jealous of Snow White’s beauty that she sends a Huntsman to kill Snow White. The Huntsman takes pity on Snow White and abandons her in the forest. Snow White is adopted by the Seven Dwarfs and she assumes responsibility for the house and cares for them. The Stepmother discovers that Snow White is still alive and tries to kill her stepdaughter. The Seven Dwarfs warn Snow White not to talk to strangers, but their advice is ignored. After the Stepmother makes several attempts on Snow
White’s life, Snow White succumbs to one of the Stepmother’s poisonous apples. The Seven
Dwarfs place her in a bejeweled coffin in the forest. A prince travels through the same forest, sees Snow White and begs the Seven Dwarfs to allow him to take her. The Seven Dwarfs agree to the Prince’s wishes and as Snow White is carted away, the apple is dislodged and Snow White awakens. Snow White and the Prince are married and the Stepmother is punished (Pullman,
2012).
With the traditional narrative described above, the television serial narrative is unable to completely change the plot points, but is able to have flexibility in how each plot point is reached. Using the traditional narrative, the television serial narrative in Once Upon a Time can be compared. Catalyzer functions allow for gender play and can avoid stereotypes often found in the traditional narrative. While the fairytale may end, the series continues and does not have a completed ending like the traditional narrative, which also complicates adapting the fairytale narrative to the television narrative. All narratives offer boundaries and while there is flexibility for characterizations, there are still limits on these characterizations. The television narrative still must undergo the plot points identified in the traditional story, which can interfere with female gender representation. If particular points in the narrative are not followed, the story is no longer the fairytale Snow White, because the major plot points determine the path of the story. There is flexibility in how to arrive at each plot point, but each plot point needs to occur in the adaptation.
Adapting Fairytales to the Television Serial Narrative:
Robert Stam’s (2005) research on narrative adaptation from literary text to film text acknowledges that the original narrative source that is being adapted from “can be seen as a situated utterance, produced in one medium and in one historical and social context, and later transformed into another, equally situated utterance, produced in a different context and relayed through a different medium” (p.45). In summary, an adaptation of a narrative caters to the historical context that the narrative is created in. According to Stam, each adaptation of a narrative should offer changes in accordance with the time period. However, fairytales across editions almost consistently present utopias where “good” characters are always rewarded or achieve justice (Zipes, 2002). The Arthurian idea of “might makes right” is a major contributing theme to folktales: “He who has power can exercise his will, right wrongs, become ennobled, amass money and land, win women as prizes, -and it is generally a man who accumulates the most power and wealth” (Zipes, 2002, p.35). In both feudal and post-feudal times, women were objectified and represented as submissive. But details and social structures in these tales were altered as the folktale exited oral tradition and became established in literature, which is congruent with Stam’s (2005) adaptation research.
By the 1800s, fairytales were adapted to feature acquiescent characters and were designed to teach children social standards (Zipes, 2002). Fairytales in particular present social roles. From a historical-economic perspective, Julie Matthaei (1982) identifies two spheres that have been consistent since feudal times: the public sphere, primarily participated in by men who produced for the community, and the private sphere, where women primarily produced for the home. For women in the private sphere by the 1800s, with the rise of the middle class, homemaking became a social activity (Matthaei, 1982). In addition, the Industrial Revolution offered more factory jobs and women started to invade the public sphere (Matthaei, 1982). This created tension between the two spheres and this economic tension becomes more prevalent in the Disney adaptation.
The theme of justice and the traditional narrative referenced earlier in this paper is maintained in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, featured in 1937. But the gender roles cater towards the traditional story. Disney adapted the fairytale 125 years after the Grimm’s publication and was clearly produced in a different historical context, but only a few changes occurred in the film. Congruent with Stam’s (2005) work on adaptation, Jack Zipes (1995) attributes the changes as a response to a recovering America during the Great Depression. Zipes
(1995) suggests that this occurred as a way to inspire hope because the fairytale addresses overcoming evil, and for Americans during that time, the “great evil” was the poor economy.
The changes that are made in the Disney adaptation include an early introduction of the Prince, the Evil Queen’s jealousy over Snow White’s suitor, naming the Seven Dwarves, and using true love’s kiss as Snow White’s revival in the film adaptation (Zipes, 1995). These additions to the story follow the original narrative otherwise and do not offer major changes to the storyline.
While there are not many changes in the narrative, the character representations starkly resemble earlier gender roles before the Great Depression. Zipes (1995) views the film as a reflection of Walt Disney’s interest in traditional gender roles. Again, with a historical-economic perspective, Matthaei’s (1982) research on the Great Depression showed a reduced number of women in the work place due to lack of jobs and employers resisting hiring married women.
Later, according to Alice Kessler-Harris (2001), when the US started fighting in WWII, women were invited back into the labor force because so many men were unavailable. But once soldiers returned, women were discouraged from working (Kessler-Harris, 2001). This movement to put women back in the private sphere after WWII presents a social anxiety and is reflected in Walt
Disney's first princess film. With these interpretations, Disney proposes justice and a return to an older status quo with clearly defined gendered roles.
As more adaptations are created of fairytales, more cultural traditions can be challenged.
Stam (2005) argues that “novels, films, and adaptations take their place alongside one another as relative co-equal neighbors or collaborators rather than as father and son or master and slave”
(p.12). The key word in Stam’s argument is “collaborators”, which describes how a narrative can borrow pieces of the previous narrative. Interestingly, the written story of Snow White is over 200 years old, but 125 years after its early recording in 1812, Snow White’s character changed little in the Disney film adaptation.
By 2011, with the television series Once Upon a Time Snow White’s character dramatically challenges the traditional narrative. Stam’s (2005) adaptation research focuses on adaptation from literature to film, but has little to offer in adapting literature to the television narrative. With particular attention to earlier feminist studies on female representation in media a comparison between the literary tale and the televised adaptation can be analyzed. This research presents an opportunity to compare two similar narratives from two different historical contexts and can be used to see how cultural values in the representation of women in media have changed. In this paper gender analysis and narrative analysis are used to demonstrate that Snow
White’s representation has changed for the better.
Narrative Analysis:
“Snow White and the Evil Queen (1)”:
The television narrative allows more time to develop characters, unlike fairytales, and a sympathetic villain results from this adaptation. The hero and villain relationship between Snow
White and the Evil Queen, Snow White’s Stepmother, in the television show is established early in the series, like in the fairytale. However, the major motivation presented in Once Upon a Time is not a beauty contest, like in the literary tale, but over who has happiness and love. Utilizing catalyzer functions to change the villain’s motivation draws attention away from external concerns (physical beauty) to internal concerns (emotional connections). This occurs by changing the Evil Queen’s motivation. In the literary tale “She[The Stepmother] was a beautiful woman, but she was proud and arrogant, and she couldn’t bear to think that anyone was more beautiful than she was” (Pullman, 2012, p.206). The theme is changed from jealousy to vengeance in the television series. This change in the television narrative enabled an entire episode to be dedicated to the Evil Queen’s background, and this episode serves as an example of a “catalyzer function,” as referenced by Fiske (1989). In the episode “The Stable Boy”, it is revealed that the Evil Queen’s illicit love interest, a stable boy, was killed because as a child
Snow revealed the Evil Queen’s secret. This episode acts as further background to the Evil
Queen’s character, makes her character dynamic, and challenges the traditional narrative because the Evil Queen is not shown as evil throughout the season.
This change in traditional narrative alters the Evil Queen’s motivation for hating Snow
White from an act of jealousy to an act of revenge. The traditional narrative is being adapted with elements found in the serial narrative, rendering the change in motivation typical to the television narrative: “The villainess might very possibly be a mother, trying to manipulate her children’s lives or ruin their marriages. Or perhaps she is avenging herself on her husband’s family because it has never fully accepted her” (Modleski, 1979, p.32). The Evil Queen seeks to ruin Snow White’s marriage to Prince Charming, and acts out of revenge for her own lost love.
Tania Modleski’s (1979) work also suggests that audiences are invited to identify with villainesses, and with this change in motivation, the Evil Queen’s character confronts tragedy, making her a sympathetic villainess. With the television narrative, the change in motivation for the Evil Queen functions as a way to move the plot, but also adds depth and complexity to the
Evil Queen’s character.
The repercussion from this catalyzer function allows this character to change from a vain villain to a vengeful villain, and the story surrounds the issue of romantic relationships instead of focusing on beauty. Instead of objectifying Snow White’s beauty, this changes the action of the story into the dynamics of love interests. The prevalence of romantic interests is concurrent with the prime time drama research conducted by Stempel Mumford (1995). However, since this is still early in the narrative, there is limited character interaction between the two characters, and this segment demonstrates the first section “Preparation,” as elaborated by Fiske (1989). This particular traditional plot point is challenged because of the additional time dedicated to developing Snow White’s relationship to the Evil Queen. Similarly, Snow White’s relationship with the Huntsman is also developed further in the television narrative.
“Snow White and the Huntsman”:
While Snow White’s character role is flexible, she must meet the Huntsman as she does in the traditional narrative in order to move the story forward, which will ultimately place Snow
White in a dependent and passive position. However, the television series challenges the traditional narrative. In the literary tale the Stepmother sends a Huntsman to kill Snow White:
“He took out his knife, and was about to thrust it into her innocent heart when she began to cry,
‘Oh please, dear huntsman, spare my life! I’ll run away into the wild woods and never come home again, I promise’” (Pullman, 2012, p.207). Snow White’s character in the television show has a more flexible character role, and acts independently. These qualities are seen early in the season when Snow meets the Huntsman. This is early evidence of the televised Snow’s progressive character. Like in the literary tale, Snow's character starts in a princess role, as seen in the episode “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” but in the televised version Snow’s character transitions into an active princess and defends her own life against the Huntsman. Snow’s character challenges the princess role because she takes independent action. In the television show, Snow White deducts through observation that the Huntsman is disguised as a knight and is there to kill her, and with this knowledge she catches the Huntsman off-guard and hits him with a log before fleeing. This is a major addition to the original passive Snow White who is literally led into the forest and sits around until someone else finds her. Unlike the literary tale, the televised Snow is perceptive and takes defensive actions. In the literary tale, Snow White begs for her life, but instead this Snow makes an active decision to escape. This change from the literary tale reflects the girl-power movement associated with third wave feminism, which features storylines with moments of female empowerment (Levine, 2007).
While Snow manages to show progressive traits at a traditional narrative point that would typically render her dependent, the traditional narrative of the story still restricts Snow’s abilities.
She is not released because of her beauty or innocence like in the literary and Disney tales.
Instead she is released because of her heroism …
…
…
From this traditional narrative point in the television show, Snow challenges perceptions of being a princess, is rewarded for her willingness to sacrifice herself for future community betterment, and starts to enter the male character sphere. Because of the female trope of sacrifice,
Snow is simultaneously in both the male and female spheres. This ambiguity is an asset to gender issues because Snow is not distinguished as belonging exclusively to one sphere, and this ambiguity is attained through the television serial narrative.
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