The True Origin of
Snow White
Our childhood would
not be complete without the fairy tales. The stories make us believe that there
is a “they live happily ever after” ending.
But the truth is
these stories have dark origins that will spoil our childhood and abandon the
wishful thinking of happy endings.
Let us take the
story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
We all know by heart
the Fairy Tale version of Snow White, her stepmother, the seven dwarfs and the
prince.
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Other people heard
the Grimm’s version. In this dark account, the stepmother asked the huntsman to
bring her the liver and lungs of Snow White to be served for dinner. Another
thing is that before the poisoned apple, the stepmother urged Snow White to try
a corset, tightening it that the girl passed out, causing the witch to think
she was dead. The corset scheme did not prosper so the stepmother opted for the
poison apple.
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In the alternate
version, the prince did not awaken Snow White with a kiss but one of his
servants tripped while carrying the coffin triggering the lump of apple to be removed
from Snow White’s throat.
However, according
to history there existed a real Snow White.
Snow White is
Margarete von Waldeck?
In 1994, Eckhard
Sander, a German Historian, printed Schneewittchen: Marchen oder Wahrheit?
(Snow White: Is It a Fairy Tale?). He claimed to uncover an account that may
have inspired the Grimm Brothers to write Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
According to Sander,
the character of Snow White was founded on the life of Margarete von Waldeck, a
German countess born to Philip IV in 1533. At the age of 16, Margarete was
forced by her stepmother, Katharina of Hatzfeld to move away to Wildungen in
Brussels. In Brussels, Margarete fell in love with Phillip who would become
Phillip II of Spain. Margarete’s family objected to the relationship. While still living in Brussels, Margarete
became extremely ill. People who knew
her thought she had been poisoned. Margarete von Waldeck died in 1554.
Where are the seven
dwarfs?
Margarete's father
owned several copper mines that employed children as labors. The worst
condition of the mining site affected the growth of many and malformed their body
parts. As a result, they were often referred to as the ‘poor dwarfs’.
Another story
pointed out that the real Snow White was Maria Sophia Margaretha Catherina.
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Maria Sophia Margaretha Catherina was the daughter of Philipp Christoph von Erthal lived in a castle in Lohr am Main. According to historians, Maria Sophia's mother died in 1741. Prince Philipp married Claudia Elisabeth von Erthal.
Claudia von Erthal
was dominant who Maria Sophia for granted. She moved into Prince Philipp's castle
in Lohr am Main.
Lohr is located near
a heavily forested part of Bavaria known as the Spessart
("Woodpecker") Forest. When
the von Erthals lived there, the town was also famous for a glassworks company
called Kurmainzische Spiegelmanufaktur (the Lohr Mirror Manufacturer).
The Eighteenth-century
mirrors manufactured by Lohr's glass company were famous for their
extraordinary quality that people said the mirrors "always spoke the
truth." They called it "Talking
Mirrors."
Maria Sophia's
stepmother Claudia owned one of the Talking Mirrors.
But what about again
the seven dwarfs?
Lohr was known as
"The Spessart" has seven mountains.
Some of the mountains contain rich natural resources which were
previously mined. The town of Bieber located at the northwest border of the
Spessart was once the region's mining
center. Mine seams, shafts and tunnels
were usually very narrow, so only the smallest of miners could move around in
them. Many of the miners in Bieber -
just like miners in other places throughout Europe (and Germany) - were
children.
So, Is Snow White
based on a real person?
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