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Kyrie Han

Greg McClure

Writing 39B

26th March 2018

Sex Expectations and the Society in Snow, Glass, Apples

Snow, Glass, Apples is a short story by Neil Gaiman. Through its multi-genre horror

and fairy tale and illustrations of a historical and cultural period, the story illustrates

societies’ perspectives of men and women. The sexuality and sexual deviations are the motifs

that can be seen throughout the story and are the major driving factor of the plot. The love,

lust, passion, and perversion drive the actions of all the characters in the story and it is

possible to say that Gaiman intends the story to be over-sexualized in a variety of ways to

show how strong the influence of the sex is, how it drives people insane, how they give up

everything for a bit of a sexual pleasure. Additionally, the author places a social context in

the story by showing how people bow down before sexuality and turn their faces from the

reason just to gain sexual satisfaction. The main characters depicted in Gaiman’s story show

the dark and abnormal features and reveal the deep and profound horror characteristics

relative to the discussion of the human nature that, in particular, by revealing the prince as a

problematic representation of young male sexuality, the princess as a problematic example of

youthful female sexuality, and the queen as a symbol of responsible female power, are all of

sexually symbolic meanings to reflect the evil in human nature.

Adapting the original classic fairy tale story of Snow White, Gaiman tries to create an

abnormal effect to meet the convention of the horror genre. Gaiman subverts the fairy tale

stories that speak for the beauty of good characteristics of Snow White and makes it a horror

story in which, in particular, the prince is a necrophiliac. That is, the story reveals the evil in

real life through the arrangement of the prince, a scary character. Using aspects of horror
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stories, Gaiman exploits the use of fairy tales to reveal sexual expectations in his society.

Sigmund Freud suggested that horror stories give details about the unconscious mind of their

times (Stanovský and Vladislav 29). Therefore, Gaiman’s illustration of the prince indicates

what he involuntarily believed the society anticipated of men at the time. By relating the

prince with a monster, the readers can relate to the horrific experiences common in the

society illustrated by Gaiman’s short story. Thus, using Freud’s arguments, readers can view

the prince as a horror because he is definitely contradictory.

Gaiman’s adaption is to make a breakthrough of the unreal world of a fairy tale to

reveal the horror element that truly exists in the real world. In particular, the prince is

described as tall and handsome which accords with the original setting of the fairy tale, but is

also necrophilia in Gaiman’s adaption to depict the prince as a problematic representation of

young male sexuality. The prince is a young attractive male, and it is possible to understand

why people can be attracted to him. In the story, he is described as, “tall, very tall, with cold

green eyes and the swarthy skin” (Gaiman). That is, he is “very” strong, handsome because of

his green eyes and dark skin, and sexually attractive prince from the neighboring kingdom,

and together with the young and beautiful princess, he presents a great image of the future

king. Also, he is controversial because he endorsed the thoughts that women are sexual

objects. When he comes to the castle, he is interested in creating an alliance with the queen

by getting married. He “bids (bade)” the queen to take off her clothes and stand in front of the

opened window to freeze her skin (Gaiman). He does not care about the queen’s feeling for

doing this or even her health. In the relation with the queen, he is the one that takes charge

although both he and the queen are the supreme rulers of two different kingdoms. He shows

no respect to a ruler but regards her as merely a woman whom he can control. In addition,

according to Gaiman, he is excited about the pale skin which is similar to a corpse’s. Just like

in the original story, he finds the princess, but instead of the kiss, he makes love to her dead
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body and awakens her with his blood. It is challenging for people to be attracted to such a

necrophile character. At this point, the author is not trying to appeal to the prince’s sexuality;

but only to use him as a tool of the plot and the mean to contrast the queen and the

princess.The story is with its profound morality that the author uses the prince’s controversial

representation to criticize the men in the society that behaved like the Prince by perceiving

women as sexual objects and expecting them to be submissive.

In addition, the vampire princess in the story is also a created abnormal image to

reflect the ugliness of the desire for power. By implementing elements of horror in his story,

Gaiman also emphasizes that young girls should not aim to live lifestyles that require women

to utilize their sexuality to attain respect in the society. He portrays this need through the

depiction of the princess as a problematic example of youthful female sexuality. The author

makes some of Princess’ actions to look horrific to attract the readers’ attention so that they

could realize that she is not an innocent girl in the story but with the symbolic meaning that

she represents the unstoppable sexual desire and desire for power as a vampire. The queen is

not scared of her little princes unless she exhibits the attributes of a monster (Gaiman). That

is to say, the bloodsucking actions of the princess are her way to control people. A person

who bites others and drinks their blood is abnormal. The princess is depicted asmonstrous to

show Gaiman’s criticism of her behaviors. In the short story, the author combines the

Princess’ physical monstrous power with her physical appearance to show how women in his

community take advantage of their sexuality to exploit men in the society.

The image of the princess is also of implied meaning of the desire for power and lust.

The princess is aware that her monstrous power and physical appearance are more useful

compared to her intelligence and she uses her feminine sexuality to exploit not only the men

but also other women. For instance, the queen, who is more experienced and matured

compared to the princess, does not have a chance to enjoy their intimate relationship with the
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king because her husband is having an affair with the princess. According to Gaiman, the

king will ask the queen to come to him when he wants to, but she has fewer and fewer

chances to meet with him until he dies. Later she finds that there are scars, which are similar

to her scar caused by the princess, covering all over the king’s body (Gaiman). It shows that

more than having an affair with her father only, the princess also drinks his blood and causes

the scars and his death. The princess’s actions fit perfectly into the metaphors of an evil

monster for she regards no wrong for killing her father or making love with him. Her actions

affect her father reputation, and she does not care since she is interested in gaining more

power and control.

Gaiman uses the representation of the princess as a problematic example of youthful

female sexuality in an attempt to transform the image of women in his society. The author

stripes the princess of all her attributes. She is no longer a little innocent princess, but a

young woman who uses her sexuality to advance her personal gains without regarding the

feelings of her victims. When she comes back to life because of the prince, she immediately

controls him through her sexuality to take revenge on the queen and to acquire the dominion

of the kingdom. “The prince looks (looked) briefly concerned” and “put(s) his arm around

her (the princess)” when the princess is back to take her heart into her body and to confront

the queen. The word “briefly concerned” implies that the prince is attracted by the princess.

In addition, the narration that the prince is “rejoicing to find the corpse (of the princess) still

fresh and pliable” and “take (s) her” implies the reason of this attraction (Gaiman). That is to

say, using the sexual attraction of the body like a corpse, the princess easily controls the

necrophilia prince. To further continue the control of the two kingdoms, she decides to marry

the prince, and to consolidate her sovereign control, she “tells (told ) the people bad things

about me (the queen)”(Gaiman). In this way, through sexual attraction for the prince, the

princess is able to realize her desire of the supreme power in the combined kingdom. Similar
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to how modern women take advantage of their sexuality to gain more favors from men, the

princess seduces and overpowers men when they are at their weakest point. The author uses

this approach with the princess to indicate that though women are assumed to be inferior

compared to men, not all women are willing to allow this conservative image to obstruct their

ambitions. By creating the image of a vampire princess, the author aims to teach the readers

that women should condemn the perception that they are inferior compared to men and that

they do not have to take advantage of their sexuality to prove that they are superior. By

depicting the princess as a sexual distort, Gaiman is not raising awareness on the social

prejudices against women so that his society could feel ashamed. Instead, he uses the wicked

character of the princess to inform the community of what was happening in the society and

prompt the need for change. Thus, he does not inform his reads that men are not the only ones

exploiting women sexuality but also women do so too.

Besides, from the perspective of the kind and loyal queen in the story, Gaiman reveals

a normal person’s evil to make exchanges between sex and power. The author also reverses

the roles of the princess and the queen to depict the queen as a symbol of responsible female

power, challenging society’s perspective of how women ought to attain success. The king

would pick the queen whenever he desires for sex, suggesting that the king just perceives her

as a sexual object rather than a soulmate. Despite the fact that the queen is in love, or used to

be in love, with the king and wants to spend the life with him together, based on the

description that “soon he (the king) was a shadow of the man I (queen) had met and loved by

the bridge”, she accepts her identity of a sexual partner quietly without complain. Unlike the

princess, the queen is a positive character and the role model of a wise woman, an example to

follow, and a brave defender of the kingdom who has become a victim of the violent demon

princess (Lovecraft 45). Therefore, the readers accept the position of the queen as well as

they have once accepted the old good story that was delivered from the position of the
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princess. According to Gaiman, after the death of the king, the queen wants to promote “the

alliance of our (the two kingdoms’) lands”. She is the one that truly cares her country and

takes actions as the supreme ruler. However, her approach leads her to the moral deviation.

She tries to realize the alliance through her sexuality. There is this description in the story,

“ in the night, I (she) goes (went) to the prince’s room”. That is, she tries to change the

dominance with her body.

Also, the subverted image of the queen in the story is a symbol of a strong character

worth emulating to embody the women in the male’s society, who has already embraced their

sexuality. He uses the word innocent to imply to the queen’s sexual purity. Thus, when the

queen states that she was no innocent, she does not suggest that she is aware that she is not

virgin and that she is proud of her status. She also claims that the king takes away her

virginity, but no one in her society believes in her claims because they expect her to have

slept with several men before meeting the king. Through these incidences, the author wanted

to critique the manner through which his society treated women who are sexually active.

Those who were questioning the queen’s virginity represented the people in the community

who judge women according to their sexual activities. Additionally, Gaiman’s depiction of

the queen as a symbol of responsible female power, in contrast with the princess' character,

represented a disparity in women behaviors in his society. Magistrale stated that “some

people escape from the imminent reality of such horrors by denying their existence and by

clinging to a perpetual suspension of disbelief” (2). Magistrale explains how horror stories

emphasize the presence of corruption. In this instance, Gaiman used elements of horror to

highlight how his society perceived women to be more useful using their sexuality qualities

instead of their experience.

In conclusion, Gaiman’s character setting explains the mysterious and unearthly

features, as well as the suspense of the story. The prince of necrophilia, the vampire princess
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and the loyal queen are to evoke the theme of the evil and inequity in the real world. To be

specific, it should be noted that the political arena is still perpetuating the idea that women

are inferior to men and that it is okay for them to be treated as sexual objects. For example,

many women have come forward and accused President Donald Trump of his sexist remarks

and assaults. However, despite the condemnation, it is worrying to note that Trump has built

a successful political career on a foundation of sexist remarks, implying that the modern

society has normalized sexual stereotypes against women. Trump’s sexist comments should

worry everyone because his views mirror intrinsic misogyny and among men in America.

The wide-ranging attitudes that flourish in the US could be easier to ignore compared to the

president’s remarks, but still, it is worth noting that the country elected him despite his

sufficiently confirmed lack of admiration for women. Thus, the real world is much like the

world of the twisted fantasy created by Gaiman: people are more likely to be interested in and

supportive of sexually appealing people rather than people who are more efficient members

of the society but look less attractive. It is sad how true the Snow, Glass, Apples depicts the

contemporary society twenty years after Gaiman wrote it. The author clearly had much fun

while writing this story but there is much more to it than just having fun. It is the story about

a hopeless fight of the reason against the instincts, a fight between wisdom and the foolish

lust, a clash between the experience and passing sexuality that influences our society in a

negative way.
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Works Cited

Carroll, Noël. The Philosophy Of Horror, Or, Paradoxes Of The Heart. Taylor & Francis,

2004. Print.

Clover, Carol. Men, Women, and Chainsaws . Princeton University Press, 2015.

Gaiman, Neil. Snow, Glass, Apples. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, 1994. Print

Lovecraft, H. P. Supernatural Horror In Literature. Auckland: The Floating Press, 2016.

Print.

Magistrale, Tony. A Dark Night’s Dreaming. University of South Carolina Press, 1996. Print.

Stanovský, Vladislav, and Jan Vladislav. The Fairy Tale Tree; Stories From All Over The

World. Putnam, 2009. Print.