We all know that Snow White's stepmother is wicked, right? Who else would demand her Huntsman to cut out her daughter's heart and bring it back in a locked box? Well, the Queen isn't so much evil as she, well, let me not get ahead of myself.
The Evil Queen hasn't always been a queen. The daughter of a master mirror maker, she actually has a modest upbringing lacking a mother's guiding hand. The King, indeed, notices her when admiring her father's craftsmanship in the family shop. The young-maiden-soon-to-be-evil-queen never imagines that the King could have any genuine interest in her. But when he comes to court her, she timidly steps into the Kingdom that will be her bliss.
The King has been married before, but sadly Death steals his wife at a young age. This leaves the ill-fated King to raise young Snow White alone—at least until he meets his new Queen. Having come of age without a mother, yet wistfully envisioning who she would have been, the Queen vows to be the perfect mother to Snow White. She dotes on Snow, telling her stories, taking her on adventures, and honestly answering questions about her real mother. The Queen is a nurturing mother and caring bride. The madness begins when the King goes off to battle for months at a time...
Like any normal wife, she constantly worries about his safety. She tries to pass the time with her lovely daughter, taking her on outings, spending time with family including the King's deranged triplet cousins. Sometimes that just isn't enough to keep her sane, especially since the cousins have delivered a special gift to the castle—a magic mirror. This mirror actually had been a present from the King on their wedding day, but disappears after the Queen breaks it. When it returns, it possesses an ominous presence that she cannot shake. The great King ultimately dies in battle, the ghastly looking glass describing each horrifying detail to his fragile wife.
When the Evil Queen reveals the identity of the apparition in the mirror, almost everything makes sense. She fills in all the sordid details, leaving us no doubt that her hatred of Snow White is justified. By the end of the story, we have been drawn into sympathizing with her lethal lunacy. Don't believe me? Try reading this twisted tale—just in time for the long-awaited DVD release of the Disney classic adaptation.
