SNOW WHITE SHOULD HAVE STAYED ASLEEP

Who says it’s better to be conscious?   Can’t a girl just stay blissfully asleep and let the world spin around her like a web?  As long as she stays cocooned within her dreams, time comes to a halt and she is free of mortality, a demanding husband and those pesky human foibles disguised as dwarves.

The Queen looked into her mirror and saw herself supplanted by the younger princess, but she did not seek to kill her rival, only to forestall the inevitable.   The poisoned apple pushed Snow White out of time and court intrigues into suspension, where she leisurely contemplated her reality without the pressure of everyday life.  Would she have had that luxury if she was regent, bearing children every year and watching her beauty and relevance fade within the same queenly mirror?

Instead, her obligations were put on indefinite hold and she was free to ruminate upon the mysteries of the Universe.  And when she was awakened a century or more later by her Prince Charming, she was able to field his criticism of her dusty and unfashionable garments with the graceful good-humor of a crone.  She was, in fact, the perfect combination of both old and young woman, wise enough to overlook the failings of the people around her and still beautiful enough to merit their notice.

And so she assumed the throne, wise beyond her appearance and prepared to deal with the annoying superficiality of her kingdom, for, unlike her, the world had made no progress in the interim.  Did her fabled land avail itself of her wisdom?  Clearly not, for her contributions were not noted.  The story tells nothing further than that all lived happily afterward, content to dwell in illusion.