SNOW WHITE ALTERNATIVE TEXTS

Confirmations and Alternatives to the phrase "When the Queen heard these words she shook with rage. "Snow-White shall die," she cried, "even if it costs me my own life to manage it."

Compiled by: Kay E. Vandergrift

This page provides alternative or confirming translations and interpretations of the above phrase in thirty-six text versions. The various editions used are listed chronologically. For the convenience of the English reader, German editions have not been included although they have been consulted. Since most picture books do not include pagination, I have counted the pages from the beginning picture and/or text to facilitate finding the appropriate passage. The various spellings of particular words that appear in the texts have been retained; these are not misspellings but reflect textual accuracy.

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

  1. Is the threat a foreshadowing of the Queen's own demise?
  2. Is rage a condition for the threat?
  3. Why do some versions exclude this piece of text?
  4. Does the Queen's rage accelerate the demise of her own beauty?

Household Stories from the Collection of the Bros. Grimm. Translated by Lucy Crane. Illus. by Walter Crane. London: Macmillan, 1882, pp. 212--221.

"Snow-white shall die," cried she, "though it should cost me my own life!" p. 219.

"Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree," in Celtic Fairy Tales. Written and Edited by Joseph Jacobs. Illus. by John D. Batten. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, n.d. [c. 1892] pp. 97-101.

Not included in this text version.

Favorite Fairy Tales: The Childhood Choice of Representative Men and Women. Illus. by Peter Newell. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1907, pp. 173-192.

"When she heard the mirror speak thus she quivered with rage. "Snowdrop shall die," she cried, "if it costs me my own life!" p. 186.

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Translated by Mrs. Edgar Lucas. Illus. by Arthur Rackham. London: Constable & Co., 1909, pp.161-170.

". . . she trembled and quivered with rage, "Snowdrop shall die," she said, "even if it cost me my own life." p. 168.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Illus. by Dinah. London: Raphael Tuck & Sons, [c. 1936] pp. 1-14.

Not included in this text version.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Freely Translated and Illustrated by Wanda Gag. New York: Coward-McCann, 1938, pp. 9-43.

Not included in this text version.

Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Story adapted by Jane Werner. Illus. by the Walt Disney Studio adapted by Campbell Grant. Racine, WI: Golden Press, 1952, pp. 1-20.

Not included in this text version.

Snow White And Other Stories From Grimm. Retold by Jeanne Cappe. Translated by Marie Ponsot. Illus. by J.L. Huens. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1957, pp. 3-18.

"I'll kill her! I'll kill that girl!" the wicked creature screamed." p. 12.

"Nourie Hadig," in 100 Armenian Tales and Their Folkloristic Relevance. Collected and Edited by Susie Hoogasian-Villa. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1966, pp. 84-91.

Not included in this text version.

"Myrsina, or Myrtle," in Folktales of Greece. Ed. by Georgios A. Megas. Translated by Helen Colaclides. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1970, pp. 106-113.

Not included in this text version.

The Fairy Tale Treasury. Selected by Virginia Haviland. Illus. by Raymond Briggs. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1972, pp. 128-137.

"Snow-white shall die," cried she, "though it should cost me my own life!" p. 134.

Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm. Translated by Randall Jarrell. Illus. by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1972, pp. 1-26.

"Snow-White shall die," cried she, "even if it costs me my own life!" p. 16.

The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm: Selected by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak. Translated by Lore Segal with four tales translated by Randall Jarrell. Illus. by Maurice Sendak. 2 Volumes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973, pp. 256-274.
[The translation of "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs," is that of Randall Jarrell first published in The Golden Bird and Other Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm New York: Macmillan, 1962.]

"When she heard the mirror say that, she shook with rage. "Snow-White shall die," cried she, "even if it costs me my own life!" p. 267.

The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights. Alexander Pushkin. Translated by Peter Tempest. Illus. by V. Konashevich. Moscow, USSR: Progress Publishers, 1973.
"The Tsaritsa grimly swore to
Send the Princess to her death
Or not draw another breath." p.21

Snow White By the Brothers Grimm. Freely Translated from the German by Paul Heins. Illus. by Trina Schart Hyman. Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1974, pp. 1-43.

"Snow White shall die," she cried out, "even if it costs me my own life." p.30.

The Classic Fairy Tales. Iona Opie and Peter Opie. London: Oxford University Press, 1974, pp. 175-182.

"Meantime the queen went home to her glass, and trembled with rage when she received exactly the same answer as before; and she said, "Snow-drop shall die, if it costs me my life." p. 180.

Grimms' Tales for Young and Old: The Complete Stories. Translated by Ralph Manheim. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977, pp. 184-191.

[Translated from the Winkler-Verlag (Munich) edition of the Complete Kinder- und Hausmaerchen (Tales for Young and Old) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, as first published in 1819.]

"When she heard the mirror say that, she trembled and shook with rage. "Snow White must die!" she cried out. "Even if it costs me my own life." p. 188.

"Bella Venezia" [Abruzzo] in Italian Folktales. Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino. Translated by George Martin. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980, pp. 395-398.

Not included in this text version.

"Giricoccola," [Bologna] in Italian Folktales. Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino. Translated by George Martin. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980, pp. 154-156.

Not included in this text version.

Best-Loved Folktales of the World. Selected by Joanna Cole. Illus. by Jill Karla Schwarz. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982, pp. 53-61.

"When she heard the looking glass speak thus she trembled and shook with anger. "Snow-White shall die," cried she, "though it should cost me my own life!" p. 59.

Favorite Tales from Grimm. Text retold by Nancy Garden. Illus. by Mercer Mayer. New York: Four Winds Press, 1982, pp. 5-19.

Not included in this text version.

Snow White. Adapted from the Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. Illus. by Bernadette Watts. Winchester, MA: Nord-Sud/Faber & Faber, 1983. Pp. 1-25.

"When the Queen heard this she quivered with rage. "Snow White must die!" she screamed." p. 17.

My Pop-Up Book of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Illus. by Anne Grahame Johnstone. London: Deans International, 1983, pp. 1-10.

Not included in this text version.

The Brothers Grimm Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Translated and adapted by Anthea Bell. Illus. by Chihiro Iwasaki. New York: Picture Book Studio, USA., 1984, pp 1-38.

Not included in this text version.

Snow White in New York. Fiona French. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1986, pp. 1-30.

Not included in this text version.

Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Based on Walt Disney's full-length animated classic. Adapted by Suzanne Weyn. New York: Scholastic, 1987. [original copyright 1937] paperback, pp. 1-73.

Not included in this text version.

The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: Volume I Tales I-100. Translated by Jack Zipes. Illus. by John B. Gruelle. New York: Bantam, 1987, pp.213-222. [The present translation is based in part on the first of the Kinder und Hausmaerchen published in two volumes in 1812 and 1815. The first 211 tales in this translation are based on the seventh and final edition published in 1857. Illustrations by John B. Gruelle first appeared in Grimm's Fairy Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt in 1914.]

"Snow White shall die!" she exclaimed. "Even if it costs me my own life!" p. 219.

The Child's Fairy Tale Book. Illus. by Kay Chorao. New York: Dutton, 1990, pp. 6-19.

Not included in this text version.

Snow White. Retold by Josephine Poole. Illus. by Angela Barrett. New York: Knopf, 1991, pp. 1-30.

Not included in this text version.

Snow White by the Brothers Grimm. Retold by Jennifer Greenway. Illus. by Erin Augenstine. Kansas City, MS: Ariel Books, 1991.

Not included in this text version.

Favorite Fairy Tales. Compiled by Cooper Edens and Harold Darling. San Francisco, CA: Blue Lantern Studio/Chronicle Books, 1991, pp. 30-37.

"When the Queen heard the mirror speak, she quivered with rage. "Snow drop shall die," she cried, "even if it costs me my own life!" p. 35.

Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Adapted from the Film by Jim Razzi. Illus. by Fernando Guell and Fred Martin. New York: Disney Press, 1993.

Not included in this text version.

The Rainbow Fairy Book: Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. by Andrew Lang. Illus. by Michael Hague. New York: Books of Wonder/Morrow, 1993, pp. 207-221.

"Snowdrop shall die," she cried; "yes, though it cost me my own life." p. 217.

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life & Times. James Finn Garner. New York: Macmillan, 1994, pp. 43-56.
"At this news, the queen clenched her fists and screamed at the top of her lungs. For years, her insecurities has been eating away at her until now they turned her into someone who was morally out of the mainstream." P.51.

Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: A North African Tale. Adapted by Eric A. Kimmel. Illus. by Omar Rayyan. New York: Holiday House, 1995.

"She will not escape me this time." p. 15.

Snow White: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm. Illus. by Charles Santore. New York: Park Lane Press, 1996, pp. 1-44.

"Snow White shall die," she cried, "Yes, though it cost me my own life." p. 29.

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Created January 6 and is continuously revised