Snow White's Step-Mother Could've Lived Happily Ever After

We own a copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves on DVD, which gets quite a bit of use, since I have two young children. After watching it for the umpteenth time the other day, I had an epiphany. I think the Evil Queen/Witch could have solved her problem without trying to kill Snow White.

What is the Queen’s ultimate goal? To be “The Fairest One of All”. It seems that the Queen had a good run on the title of “The Fairest One of All” until one day, Snow White’s beauty surpasses the Queen.

So, she decides that if Snow White is dead, she will again be the fairest. She commands a woodsman to kill her. When he confesses that he let her run away instead, the queen decides to do the job herself. What’s her big, elaborate plan? She uses magic to turn herself into an ugly, old hag to deliver a poison apple to Snow White.

There are two viable alternatives that were probably available to the queen. She could’ve used a spell to 1) turn Snow White into an ugly, old hag, or 2) make herself more beautiful than Snow White.

Number 1 was definitely an option, since we saw the queen actually use that spell on herself. Since the queen dies in her ugly, old hag mode, we don’t know if the transmutation is permanent or just temporary. I think we can assume that it’s permanant and another potion exists to reverse the effects.

Number 2 would’ve been a better choice for someone so vain. I think even if Snow White were dead or even turned ugly, the queen would become obsessed over the fact that there could be someone that is fairer than her. And, what if Snow White got her hands on the antidote?

I just thought of a third alternative. She could’ve conjured a body switching spell, so that the Snow White and the Queen switch bodies ala Freaky Friday. That way she gets the best of both worlds: she is the fairest and no one could possibly be fairer.

Out of the three options, I’ve outlined, I think number 2 is probably the best alternative, since it accomplishes the queen’s goal of being the fairest and, as a bonus, nobody gets hurt in the process. If the queen had just set aside her hate and jealousy and tried some out-the-box thinking to come up with a better plan, she could’ve lived happily ever after, too.