This essay begins with Bettelheim talking about "Narcissus, who was a Greek god who loved only himself, so much that he became swallowed up by his self-love." (Bettelheim p202) With this statement Bettelheim begins to explain his reasoning with his Freudian or oedipal perspective with this story. He explains this using Snow White and the wicked stepmother. The wicked stepmother becomes jealous when Snow White begins her transcend into a women. Snow White is becoming a beautiful woman and the wicked stepmother is becoming older and older, making her less attractive. Snow White is becoming older, more attractive and noticed. This sets up a competition for the fathers' love between stepmother and daughter, creating what Bettelheim says is the oedipal complex. With this it helped me to better understand what was going on in the tale. The tale was not just about a wicked stepmother believing she is the most beautiful of the land. It is a complicated tale that involves critical reas

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Approximate Word count = 1014
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)