Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Sexton utilizes metaphor and simile to great effect over the course of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” particularly to characterize Snow White and her role as a victim of the patriarchal society in which she lives. Sexton establishes the fragility of Snow White in the first stanza, describing the ideal virgin as having “cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper” (Line 3) and being “white as a bonefish” (Line 13). These evocative, textured images draw the reader in and contrast with later similes as Sexton develops her critique. After Snow White joins the dwarfs, the similes describing her morph, demonstrating the failure of the virginal ideal. She becomes a “plucked daisy” (Line 97), a typical metaphor for a “ruined” woman who has lost her virginity before marriage. The more powerful dwarfs, however, overcome this, reviving her until she is “full of life as soda pop” (Line 100), once again a consumable item for their enjoyment. The metaphors increase in their criticism as the speaker compares Snow White to Orphan Annie and calls her a “dumb bunny” (Line 117), emphasizing her naiveté. Finally, when Snow White falls after eating the poisoned apple, she is “still as a gold piece” (Line 128), the ultimate object of value, as the speaker reveals Snow White has no value beyond her objectified beauty.