The True Snow White

The True Snow White is a fully novelized version of the original, Brothers Grimm fairy tale, first published in their Children’s and Household Tales (1812) under the title of Snow White (in German, Schneewittchen, or Snowdrop in their first edition).

Plot summary

The Queen pricks her finger while gazing at the beautiful snowfall. She opens the window and wishes, “If I only had a child as bright and white as snow, as lively and red as blood, and as firm and strong as the black of my window frame . . . I would cherish it with all my heart and no longer be lonely!” Soon after, she dies in childbirth, but not before [aming her daughter Snow White.

The King takes another wife whose beauty is tainted only by her insecurity and narcissism. Most of all, she cannot stand the thought that anyone would be more beautiful than she. She has a magic mirror which she often asks, “Tell me, mirror, tell me true! Of all the ladies in the land, who is the fairest? Tell me, who?” And only when the mirror replies, “Thou, O Queen, art the fairest in the land,” is she at ease.

As Snow White grows so does her beauty, but she is also stubborn and lonely. She often disobeys her father and stepmother, yet still she is loved by servants and father alike. Until one day, the Stepmother’s magic mirror answers her standard plea with “Thou, O Queen, art the fairest here. But Snow White is thousand times more fair!” And from that moment forth, the Stepmother’s envy and pride grows until she can find no peace.

Spurned by her evil counselor, the Dark Count, and in the absence of her husband, the Stepmother seizes power of the King’s court. Then she charges the chief Hunter to kill Snow White in the forest. Pitying her, the Hunter relents and allows Snow White to run away. She later stumbles upon a small cottage where seven dwarves allow her to stay.

The Dwarves continue to teach Snow White much of life’s lessons. But the magic mirror soon reveals her whereabouts to the Stepmother. Driven by fear and envy, the Stepmother sets out to finish Snow White once and for all. Dressed as an old peddler woman, she sells Snow White beautiful laces, tightening them until Snow White faints. The Dwarves revive Snow White before it’s too late.

Despite being warned to not open the door to anyone, Snow White accepts a beautiful, poisoned comb from another old woman who is the Stepmother in disguise. Yet again, the Dwarves revive Snow White before she dies. Finally, the Stepmother succeeds in feeding Snow White a poisoned apple, putting her into a deep slumber. The Dwarves, unable to revive her, make her a glass coffin and place it on the highest point of the land.

A young Prince soon happens upon them, and discovering Snow White’s coffin, he is determined to take her to his castle. As the coffin is transported, the apple bit falls from Snow White’s mouth, waking her. The Prince proposes and she agrees to marry him. Invited to the ceremony, the Stepmother asks her magic mirror once again, “Tell me, mirror, tell me true! Of all the ladies in the land, who is the fairest? Tell me, who?” Yet she is only greeted with the mirror’s terrible answer, “Thou, O Queen, art the fairest here; but the queen to be is a thousand times more fair.”

Out of her mind with envy, the Stepmother rushes to the wedding, her beauty rapidly waning with old age. Only when she enters the royal palace’s wedding hall does she realize that she is at Snow White’s wedding. Unable to move with fear and terror, she is presented with red-hot, iron slippers. And she dances in the Seven Dwarves’ wrought shoes until she falls dead, utterly consumed by her own envy.

Why Fairy Tales?

Of what use are fairy tales in an age when human science has measured the depth of the oceans, is exploring the vast expanse of space, charting even the remotest corners of the earth, and discovered neither dragons nor sea monsters, witches or fairies? In fact, it was Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, who said: “I don’t see the man in the moon here, and I also haven’t discovered god during my flight.”

In their time, the Brothers Grimm already regarded the fairy tales as a “form of mythology“. Today we know that they are not the late descendants of the myths of the gods, but rather their forebears, and existed as early as 2000 B.C. Because of this, and the later extensive migrations of nations, their extraordinary recognition around the world follows.

In her book “Gods” Britta Verhagen writes: “The prehistorian Otto Huth calls the folk tale ‘an ancient, sacred form of poetry, representing a prehistoric culture‘. The center of every mystical religion is a number of initiations and ‘steps’ aimed at leading into those depths where the true ‘religio’ takes effect, and immediate contact between this life and the beyond, man and god, is experienced as reality.

More than half of the ancient songs of the German ‘Edda‘ are clearly representing initiation rites. ‘Thou shalt learn. . .’ they reiterate again and again. It seems as if these myths have once, somehow, somewhere, been passed through the hands of extremely wise men, who have given them some hidden meaning, which our logical thinking, set on the things of the outer world, can’t quite comprehend anymore.”

And what are these stories of princes and princesses, good and wicked mothers, magic things and witches trying to tell us? They are meant to teach us how to become ourselves. They tell of everyone being a potential hero and heroine, betrayed of their inheritance, which they will find again or in some other form. The hero or heroine often face the slightest chance of finding happiness. They have a most wicked stepmother, are ugly or lack any special qualities. But only when we have nothing to loose are we ready to jump and dive into the depths of our soul.

On his journey, the hero learns how to overcome his weaknesses. He begins to listen to his inner voice, helpful animals and other creatures instead of outward authorities. He leaves the warmth and protection of his family, home and country, and ventures out to the unknown. His path leads into great distress, and there is hardly a fairy tale in which he doesn’t reach a low point. But happiness is only found when we dare to face life’s misery – our own fear.

The wicked stepmother, our estranged nature, has taken the place of the good mother and seeks to keep us from happiness. But at the end of our search a precious gem can be found – the wholeness of the soul. And we realize that this treasure is raised only in the darkest night, when it seems as if all is lost. Fairy tales transcend time and space. They point towards the past and into the future. They can be signposts and building blocks for regaining the unconscious wisdom and power of the soul. For once we discover the light of our soul, we have also done it for the rest of mankind – thus watering the roots from which we all spring.

Creators

The True Snow White is a novel and audiobook by Harald Walter Azmann, based on the classic tale as published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and the original screenplay by Harald Walter Azmann, Conny Hart, and Hartmut Zingel. It was consulted by Tarot bestseller author Gerd Ziegler, and features main musical themes by film composer Patrick Cassidy – his divine aria Vide Cor Meum illuminated the hit movies Hannibal (2001) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005) - and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Background

Harald Walter Azmann, born on Sunday, March 13, 1960 (starsign pisces) in Klagenfurt, Austria lives with his lovely wife of nearly 25 years and their six children near the mountains, lakes and forests of their beautiful land. Growing up, like many of the baby boomers, with cartoon father Walt Disney’s children- and family entertainment, and a 1978 graduate of Orem High School, Utah he continued to Brigham Young University to study television- and film production.

That same summer, he was invited by a friend to visit Los Angeles, California, and was first introduced to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) of the original Star Wars Trilogy by legendary filmmaker George Lucas in a high tech movie theatre in Anaheim near Disneyland Resort. It was there and then that his first thoughts concerning The True Snow White were conceived. Yet, it would take almost another 30 years for them to come to fruition.

Other filmmakers’ works to make an impression and ultimate contribution in years to follow were Steven Spielberg, most notably with his 1982 box office hit E.T. – which Spielberg rightly believes epitomizes his work, surpassing Star Wars to become the most financially successful film released to that point – as well as Jim Henson and his ingenious Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

After returning to Europe, he became General Manager of a multi-million dollar German/Czechoslovak joint venture with Barrandov Film Studios, Prague in 1987, funded by German investors, and high profile companies such as KPMG, one of the Big Four auditors, supervising all of their financial operations. This, among other things, allowed him not only to work with one of his all time childhood heroes, Pan Tau, but also to continue defining his dream of bringing timeless, high quality fairy tale productions to the movies.

In 1991, veteran German cinematographer and screenwriter Hartmut Zingel was hired to collaborate on The True Snow White first draft, contributing much of the beauty and regal atmosphere of the opening scenes up to Snow White’s encounter with the Dwarves. And thanks to Conny Hart, co-contributor of the early stages of the script, the transcendent and deeply emotional dream sequences and dialogues between Snow White and her deceased mother were added in their initial form. All of which motivated Hollywood screenwriter Christopher Vogler to extraordinary praise in his 1995 story analysis:

“Thank you for the opportunity to review your screenplay for “Snow White”. As someone who has evaluated many adaptations of fairy tales, I can say that this one comes closest to the spirit of the original tale and to the feeling of fairy tales in general. You have also expanded on the tale, as is necessary in making a film adaptation, by exploring the character development of Snow White. The Dwarves have a more elaborate function as mentors and teachers for her, giving her wisdom and guidance. This gives your version a unique dimension and some strong themes to support the well-known tale.

The opening scenes do a great job of establishing the good Queen and the atmosphere of the court. The Music Box is a lovely touch that makes the influence of the dead Queen tangible and emotional. The scene between father and daughter is also very moving. The Stepmother youthening herself in the bath is very eerie and effective. There’s something charming (and also horrifying) about the motherly way the disguised Stepmother combs Snow White’s hair. The final images are terrific – the fireworks, the starry sky, and the fully blossomed rose. They give exactly the right feeling.

Part of the pleasure of adapting fairy tales is getting the chance to give logical answers to the questions raised by the original tale. Here you’ve really done a beautiful job with symbols and scenes that fill in the blanks intelligently. The use of these devices fleshes out the scant details in the original story in a thoughtful, emotionally effective, and highly visual way. You and I have come to the same conclusions about some of the inner meanings of the tales. One is that the spirit of the dead mother often hovers invisibly over these stories. You have captured this in a great scene with the Queen’s spirit visiting Snow White, a transcendent moment. The Queen’s words could serve as the theme of the piece: “To pass through fear is the only way to find yourself.”

This is an exciting project with great potential to bring new depth to the beloved story of Snow White. The Dwarves are charming and clever teachers for Snow White in her spiritual and emotional quest. The combination of contemporary ideas and loyalty to the original spirit should prove attractive to audiences all over the world, and I know you will bring the best production values to the work. Good luck with this project – it has the potential to become a classic that rediscovers for a new world audience the magic of the original tale. (Excerpts from the script analysis by Christopher Vogler, consultant of Disney productions like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, regarded an expert in the field of mythology and fantasy.)

However, the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution in 1989, as well as the subsequent abolishment of all of the iron curtain in 1991 both fundamentally changed German investment strategies and Barrandov Film Studio’s repositioning in the free market. Harald Walter Azmann continued as freelance producer for German children’s television. Hartmut Zingel also moved on to other projects. And Conny Hart visited the Canary Island (Spain) of La Gomera, where in time she met and later married retired English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Tim Hart, best known as a founding member of electric folk band Steeleye Span.

Thus, the completion and eventual novelization of their original screenplay, but most of all the defining and polishing of the Dwarves’ characters and Snow White’s time with them, remained with Harald Walter Azmann for years to come, until they were ready to proceed into the world.

Honorary Dedication

“Don’t search outside, but look within. The Seven Dwarves are living proof that all of us can win,” the author begins his foreword. “Mind you, The True Snow White wasn’t written to please everyone. For those who reject it, there will be enough stories in this world to keep them entertained for the rest of their lives. But those who love it are in need of every bit of encouragement they can find to reclaim their rightful inheritance and guide them safely home (…)”

The story ends: “Snow White and the Prince held onto each other tightly and lived happily ever after, just as the Dwarves had wished for them. They ruled their kingdom with wisdom and great power and were blessed with many children. There were no poor or sad or lonely among them, for everyone cared for and shared their gifts and talents with each other. Indeed, they simply thought and spoke and lived the truth and nothing but the truth, which truly is like heaven.

And who knows? If they haven’t been discouraged and swayed by the Dark Count and his wicked allies all over the world, some of their enlightened offspring might still be alive and among us today. For all we know, you may be one of Snow White’s and the Prince’s great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren, too. And if you are, God bless you, and I thank you. For the world will be a better place because of you: Snow White’s children.”

Like millions of people, Harald Walter Azmann, too, was deeply impressed by the life and humanitarian efforts of Diana, Princess of Wales (1 July 1961 - 31 August 1997) – envisioning a world in which the rights of the disadvantaged are respected. And so he dedicated his worldwide only ever number one copy of The True Snow White – Premiere Edition to Princess Diana on August 31 2007, commemorating the 10 year anniversary of her tragic and untimely death in Paris, France with these words:

“Like so many of us, she never fully enjoyed what would have been rightfully hers to grow and blossom. She, too, was betrayed of her inheritance. And like so many of us, she also felt that if her life and happiness meant little to those she loved around her, it meant little to herself. So she withdrew from her exalted station, and instead of eventually being queen at the side of the King of England, as was to be her destiny, she was crowned Queen of Hearts, an ever so familiar and undying symbol in the hearts and minds of countless millions of her fellow human beings, equally emotionally victimized and abused in this world.

Everybody needs to feel valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back. (…) I remember when I used to sit on beds and hold people’s hands, people used to be shocked because they’d never seen this before. To me it was quite normal. (Diana, Princess of Wales)

I wish to pay a sincere personal tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales and especially to her humanitarian work. She highlighted neglected causes. She reached out to people on the margins of society. She made even the most humble people feel special. She used her celebrity status to challenge and fight stigma attached to people living with terminal diseases – especially those with HIV /AIDS. I urge everyone . . . to learn from her example and embrace her legacy. (Nelson R. Mandela)

Thus, to Diana, Queen of Hearts, with undying respect and love, the number one copy of The True Snow White – Premiere Edition has been dedicated.”

Dwarves’ Wisdom

“Humans just always take themselves too seriously,” the Dwarves tell Snow White. “But you are not the only creatures in the world!” – “In the right place at the right time is an art you will master as you follow the voice of your heart!” the Prince, instead of seeking gold and riches, learns from them in his quest for his eternal soulmate.

“So you are dreaming about a very special someone. But before he can find you, you first have to be a special woman, too,” they admonish Snow White. “And besides, whatever prince one day will love you and take you to his kingdom, above all, and in the end, he will be human. That, in spite of all your dreams, you should never forget!”

“If you ask a butterfly exactly how it happened that he turned from an ugly, old caterpillar into one of the most beautiful creatures we know, he wouldn’t be able to tell you either. Except he always wanted it that way! Your true nature is perfect, Snow White. I don’t mean maybe, or almost, but absolutely perfect. But you can’t keep anything in life that doesn’t want to stay with you. So let it go. Then, whatever stays truly wants to be with you, and it belongs to you forever!”

“Fear, Snow White, is an absolutely regrettable emotion. Just think of it: the worst thing that can happen to you in life is that you are afraid. It weakens you in the face of danger, and deadens you when you’ve got every reason to be happy. Life is the way it is. With or without your fear. So be wise, but not afraid! There is nothing in you that cannot be reality. But it won’t happen overnight. So you finally simply trust in life. Trust that you know what’s right. And that you are not only bright enough to know it, but to do it, too!”

“We’re not saying there’s no evil, and it’s extremely strong, but not eternal, for it can only cause destruction and finally destroys itself and all who are part of it! One day, man will arrive at his own inner conviction that preferring good over evil, indeed, has never been a question of religion or any special view of God, but personal intelligence . . . and that there simply is no sensible alternative. You see, choosing good isn’t one of many ways to follow. It’s the only way. Everything else leads to ultimate destruction. Then man’s ancient dream of a new age on earth will come true – a new world! And I promise you, the day you understand this, you will see everything with different eyes. Then you will begin to see the human race just as God meant it, with all its hopes and dreams, accomplishments and faults, and all of its experience. And you’ll see in each of your fellow beings what they truly are – children of the light!”

Additional Reading

Harald Walter Azmann, The True Snow White – Sneak Preview, The True Snow White Ltd, (2007).

Gabriele Seitz, Die Brüder Grimm: Leben, Werk, Zeit (The Brothers Grimm: Life, Work, Times), Munich, Germany: Winkler Verlag, (1984).

Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols, Dell mass market paperback, (1968)

Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand FACES, Princeton: Princeton University Press, (1949). A seminal work of comparative mythology, discussing his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies and religions.

Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers, Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, (1998).

Gerd Ziegler, Mirror of the Soul, Weiser Books, (1988).

Bruno Bettelheim, ”The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales”, (1976)

Kready, Laura F. A Study of Fairy Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, (1916).

External links

• The True Snow White – Official Website
• The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund – Official Website
• George Lucas at Lucasfilm – Official Website
• George Lucas at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
• Steven Spielberg at IMDb
• Steven Spielberg at Dreamworks – Official Website
• Jim Henson at IMDb
• Jim Henson’s Creature Shop – Official Website
• Barrandov Film Studios – Official Website
• Christopher Vogler – Official Website
• Christopher Vogler at IMDb
• Hartmut Zingel at IMDb
• Gerd Ziegler – Official Website
• SurLaLune Fairytales