Rick Becker on Snow White and Our Christian Pilgrimage

"'What do you remember about Snow White?' I asked Cecilia.

'"You mean the Disney princess movie?' she asked in turn. 'It was the first one, I think. Wasn't it made a long time ago?'

"'Right,' I said. 'In the 1930s. But what do you remember about the story? What was it about?'

"Cecilia, my high-school sophomore daughter, had homework to do, but she still indulged me with a brief synopsis. 'Well, it's a princess, of course, and her evil step-mother is jealous of her beauty, so she has some guy take her out in the woods to kill her. She escapes and ends up at this house in the woods where the dwarfs live. They let her stay there, but the step-mother tracks her down and tricks her into eating a poison apple. She dies, and the dwarfs put her in a glass coffin - which is weird - but a prince comes and wakes her up and they get married. That's pretty much it.'

I nodded approval - not bad for a quick overview on the fly - but I wanted a bit more. 'That's the story; what's it about?'

'"What do you mean?' she came back impatiently. 'I just told you.'

"'You don't think it's about conversion?'

"She gave me the teenager's 'look' - as in, 'Yeah, right, dad' - but I was serious. Even the Disneyfication of the classic Grimm brothers' tale can’t obscure the fact that Snow White's travails parallel the contours of the spiritual journey template. Baptismal purity and flight from the world, succumbing to temptation and grace restored, Snow White's story is a portrait in miniature of what happens to all of us as we stumble along toward heaven."

In a recent commentary, writer Rick Becker reflected on the parallels between the story of Snow White and our Christian pilgrimage.

To access Mr. Becker's complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Rick Becker: Snow White and the Seven Monks: A Fanciful Lesson in Humility (3 MAR 18)