Unmasking Desire and Morality: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Analysis of Gender Roles, Power, and Beauty Ideals in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Authors

  • Grania Sharenlie MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Elizabeth Xaviera Gaylene Hutahayan MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Aurellia Zureil Purnama MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Cinzia Pingkan Abigail Paat MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Evan Denzel Rustandar MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Keywords:

Women, Gender, Patriarchy, Beauty ideals

Abstract

This study aims to view the different gender portrayals of females in society from the film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)”. In the point of view of patriarchal society, the females are often depicted as passive and innocent individuals. By using the qualitative method and Feminist-Psychoanalysis framework by Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (1979), this research investigated the idealization of women and different treatment of men and women. The analysis of the film, as the primary object of study, involves close examination of its cinematography and dialogue to enrich the data.  As a result: 1) Snow White and the Evil Queen represent contrasting attitudes of women in the patriarchal society and get different treatment by the men. 2) The ideal beauty of Snow White intimidates the Evil Queen’s jealousy, leading to a mother-daughter conflict. 3) The different treatment of men and women contributes to the shaping of female trauma through the character's past events. This analysis highlights the reality of how females are often treated and how societal norms frequently frame women identity based and appearance and personality.  Understanding this dynamic is important to recognize that women are always treated differently. Hopefully, this study would enhance the study of feminism and encourage further research into these critical issues. Future research could explore more whether they uphold or challenge old gender ideas. It would also be valuable to study how today's viewers understand the film's gender roles and beauty standards.

References

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Devika, B., & Meenu, B. (2019). The hunt for beauty: A psychoanalytical approach to the narcissistic personality disorder of the Evil Queen in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies, 5(3), 106–111.

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Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (1979). The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination. Yale University Press.

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Johnson, A. G. (2018). The gender knot: Unraveling our patriarchal legacy (4th ed.). Temple University Press.

Motivate Val Morgan. (2018, December 16). Animation movies appeal to audiences of all ages. https://motivatevalmorgan.com/2018/12/16/animation-movies-appeal-to-audiences-of-all-ages/

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Published

2026-02-28

How to Cite

Sharenlie, G., Hutahayan, E. X. G., Purnama, A. Z., Paat, C. P. A., & Rustandar, E. D. (2026). Unmasking Desire and Morality: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Analysis of Gender Roles, Power, and Beauty Ideals in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Boanerges: Makarios Education Journal, 3(2), 154–166. Retrieved from https://streamfly.tech/index.php/boanerges/article/view/48

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): BOANERGES

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