However, the position of her as Countess has been given to her in relation of her being the Counts wife. Therefore this again shows that the power that has been given to her is through a male, which emphasises that she is nothing but an object. This can again be seen as he not only buys her the clothing that she wears ‘’I’ll buy you new gloves’’ but he is also able to dress her and undress her at his own will which again shows the strength of male dominance and the value of a woman as a sex object.
Throughout the story there are two female characters and one male character. The two female characters being the Countess and the Snow Child, the male character being the Count. In the starting paragraph the character of the Countess is heavily described. ‘’...she wrapped in the glittering pelts of black foxes; and she wore high, black, shining boots with scarlet heels, and spurs.’’ There is a lot of emphasis on the picture of the Countess however there is hardly any on the Count. This shows that the character of the Countess as a woman is portrayed as attractive, this links in to the stereotype of women being alluring. Also this can also show women as enticing as the character of the Countess has appealing features, ‘’...shining boots with scarlet heels, and spurs’’, this is again the same as the Snow Child as the features of the her were what the Count desires, ‘’....As soon as he completed her description, there she stood’’. This can also show that although women are not at fault because of their striking features, through the eyes of many people especially men, they will be interpreted as evil and will be punished.
Throughout the last verse, both the character of the Countess and the Snow Child are punished through the ‘rose’, although another interpretation of this could be that the rose is a symbol of femininity or the vagina, so the "bite" symbolizes the suffering that go with being a female. Beauty and pain both come together when it comes to being a female. However, in a feminine view men are viewed as satisfying their needs through a woman and even though it is the Count that gives the pain to the Countess and the Snow Child, he himself doesn’t suffer. This also backs up the feminist view that men use women for pleasure only.
The roles of the character of the Countess and the Snow Girl are to an extent stereotyped, however because the story has been written by a feminist, certain aspects of it clearly show how women are stereotyped purposely, which Carter contradicts in a very clever way. Stereotypically, women create and men destroy, however, in this story men create women destroy, from which her aim is to portray that it is men’s fault in the first place for creating. The main theme that the characters of the Countess and the Snow Child are both associated with is lust. This can be seen as at the start of the story the character of the Countess is represented as a desirable woman with the way that she is depicted. Same with the character of the Snow Child, the Counts desires turn into reality when the character of the Snow Child becomes real. Another major theme is the objectification of women; the girl in "The Snow Child" is the depiction of Carter's message about women as objects. The Count simply wishes her into existence based on his ideas of attractiveness. The Snow Child does not speak and does only what she is asked to do. When she dies, the Count rapes her corpse as if he created her only to be a sex toy. When she dies, she disappears into a collection of objects.
When the Snow Child dies, she leaves behind only a rose, a feather, and a bloodstain; she becomes a small set of objects. It is apparent from the Snow Child's 'remains' that she was never existent to begin with; she was only a figment of the Count's sexual desire. The prick of the rose wipes out the Snow Child. The Count created the Snow Child as a sexual object, but when she appears, she is still a girl. When the rose pricks her and she bleeds it marks the start of her menstruation cycle, the Snow Child "comes of age" as a being capable of sexual intercourse. Once she has fulfilled her purpose of becoming a sexual object, she can die. Because she was not expected to receive pleasure in having sex or otherwise being alive, it is sufficient for him to rape her corpse.
The character of the Countess can be seen as weak in some ways and strong in others. The character of the Countess can be seen as strong as throughout the story she constantly strives to try and save the Count from getting together with the Snow Child. This shows the Countess as strong as throughout the story she never gives up from trying to save her marriage. On the other hand she can also be seen as weak as even though she tries her best to get rid of the Snow Child she is unable to. On the other hand the character of the Snow Child cannot necessarily be seen as strong. This is because is a figment of the Counts imagination. Also another reason as to why the character is seen as weak is because she is unable to satisfy the Counts idea of feminine perfection, although she has beauty she is unable to stay loyal to him as she is not there forever.
In conclusion the narrative can be seen as revealing how the heroine of fairy tales are the vision of patriarchal thinking, based on the want for damage and sex causing downfall; and how women are visualized as having to endure and struggle for the indecisive attention of men. ‘The Snow Child’ how women are stereotyped as sexual objects and Carter is clearly able to show how women suffer even when they are not at fault. This can be seen at the end as the Count causes the pain for both the Countess and the Snow Child however he himself is not punished for causing what he did.
Word Count (Without Title) – 1,331