“The New Comparative Method: Structural and Symbolic Analysis of the Allomotifs of “Snow White””

An examination of the mystery of folktales, this study takes a look into the heart of one folktale in order to use it as a model for all folktales. It analyses over seventy folk versions of “Snow White” in order to reveal their shared narrative core of episodes and themes. The investigation documents the way that different versions adhere to a basic structure of nine episodes and the way that they maintain the same thematic focus on the issues of adolescent maturation. Ultimately, these mechanisms of structural and symbolic equivalence underlying the versions of “Snow White” may well explain the way that this and other folktales can and do survive in oral tradition.

FF Communications, No. 247