The Huntsman

(I apologize for my tardiness. I don't mean to make excuses, but I have two tests this morning and this important thing slipped my mind.)

The Woodsman is a character who goes through changes in the different versions of Snow White. In the Disney version of Snow White, the woodsman is a burly character who somehow strikes me as unintelligent yet kind deep down in his heart despite being a hired hand. In this version, the Woodsman seems like a man who would otherwise certainly commit murder, but is overcome by the beauty and innocence of Snow White and lets her go for this reason. The scene with him has an emotional intensity to it.

In the DEFA version of Snow White, the Huntsman is very different. He is thin, seems intelligent, and actually looks and seems like a scoundrel. The scene where the Huntsman lets Snow White go is very different than in the Disney version. The scene is extremely unemotional. He seems to be going through a rational process when he decides not to kill her. Snow White also has to 'convince' this Huntsman to not kill her. While in the Disney he comes to the decision on his own.

The Grimms version of Snow White leaves much to the imagination, and that is why two very interpretations came to be. Snow White does ask the Huntsman not to kill her, but is only one sentence. He also has virtually no personality at all, except that he feels great moral relief when not having to kill Snow White, suggesting the more emotional Disney version might be a more genuine adaptation.