Snow White - Theorized Real-life Influence

Theorized Real-life Influence

In 1986 Bartels, a German scholar, published an analysis suggesting that the folktale of Snow White was based upon Maria Sophia Margaretha Catherina von Erthal, who was born in Lohr am Main in 1725. Like Snow White, Maria Sophia was a noble girl, but whereas Snow White's father was a king, Maria Sophia's father, Philipp Christoph von Erthal, was only a superior magistrate, representing the Prince Elector of Mainz in Lohr. However, the von Erthals may have appeared to the inhabitants of Lohr as a sort of “royal family”, since - due to his diplomatic skills - Philipp Christoph von Erthal had in his inofficial capacity as an ambassador and “foreign minister” for the archbishopric dealings with emperors and kings throughout Europe. The castle of the Prince Elector of Mainz in Lohr was his official residence and home of his family. After the death of her birth mother in 1741, Maria Sophia’s father remarried in 1743. The stepmother, Claudia Elisabeth von Reichenstein, was domineering and employed her new position to the advantage of her children from her first marriage. Points of reference can also be found in the vicinity of Lohr. In particular, the wild woods in which Snow White was abandoned could be the Spessart. The dwarfs were reputed to have been miners short of stature and at times even children, because only small people could work in those narrow mines in the area of Bieber, 33 km from Lohr.Lohr and Bieber are still today connected by an ancient road through the Spessart forest which Snow White could have easily taken on her flight.

A mirror referred to as “The Talking Mirror” can still be viewed today in the Spessart Museum in the Lohr Castle, where Maria Sophia was born. The mirror was likely a gift from Snow White’s father, Philipp Christoph, to his second wife Claudia Elisabeth. It was a product of the famous Lohr Mirror Manufacture (Kurmainzische Spiegelmanufaktur). The mirror “talked”, like only mirrors from Lohr, predominantly in aphorisms. The upper right corner of “The Talking Mirror” even contains a clear reference to self-love (“Amour Propre”). Moreover, mirrors from Lohr were so elaborately worked that they were accorded the reputation of “always speaking the truth”. They became a favorite gift at European crown and aristocratic courts.