Queen (Snow White)

The Queen
The Queen with her mirror in an American illustration from 1913
First appearance	Grimms' Fairy Tales (1812)
Created by	The Brothers Grimm (adapted from pre-existing fairy tales)
Information
Occupation	Regent, witch (secretly)
Spouse(s)	King
Children	Snow White (daughter in the original version, stepdaughter since the 1819 revision)

The Queen, often referred to as the Evil Queen or the Wicked Queen, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in "Snow White", a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm; similar stories are also known to exist in other countries. Other versions of the Queen appear in "Snow White" derivative works, and the character has also become an archetype for unrelated works of fiction.

The Queen is Snow White's evil and vindictive stepmother who is obsessed with being "the fairest in the land". The young princess Snow White makes her jealous, so the Queen concocts several plans to kill Snow White through the use of witchcraft. A driving force in the story is the Queen's Magic Mirror. In the traditional resolution of the story, the Queen is grotesquely executed for her crimes. The tale is a lesson for young children warning against narcissism and pride. She is often regarded as the most interesting character in "Snow White" and has been extensively analyzed and evaluated by literature scholars and psychologists.

Various other versions of the Queen appear in many subsequent adaptations and continuations of the fairy tale, including novels and films. In these, the Queen is often re-imagined and sometimes portrayed more sympathetically, such as being morally conflicted, or suffering from madness, instead of just being purely evil. In the revisionist stories, she can even become an antihero or a tragic hero. In some instances, she serves as the protagonist or narrator of the story; one such particularly notable version is Disney's version, sometimes known as Queen Grimhilde. The Queen has also become an archetype that inspired several characters featured in the works that are not directly based on the original tale.