“Red as Blood, white as snow, black as crow: Chromatic symbolism of womanhood in fairy tales (2007)”

Francisco Vaz da Silva

        This essay presents the idea of color and its representation over the Folktale and found a different combination that took place in predetermined sequence Silva’s essay on “Chromatic Symbolism,” reflects significant impact of color combination in fairy tales; the article examines The Chromatic Symbolism of womanhood in fairy tales. Researcher says that white, red and black are frequently used in stories because they stand for heaven, blood and sexual desire of regeneration. It is said that European fairy tales linked trivalent goodness and ideal womanhood in term of association between tricolor heroines and feminine perfection. It notes that the red on white contrast were used to depict mother-daughter relationship such as in “Snow-white” and “The Goose Girl.” These two were the famous fairytales which carry the idea of color combination and chromatic symbolism of womanhood throughout the essay we can find; color – psychological aspect.

        Fairytales were making beautiful use of colors to remarks something meaningful which prefer clear ultra pure colors. The exploration of chromatic codes regarding womanhood fit with the study on basic color terms. This shows natural languages encode basic color categories according to a single progressive sequence of color discrimination especially if a given language contains only two color term white and black. It is bio-color and if the language contains three colors including red its tricolor. Colors are used to carry meaning indistinctive perceptible form. It was obscene on the distinctiveness of fairy tales colors. 

        The article follows up the classic study by Brent Berlin and Paul Kay, “Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution.” These two linguistic tries to show the human ability to discriminate color terms of any given language. They conclude that “eleven basic color categories are human perceptual Universals.” Brent Berlin and Paul Kay concerning on the global color terms. They suggest that although human can discriminate many thousands of color variations, there are eleven basic color categories upon which all languages draw. Francisco Vaz Da Silva tries to explore these universal color categories to follow or set the progressive sequence in fairy tales which is the best-renowned example of “Snow White.” Color functions within the texts are semiotic code which is used to reflect and articulate deep cultural values. He tries to explore chromatic codes as a means to uncover folk notions regarding womanhood.

Basic chromatic trio
        The exploration of chromatic codes regarding womanhood filled with Berlin and Kay’s study on Basic color terms. These authors have shown that natural languages encode basic color categories according to a Single progressive sequence of color discrimination. In “Snow White”, there is a tricolor pattern of white, black and red. Silva tries to represent a trans-cultural basic scheme. The white – black – red chromatic trio is also a powerful vehicle for expressing patriarchal notions of gender one which Da Silva’s argues can be found in cultures around the world. If a given language contains only two color terms, these refer to white and black, but if a language contains three terms, then it contains a word for a red. An Anthropologist Marshal Sahlins suggested that “colors are in practice semiotics codes.” Through this Berlin and Kay found the high cross – cultural regularities in basic color categories that are used to carry meanings. This argument applies on the distinctiveness of fairy tales colors. The contrast of red and white is usually observed through a black frame that traced from medieval literature to 17th Century fairy tales. For example, a Portuguese version of “Snow White”, where we can find out the color representation and discrimination which carries symbolic meaning and language. The red color indicates a blood linked between mother and a daughter, while the three drops of blood in “Snow White” represent the sexual cycle throughout a woman’s life (puberty, defloration, and birth giving). “Red as Blood” set the dynamic frame of a shared destiny in which woman interact both for good and evil. Red, white stains signify the crossing of the threshold from another word innocence to a realm of procreation. White stand fro luminous heaven and purity. Hence, the dove that keeps watch over snow white regard of the idea of heavenly light. In Grimes collection, white doves represent Cinderella’s dead mother watching over her daughter from heaven.
    

        Black related the enchantment and death as well as being the happen something before something else happens for rebirth. Therefore, it represents potentiality. Blackness can note enchantment as well as death. Enchantment is something like reversible death and death it appears in tons of enchantment. Death is the rebirth. This remarks on the death symbolism of time spent by Snow White in the dark forest.  The trio enacts the idea of a union of the red (menstrual blood) and white (German) through the agency of the black (the ritual “death involved in initiation and marriage union). The association between blackness and symbolic death is certainly correct. “Dark Forest” in Snow White is destructive, but also creative agents of growth and rebirth primacy of death and darkness over life and light is beyond fairy tales and a standard feature of cyclic models regarding natural phenomena. Ancient equivalence between women’s cycle and paradigms of life springing out of death that women themselves operate rebirth from death.

Tricolor ideal womanhood: Madonna        Regarding chromatic symbolism, women bring forth while from black using their sex – specific fertility, epitomized by red. This section provides the image of ideal womanhood in Christendom. Within a Christian system of representation grabbed the Virgin Mary in red and blue for centuries. This chromatic pattern symbolizes fertility and heaven. Productivity in the sense that womb blood and heaven is the sense that God incarnated in human flesh, this suggest blue and white share, a heavenly connotation. So Virgin Mary like the ideal fairy-tales heroine whose face shows red on white. The image black Madonna appears to fit this chromatic symbolism, and Silva argues the same tricolor symbolism underlies African ritual and the representations of ideal womanhood in European fairytales and folklore. Silva suggests that tricolor symbolism is that represents both an idealized patriarchal notion of women as sexual subjects. Color as a sensory experience functions. He approaches the simple analysis of symbols through noting the possibility of as wider trans- cultural existence of the basis tricolor pattern and the way in which the patriarchal fixing of the female subject depends on upon the sequential chain of the signifier. Da Silva refers in his essay Angela Carter, an author who specializes in deconstructing fairy tales. 

        Silva points out that the primary chromatic trio present constant semantic values across genres and cultures. Such constant values allow for culture – specific variations and elaborations. The life mysterious power of womanhood in European tricolor symbolism tries to command of the semantics of fairy tales.