Although textual variations are often very minor, even these minor details may be significant. On the other hand, there are some major distinctions in the telling of this tale. For instance, in some versions, it is the mother, rather than the stepmother who tries to kill Snow White. In some variants also, the seven dwarfs are replaced by seven lusty knights, forty thieves, robbers, or the moon. Visual interpretations vary much more than textual ones as specific images change settings, mood and tone, understanding of characters, etc.
Visual images can also add different details even when the texts being illustrated are identical.
The questions in each section are designed to focus attention on certain issues or concerns arising in the different tellings. For nearly every tale, that are at least a dozen versions, in some cases, hundreds of extant variants. No matter how gifted the transcriber of a tale is, he cannot fully succeed in capturing and recreating the spirit of an oral performance. Much as fairy tales invite interpretation, the facts of their origin and diffusion imply the impossibility of textually grounded interpretation. Even the anthropologist who can go straight to the source, observe the teller, study the community in which a tale flourishes, and record that tale still has nothing more than a single version, one no more and no less authoritative than other oral variants. . . .