On why Regina doesn't owe Snow White shit.
eshusplayground asked you:
Could you expand on why you believe that Regina doesnât owe Snow White shit and never will owe Snow White shit?
The short answer is: because the idea that Regina owes Snow anything is identical to the idea that a house slave who escaped to freedom and then took up arms against the Confederacy owed her former âownersâ something. Is identical to the idea that that house slave shouldnât have taken up arms at all. Is essentially saying, âWell, that slave owner didnât treat her so bad.â That idea leaves ash in my mouth.
Several other people have made excellent and detailed cases for why Reginaâs forced marriage to Leopold can be likened to the position of a house slave or Mammy. Buy a woman of colorâor, in this case, an older girl of colorâto raise the lily-white child. That is, at best, what Reginaâs marriage to Leopold was about. Add in the certainty that he raped her. Add in the fact that he took definitive action to prevent the even possibility of her being happy in spite of his stated commitment to the happiness of all of his peopleâwhich implicitly states that either Regina is not his (false: he absolutely sees her as his) or that to him, she is not people (ah, and there we have the truth).
I donât care whether you think Snow was responsible for the marriage or not. I donât care if you acquit Snow of any wrongdoing when it comes to Danielâs death and Coraâs further manipulations of Reginaâs life. Iâve argued that out before, and that case doesnât need to come into play here. Because Snowâs violence against Regina after Danielâs death isnât the violence of action. Itâs violence of inaction and denial. Â
Snow was a child enabler of Reginaâs enslavement and then an adult condoner of it, and that is why Regina will never owe her anything. Because make no mistake: if you are not actively condemning the cultural practices that allowed for Regina to be purchased and raped, you are condoning them.
And perhaps I could let such condoning go if I genuinely believed that the ignorance behind it was malice-free. But then letâs take Snowâs next steps:
Systematically dehumanize Regina by stripping her of her name
Belittle Reginaâs abuse by reducing it to the single event of Danielâs death
Actively deny that Reginaâs anger has basis
Twist the public narrative to make Regina into a caricature of Evil, rather than a living, feeling human being
Continue to mandate who Regina is allowed to bond with and how
Condemn the practice of arranged marriage as it applies to Charming
Maintain the myth of âgoodnessâ surrounding herself and her father
All of this means that to Snow White, Regina is not a person. Sheâs a possession whoâs stepped out of line. Snow continues to behave towards Regina as if Regina were a house slave, even upon reaching adulthood. Even when all the excuses of being a child and being ignorant to the ways of the world are no longer applicable. Even when sheâs aware enough to say that Charming shouldnât be forced into a marriage he doesnât wantâshe does not consider Regina human enough to warrant the same consideration.
Iâve heard a lot of âbut x y z!â arguments about the Regina-Snow history. âRegina killed Snowâs father, so Snow has the right to consider her Evil!â No. It doesnât work like that. Snow is still perpetuating her own ignorance by willfully refusing to think about why Regina would kill Leopold. Snow already assigns Evil to her and uses Leopoldâs death as support for the assignation, not as cause.Â
âBut Snow loved Regina, and Regina turned right around and tried to kill her!â Snow may have âlovedâ Reginaâperhaps the way one loves a particular chair, or a house, or a favorite dress, but certainly not as one loves a mother or a sister or another human beingâbut just because someone loves you does not mean you owe them anything in return. That concept of âI love you so you owe meâ is what stalkers, abusers and familiar rapists use to justify their assaults. Snowâs âloveâ for Regina destroyed her life. It doesnât matter if that destruction was intentional or not: it happened, and Snowâs consistent response has been to survey the wreckage and ask âBut why are you mad?â
Regina was enslaved to Leopold and Snow, and thirty years later Snow still doesnât see whatâs wrong about that. Regina doesnât owe Snow White shit.
