[3] Other alternative endings have the Queen instantly drop dead "of anger" at the wedding[4] or in front of her mirror upon learning of Snow White's survival,[5] fall victim to her own designs going awry (such as through touching her own poisoned rose[6]), die by nature (e.g., falling into quicksand while crossing a swamp on her way back to the castle after poisoning Snow White[7]), be killed by the dwarfs during a chase,[8] be destroyed by her own mirror,[9] run away into the forest never to be seen again,[10] or simply be banished from the kingdom forever.

[16] Conversely, writers such as Oliver Madox Hueffer have expressed sympathy for the queen,[17] or, like psychology professor Sharna Olfman, have removed the violence when reading the story to children, while also acknowledging that verbal storytelling lacks "graphic visual imagery".

[30] Hueffer noted that the wicked stepmother with magical powers threatening a young princess is a recurring theme in fairy tales; one similar character is the witch-queen in "The Wild Swans" as told by Hans Christian Andersen.

[36] According to some scholars such as Roger Sale and University of Hawaii professor Cristina Bacchilega, the story has ageist undertones vilifying the older woman character, with her envy of Snow White's beauty.

"[41] It seems that the Brothers Grimm, who wrote their book as an "educational manual" (Erziehungsbuch), felt that a brutal punishment for a villain was a necessary element augmenting the happy endings of their tales, as in Snow White's ascent as new queen and triumph over her evil enemy.

"[16] Similarly, psychologist Betsy Cohen wrote about the perceived symbolism of the act: "In order to avoid becoming a wicked queen herself, Snow White needs to separate from and kill off this destructive force inside of her.

[16][38][45] Jo Eldridge Carney, Professor of English at The College of New Jersey, wrote: "Again, the fairy tale's system of punishment is horrific but apt: a woman so actively consumed with seeking affirmation from others and with violently undoing her rival is forced to enact her own physical destruction as a public spectacle.

"[46] Likewise, Mary Ayers of the Stanford University School of Medicine wrote that the red-hot shoes symbolize that the Queen was "subjected to the effects of her own inflamed, searing hot envy and hatred.

"[37] In addition, according to Scott Meslow of The Atlantic, "Disney's decision to throw out the Grimm's appropriately grim ending—which sentences the evil queen to dance in heated iron shoes until her death—has meant that ending is all but forgotten.

The 1916 American silent film Snow White is an early example of an altered ending to the story, as the Queen is not executed but merely banished from the court after breaking her demonic mirror in anger.

Driven mad by grief Claudia listens to her mother's magic mirror and blames Lilli for the baby's death and shows her own reflection distorted and deformed, driving the countess to her crimes and possessing her.

After years of failing to kill Snow White, the Evil Queen eventually casts the Dark Curse, provided by her mentor Rumpelstiltskin, sending all the fairytale characters to the real world and erasing their true memories.

The Queen spends her time by organizing lavish parties in the palace and buying expensive dresses, while neglecting the kingdom which has caused the people to struggle and live in poverty due to high taxes imposed on them by her.

Maribel Verdú plays Encarna, the evil stepmother of Carmen Villalta also known as Snow White in the Spanish silent art film Blancanieves that transplants the story to the 1920s Andalusia and strips it of any magic.

One early yet notable[96] animated adaptation was Snow White (1933), a Betty Boop series cartoon short in which the Queen is a vain and conniving witch who resembles Olive Oyl.

The "mean ol' queen" of the story (voiced by Ruby Dandridge and Danny Webb), a parody of the Disney character,[98] plots to murder "So White" out of jealousy for the handsome "Prince Chawmin," representing food hoarders at the time of war rationing.

It is unrelated to another Filmation sequel to the fairy tale (and, unofficially, to the Disney film), the 1989 Happily Ever After, in which the late Queen's brother, the evil wizard Lord Maliss, arrives in the kingdom to avenge his sister on those responsible for her demise: Snow White and Prince Charming.

The 1991 animated film The Magic Riddle combines the story of Snow White with several other fairy tales in which the Queen figure is a widowed stepmother played by Robyn Moore.

In the 1994-1995 anime television series The Legend of Snow White, Lady Chrystal (voiced by Mari Yokoo), a woman famed for her beauty and ruler of a small neighbouring kingdom, comes to the Emerald Valley in order to marry King Conrad.

The Evil Queen, voiced by Susanne Blakeslee, appears in the 2007 animated film Shrek the Third in which she joins the team of Prince Charming to take over Far Far Away, but redeems herself by the end, saying she always wanted to start a spa in France.

When Snow White steals the red shoes that grant immortality and eternal beauty to Queen Regina and escapes the castle, the witch is furious and tries to find her using the Magic Mirror and her ally Prince Average.

In Adèle Geras' Snow White retelling Pictures of the Night (1992), for instance, the protagonist is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents that she believes are being caused by her jealous, malevolent stepmother Marjorie.

In Laurence Anholt's children's book Snow White and the Seven Aliens (1998), the jealous Mean Queen is a former famous pop star who was the lead singer of The Wonderful Wicked Witches.

Kazuki Nakashima manga series Lost Seven (2008) features Queen Rose, also known as The Witch of the Mirror, as a former court magician who usurped the throne and killed all members of the royal family except for Snow White, who managed to escape.

Rose is returned to life when she is summoned by Danielle's stepsisters (believing her to be their now-deceased mother), possessing the elder sister Stacia to acquire a new body, but she is finally defeated when the three princesses confront her with the aid of the seven dwarves.

Gena Showalter's The Evil Queen (2019), features Everly Morrow, a high school girl obsessed with mirrors who learns that she is prophesied to become the eponymous character in another world of the fairytale realm of Enchantia and tries to avert her destiny.

Robert Coover's satirical erotic short story "The Dead Queen" (1973) re-tells the fairy tale from the perspective of the Prince, deeply disappointed with Snow White and her creepy sexual relationship with the dwarves.

In Robert Walser's 1904 opera Schneewittchen (and João César Monteiro's 2000 film Branca de Neve), the adolescent, weak Prince has revived Snow White, but instead of marrying her has fallen in love with the beautiful Queen.

In Howard Barker's play Knowledge and a Girl (The Snow White Case) (2002), the Queen is the protagonist, attempting to resist the patriarchal and misogynistic structure of the kingdom's court through her lewd sexuality.

In the lore of the video game series Dark Parables, the jealous Queen enchants the King to put the twins Snow White and Ross Red to death for a false offense.