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aspoonofsugar · 2 years

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So I’ve recently gotten my friend into RWBY and we’ve been poring over your posts and reblogs about the allusions/alchemical elements, and I absolutely LOVE your work. It’s even inspired some theories to narrative directions for V9 that I hope to maybe share in a reblog once I can order the convo my friend and I had lol.

There’s one question we both currently have about Winter’s allusion that I wanted to get your thoughts on (or the post if you’ve already written it lol). I saw you mentioned in one reblog that you don’t think she’s the Snow Queen herself but rather its about her relationship with Weiss? Others I know have gone with the Snow Queen allusion and given her two Gerda’s (Weiss and Penny). I even wondered myself if she perhaps is meant to be both the SQ and Kai to fit RWBY’s double primary allusion trend.

But I was just curious to know what your thoughts are, or if there’s another allusion altogether Winter may serve. :)

Hi!

Thank you for the nice words and sure, share your post once it is done!

As for Winter, I actually agree that she is the Snow Queen-Kay with Penny and especially Weiss as Gerdas. However, I wanna consider 2 additional things:

1- The Snow Queen is an important allusion for both Schnee sisters and not just Winter

After all, it is similar to Blake's Beauty & Beast. It is an allusion with 2 protagonists (Kay and Gerda), so to be complete it needs 2 people (Winter and Weiss). That is why I said it is about the Schnee Sisters in my reblog of @blue-cheeseinmyoffwhites's great post.

Moreover, a lot of imagery from the fairy tale is used to comment Weiss's arc in Mistral even more so than Winter's own development in Atlas. This will probably change in the future, but what we have so far is enough to foreshadow Weiss's importance for Winter's story. Similarly, Weiss's relationship with her sister is clearly instrumental to her personal development.

Let's also remember both Schneesters are called "Ice Queen" by others:

Qrow: Hey! Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen! Roman: Ladies, Ice Queen…

2- Winter's arc is not over

Our Snow Queen's story has yet to reach a resolution, which will give more depth to her fairy tale and make it climax. This also means that right now we are still lacking key pieces to properly read this allusion.

That said, we have enough to start analyzing how it has been used up until volume 8.

THE SNOW QUEEN: 7 STORIES IN 1

I think the premise of the Snow Queen is rather well known, but here it is for those who haven't read it:

Kay and Gerda live happily in a small town. They are innocent kids, who have tons of fun playing together in a garden full of roses. However, one day 2 fragments of a cursed mirror enter Kay's heart and eyes and make him cynical and cold. Kay is then taken by the Snow Queen, who brings him to her castle in the North. There he is left with the challenge to use ice to write the word "eternity". If he succeeds, he'll be free.

Meanwhile, Gerda starts a journey to find her friend. Throughout it, she meets several characters: a lady who imprisons her into a garden full of vane flowers, 2 crows, a prince and a princess, a little robber-maiden, 2 old women. In the end, she reaches the Snow Queen's castle, meets Kay and frees him by taking out the 2 fragments of the mirror. While they embrace, the pieces of ice dance and form the word "eternity".

This fairy tale is divided into 7 shorter stories:

First Story, Which Describes a looking-glass and the broken fragments.

Second Story: A Little Boy and a Little Girl

Third Story: The Flower Garden of the Woman Who Could Conjure

Fourth Story: The Prince and Princess

Fifth Story: Little Robber-Girl

Sixth Story: The Lapland Woman and the Finland Woman

Seventh Story: Of the Palace of the Snow Queen and What Happened There At Last

The first story is a prologue, the second story introduces the protagonists and from the third story onward the focus is Gerda's journey to find Kay, which ends in the seventh and last story with their reunion.

RWBY follows this same structure too, which I am gonna replicate in this meta. To be specific we'll have:

Prologue: The Mirror

Weiss's journey to find Winter

Winter being saved

Let's see how things turn out...

PROLOGUE: THE MIRROR

Mirrors and glass keep popping up in the Schnees' story. That is because this imagery is symbolic of Jacques's abuse towards his family. In particular, Weiss and Winter explore this metaphor through their allusions.

1- In Snowhite, the Evil Queen decides to kill her daughter after the mirror reveals the girl is the most beautiful one around. In other words, the Queen is a narcissist, who can't accept someone is better than her.

Jacques is the same, but his narcissism means he turns his children into reflections of himself. They must appear, behave and think like he wants. This is why Weiss initially struggles to understand who she is. She is forced by Jacques to be like him. She is trapped inside a looking glass, as her songs reveal. In this situation, the only solution is to shatter the mirror:

I'm shattering the mirror that kept me split in pieces That stood between my mind and my heart This is where I'll start

Weiss succeeds and breaks free. She escapes Jacques and starts looking for who she wants to become.

2- In The Snow Queen, an evil goblin makes a mirror, which is able to twist reality, so that only ugly and cruel things are visible, while the beauty of the world disappears. This mirror shatters and its fragments go around the world, enter people minds and hearts and make humanity lose ingenuity and idealism. Kay ends up a victim of this mirror, as 2 fragments enter his eye (mind) and his heart. Once corrupted by the mirror, he becomes an easy target for the Snow Queen, who takes him to her palace and makes him even colder and more isolated.

This premise perfectly fits Winter's story.

Jacques is the Evil Goblin (Jack Frost) that creates the cursed mirror.

Jacques's abuse defines Winter's childhood and deeply influences her personality. Sure, Winter manages to oppose her father's control and leaves. However, years later she still suffers the consequences of her cold upbringing:

Winter: No, no, what I mean is, this place holds a lot of memories for me, specifically. I thought I was in control, but… you heard me. I sounded like a petulant child.

It is clear she has never fully processed her abuse and the result is that she ignores her emotions and is ashamed to show any kind of childishness, as it makes her feel weak and exposed. In other words, Winter escapes the mirror, but one of its fragments stays hidden in her heart and stunts her emotional development. This makes her vulnerable to another controlling dynamic.

Ironwood is the equivalent of the Snow Queen, that makes Winter colder and colder.

After Winter leaves home, she finds a new place of belonging in the Atlas Army, which is a very hierarchical and controlling environment. Soldiers are encouraged to repress their feelings and to act "rationally". The truth, though, is that they are groomed and the same happens to Winter:

Weiss: Doesn't it bother you? He practically groomed your entire military career. Your destiny was chosen for you, without your input.

Ironwood decides Winter's destiny without her consent. He keeps her close and influences her vision of things. In a sense, he puts in her eyes the second shard of glass. A fragment that prevents Winter from seeing the truth. All to turn Winter into the next Snow Queen (the Winter Maiden).

In short, Jacques and Ironwood are the 2 antagonists of Winter's fairy tale. At the same time, they represent the 2 fragments that are poisoning her heart and mind.

Let's now go deeper in how the Schneesters deal with this evil mirror and take a closer look to their intertwined stories.

WEISS'S JOURNEY

Weiss's arc in Mistral is really our girl growing into her own person. This happens through 2 different developments.

In volume 4 Weiss affirms her independence from Jacques

In volume 5 Weiss discovers herself different from Winter

Jacques and Winter are in fact Weiss's mentors and authority figures and her growth lies in refusing both to find her own way:

I’m climbing higher with the past behind me Heights like I never dreamed Finally learned I need to do it my way Now I see what I can be When I trust in me I’m free

This is highlighted by Weiss's 2 shorts.

The White Trailer focuses on her relationship with Jacques and how she feels imprisoned by him.

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Weiss's character short explores her dynamic with Winter, who loves Weiss deeply, but is also cold and strict.

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Obviously Jacques and Winter are not the same, since Jacques is an abuser, while Winter isn't, but both ask Weiss to prove herself (the royal test) and Weiss is initially stuck between the 2. Who will she be? Jacques or Winter? The answer is neither. Weiss is her own self.

She is not her father's reflection, but a brave Knight:

She is not her sister's copy, but a kind Queen:

The Arma Gigas and the Queen Lancer embody 2 sides of Weiss that are born in juxtaposition to respectively Jacques and Winter.

The Arma Gigas is the Grimm Weiss kills in her first act of defiance towards Jacques and the Avatar she summons when she leaves him once and for all. It is the test she must overcome in order to attend Beacon and a stand-in for the Prince that breaks Snowhite's glass coffin (Weiss's room) and frees her. Finally, it is one of Nicholas's armors possessed by a Grimm, which calls back to how Jacques has taken control of the SDC and has corrupted it. For all these reasons, this summon represents Weiss saving herself and her family from Jacques.

What about the Queen Lancer? Its meaning and its link to Winter are found in The Snow Queen and how it's used in Weiss's story.

FROM SNOW QUEEN TO SNOWHITE

Weiss's Volume 5 short is full of Snow Queen symbolism. Weiss and Winter are in a garden full of roses similar to the one Gerda and Kay play in as children. However, Weiss and Winter's flowers are frozen because their childhood has been cold and lonely:

Similarly, the ice imagery, which is dear to Andersen's story, defines the whole situation. Weiss is surrounded by a snow storm, she tries to resist and to melt the ice, but fails and is overcome by ferocious beasts, similar to the Snow Queen's servants. Meanwhile, Path to Isolation reinforces these ideas:

The cold Seems to grow in my soul It's consuming me Confused And I'm losing myself In the storm Smile's faded And I'm spinning and sinking I'm weakening Frozen in solitude Loneliness chills to the bone

This Snow Queen charged short can be read in 2 ways:

It sets up Weiss as Gerda and Winter as Kay

It presents Weiss as Kay and Winter as the Snow Queen

These 2 readings are complementary and equally important.

1 - Weiss is Gerda and Winter is Kay

Weiss and Winter's flashback shows them "playing together" in the garden of roses, while in the present Weiss leaves Atlas to find her sister. In other words, Weiss is Gerda in search for Kay. This is confirmed by her trip in Mistral having many similarities with Gerda's travel.

Let's quickly go through these paralells:

Gerda and Weiss's sacrifices: Both journeys start with our heroine making a sacrifice. Gerda sacrifices her shoes to the river in order to discover where Kay is. Weiss throws the Dust against the Queen Lancer to defeat it. Both offerings are a sign of humility. Gerda travels the world bare-footed, while Weiss gives up her privileged life (The Schnee Dust Company) to face the world as herself.

A garden full of vane flowers: Gerda and Weiss lose some time in a place superficially pretty, but ultimately fake and empty. Gerda stays in a beautiful illusory garden. The place is full of flowers, but roses are missing, so that she can never remember Kay. Weiss is trapped in Atlas, sheltered, but far from her new found family (RWBY) and from the rose, who inspires her (Ruby). Ultimately, both Gerda and Weiss leave and confront the vanity of the flowers/Atlesians.

Gerda: "It is no use asking the flowers; they know only their own songs, and can give me no information.”

Weiss: "You're all just standing around talking about nothing! Worrying about your hair, your money, your stupid problems that don't mean anything!"

Crows, princes and princesses: Gerda meets 2 crows that tell her Kay may be the new husband of a beautiful princess. With the birds' help Gerda enters the palace and meets the Prince and Princess. Weiss meets Raven and Qrow who offer her knowledge on Ozma and Salem, the Prince and Princess par excellence. Moreover, Weiss is able to reach her friends thanks to Raven's semblance aka Raven and Qrow's bond symbolically. The relationship between the couple of crows is precisely why Gerda is able to meet the royals.

The Little Robber Maiden: Gerda is kidnapped by some robbers whose leader has a daughter aka the Little Robber Maiden. Weiss is imprisoned by the Branwen Tribe and meets Raven and her "adoptive daughter" Vernal, who impersonates the Spring Maiden.

Two old women: The last characters Gerda meets are The Lapland Woman and the Finland Woman, who lead her to the Snow Palace. Similarly, Weiss's return to Atlas has her encounter Maria and Cordovin. Differently from the characters in the fairy tale, Maria and Cordo are not on good terms, which obstructs Weiss instead than helping her.

In the end, though, Weiss makes it home safely and embraces Winter once again:

2- Weiss is Kay and Winter is the Snow Queen

Let's compare Weiss and Winter's scene in the volume 5 character short with this passage from The Snow Queen:

He composed many complete figures, forming different words, but there was one word he never could manage to form, although he wished it very much. It was the word “Eternity.” The Snow Queen had said to him, “When you can find out this, you shall be your own master, and I will give you the whole world and a new pair of skates.” But he could not accomplish it. And away flew the Snow Queen, leaving little Kay quite alone in the great hall which was so many miles in length.

The inspiration is rather clear. Weiss is a prisoner in the Snow Palace (The Schnee Mansion) and Winter plays the Snow Queen, who tells Kay the condition to be free:

Weiss: I'm sorry. I'll get better. Winter: You'll have to if you ever want to leave.

Winter has managed to escape Jacques by becoming stronger on her own and thinks Weiss should do the same. She should not depend on others, but count only on her own abilities. Her intentions are good and she is right that Weiss needs to grow more independent from their father. However, Weiss's path leads elsewhere and this difference is shown in her trip in Mistral, where she meets the Little Robber Maiden.

In the story, Gerda is caught by bandits and is assigned to the Little Robber Girl or Little Robber Maiden. This character has a duality to her. On the one hand she is initially mean to Gerda, takes her muff and even threatens to kill her. On the other hand she is impressed by Gerda's story, gives Gerda a reinder and helps the girl escape by distracting the Leader of the robbers (her own mother).

RWBY takes this character and divides it in 2:

Vernal is the Little Robber Maiden, who is mean to Weiss. She imprisons her, mocks her and steals her sword. In the climax, she even fights Weiss and breaks her aura, making her vulnerable to Cinder's strike.

Yang is the Little Robber Maiden, who befriends and saves Weiss. She uses her relationship with Raven to free Weiss and they both leave on Bumbleby (the reinder of Andersen's story :P).

Are we sure Vernal and Yang allude to the Little Robber Maiden? Yes :P

First of all, they are both Raven's daughters. Vernal is Raven's adopted daughter in the tribe. Yang is Raven's biological daughter. Secondly, they share a maiden motif throughout volume 5. On the one hand Vernal plays the Spring Maiden for Raven's sake. On the other hand Yang shows Raven what the Spring Maiden should be like and eventually gets the relic of Knowledge. Vernal is the fake Maiden, while Yang is the Maiden at Heart. These details set the 2 girls up as perfect stand ins for the Little Robber Girl.

What does it all have to do with Weiss?

Vernal and Yang represent 2 sides of Weiss's development in volume 5. They are 2 different answers to Weiss's quest to become herself.

1- Vernal embodies Winter's viewpoint:

Winter: I am not always going to be around to save you, Weiss.

Vernal: Your sister isn't in Mistral anymore. No one is coming to rescue you.

Vernal is the one, who reveals Winter is no longer in Mistral. Through her, Weiss realizes she can't keep on depending on her sister, but must come into her own. However, Vernal also mirrors Winter's flawed beliefs. She insists Weiss amounts to nothing, if she can't survive alone.

2-Yang embodies the opposite mentality:

Yang: It's okay. I've always got your back, sis.

Weiss: Yang… You, Ruby, and even Blake are more like family to me than my brother or even my own father.

Yang is the one, who appears when Weiss needs a sister the most. She is an older sibling, who is openly protective and caring. So, she is an alternative to Winter. She is there to remind Weiss the world is not so hostile and cruel. It can actually be full of love and kindness. Weiss fails to find Winter (ice), but she finds Yang (fire). She is not alone.

So, Vernal challenges Weiss to grow on her own, while Yang represents Weiss's answer to this challenge.

Everything comes together in volume 5 climax, where Weiss fights Vernal. What is the outcome of their conflict?

On the one hand Weiss loses the fight. Vernal has more experience and dominates her completely. Weiss can't hope to fill the gap between their levels so easily.

On the other hand both Weiss and Vernal get impaled by Cinder. Who is the one who survives? It is not Vernal, who is strongest physically, but has no-one to look out for her. It is Weiss, who has people who love her for who she is.

Vernal chooses to grow stronger and smarter, like Raven is. She chooses a cynical viewpoint. And yet for all her talent and intelligence, she walks straight into a trap and dies. She trusts the almighty Raven with her life, but is let down.

Weiss chooses to grow stronger and smarter, like Yang does. She opens her heart to people and earnestly supports them. She refuses a cold vision of the world and embraces her found family's warmth. The result is that she might not be as powerful as Vernal or Winter. However, when she needs her friends, they are there.

Weiss's survival in volume 5 is a negation of Winter's individualistic mentality and an affirmation of Weiss's newfound viewpoint. It shows independence is not equal to isolation and marks Weiss becoming her own person. A true Queen, hence the Queen Lancer.

This summon is linked to both The Snow Queen and Snowhite:

The Snow Queen: With Jaune (Gerda)'s help, Weiss (Kay) is able to expel the shard of glass freezing her heart. This shard takes the shape of an Evil Queen, which is purified and changed into something beautiful (the Queen Lancer). This avatar then is a metaphor for Weiss freeing herself from the mirror once and for all. Differently from Winter, there is no glass left in Weiss's soul.

Snowhite: Weiss dies and is reborn thanks to Jaune (the Prince). After she wakes up, she is crowned Queen (the Queen Lancer), like in her fairy tale. This means Weiss has finally grown up.

In other words, this is the resolution of the Royal Test, which is the trial Weiss must undergo to become a Queen. Initially, she is caught between 2 scary Queens. Jacques's Evil Queen and Winter's Snow Queen. Still, Weiss is Snowhite, who gets crowned Queen on her own terms.

So, Weiss's journey in Mistral is really the Snow Queen, that climaxes in Snowhite. It describes our girl breaking free from Winter's influence:

Cordovin: Oh, I can't wait to see you follow in your sister's footsteps. Weiss: (with an unenthusiastic smile) Absolutely…

At the same time, it presents Weiss as a more complex version of Gerda. She is a Gerda, who wants to emulate the Snow Queen, but then discovers the world can be beautiful and generous. And so can she:

Winter: You could continue to explore Remnant, discovering more about the world and honestly, more about yourself.

Only after this realization, she is is ready to help her sister.

SAVING WINTER

Winter is a combination of Kay and the Snow Queen. To be specific, she is Kay, who leaves home not just to stay with the Snow Queen, but to become the Snow Queen:

Winter: I'm choosing my destiny now. I've made it my own. And I take great pride in it. That has nothing to do with Father, or the General… That belongs to me.

Kay thinks the Snow Queen is the most beautiful creature alive and wants to grow smarter to impress her. Winter thinks that the Winter Maiden's powers give her value. Still, Kay's happiness isn't found in the Snow Queen, but in Gerda. Similarly, Winter's worth isn't found in magic, but in her own personhood. How can this misunderstanding be cleared? Easy, Winter needs to expel the 2 shards of the evil mirror, which can also be seen as metaphors for Winter's 2 main conflicts:

The shard in Winter's heart is Jacques's abuse, which has driven Winter away from her family:

Winter: Distancing myself from the Schnee name is the most beneficial thing I've ever done.

Overcoming it means that Winter reconciles with her inner child.

The shard in Winter's mind is Ironwood's control, which has turned Winter into a brainless machine:

Winter: Penny. The general is making hard choices so we don't have to. For the good of all, not just a few.

Overcoming it means that Winter lets her emotions out and starts following her heart instead than her mind.

Luckily, Winter has 2 Gerdas, 2 little sisters ready to help her:

Weiss and Penny outgrow Winter thanks to her own teachings. Then, they take on her 2 major struggles. Basically, they fight Winter's fights in her stead:

Weiss defeats Jacques and takes back Winter's family for her. Throughout volume 7, Winter is shown to be barely able to stay in the same room as Jacques without breaking. Weiss instead faces him multiple times and arrests him. She is the true Queen of the Schnee Family.

Penny becomes the Winter Maiden when Winter isn't ready. She defies Ironwood and saves Atlas and Mantle. She makes the choice Winter should, but can't. Penny follows her heart, while Winter represses hers, so Penny is the true Maiden.

Weiss and Penny's efforts meet Ironwood's resistance and antagonism until Winter can't ignore her repressed emotions anymore:

She finally listens to her heart and makes remarkable progress with both "shards".

On the one hand she reaches out to Weiss (her family) and is able to confront Jacques once and for all:

Winter: No. When we're finished, we'll move both of you to safety.Don't thank me. It was Weiss's decision.

On the other hand she openly defies Ironwood and fights him in the climax:

Winter: No, you have sacrificed everyone else! You closed the borders, you squeezed Mantle until it broke!

She calls her 2 old men out, which is a first step to truly grow into a proper adult. Because of her developement, she is finally able to become the Winter Maiden in the climax of volume 8:

This scene is key to understand how The Snow Queen is used throughout the Atlas Arc and what it means for Winter and Penny's stories.

First of all, Winter and Penny are clearly Kay and Gerda here. They are sister-coded and Penny is even bare-footed, which is a defining trait of Gerda. How do they fit their literary counterparts, though?

Winter and Penny are a Kay and Gerda in competition over the Winter Maiden. Specifically, Winter thinks that to be worthy of the Winter Maiden she must become a Snow Queen, cold and detached from emotions. Penny proves to her that the true Winter Maiden is instead a real girl with a heart and a soul:

Winter: No, Penny. You were always the real Maiden at heart. I was just a machine… just… following orders.

This wording is interesting because we find a similar one in Andersen's story:

“Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God.” And Kay and Gerda looked into each other’s eyes. They both sat there, grown up, yet children at heart.

Only children at heart are worthy of heaven, only real girls can truly become Maidens. This is Penny's lesson to Winter. The real Winter Maiden is not an almighty Snow Queen, but a Blue Fairy that sees humanity in others. Like Fria with Penny and Penny with both Fria and Winter.

At the same time, Winter initially believes that the key to her destiny is Fria, an older woman who transfers the powers out of duty. In the end, though, she is gifted magic by Penny, a child who casts pragmatism aside out of love. A true child (maiden) at heart. So, you see, through Penny Winter begins her arc. She starts reconciling with both her emotions and inner child. This is why "the ice turns in the word eternity":

Penny: I won’t be gone, I’ll be part of you.

Penny isn't really gone, but is forever with Winter. A part of her heart. For eternity.

BLUE FAIRY OR SNOW QUEEN?

Winter's Maiden design calls back to both the Snow Queen and Pinocchio's Blue Fairy. On the one hand she appears surrounded by ice. On the other hand the ice can be seen as fairy dust. So, is Winter gonna be a Snow Queen like Fria or a Blue Fairy like Penny? Or will she be her own Maiden, different from both? Time will tell. What's sure is that the first thing Winter does after receiving the powers is to fail, both as a Maiden and as a big sister.

On the one hand she fails to retrieve the Staff. This is important symbolically because only "true" Maidens get the relics. Maidens with flaming eyes who have still to grow don't. For example, Cinder can't find the Crown and Raven leaves the Lamp. Yang and Penny instead both get the relics, which are thematically linked to them. In short, it is a motif and a pattern. Winter failing to take the Staff from Cinder shows she still has a way to go before truly growing into a full fledged Maiden. On the other hand she fails to save Weiss and loses another little sister. The moment she chooses to open her heart and to show her true feelings they work against her, she makes mistakes and lets her loved one down.

Basically, Winter has some other development to do:

Winter: But yes Penny, we must still acknowledge our personal feelings, wrestle with them. It ensures us that we're on the right path. It's what makes us human.

After a life of repression, she is just now starting to struggle with her emotions. The result of this struggle will tell us who Winter really is. As for now, she keeps being tested through her double conflict (her 2 shards).

As a Maiden she has to lead her people to safety in Vacuo. As a Schnee she has to deal with Weiss's loss and to mend her relationship with her family:

This last point is especially interesting. Winter's arc in Atlas mostly transfers her conflict with Jacques on Ironwood. Still, the origin of Winter's problems is not the General, but her shattered childhood. This means that in order to truly grow she needs to reconcile with her family. It is the only way to find catharsis and to soothe her inner child's pain. However, she might not be able to do it alone.

In this context, Weiss's help will probably be key. After all, Penny helps Winter with one shard (Maidenhood), so it is fitting Weiss does the same with the other (the Schnee family). Penny starts Winter's arc, so Weiss should finish it. Moreover, Weiss herself is already ahead of Winter when it comes to fix her family bonds. This is clear if we consider Weiss's development through the relationships with her 2 siblings:

Initially, Weiss shares Whitely coping mechanism. They both obey Jacques and try to fulfill his impossible standards. They play the part of the good reflections and stay hidden in the mirror.

As time goes on, though, Weiss embraces Winter's approach more and more. She grows braver and openly defies Jacques. By doing so she grows distant from Whitley until they fight in volume 4.

However, differently from Winter, Weiss never fully discards her family. She doesn't run from her name or legacy, but tries to make it better. She is a synthesis of the best traits of both her siblings (Winter + Whitley = Weiss). This is why she is able to inspire both to be better.

In other words, Weiss leaves childhood (Whitley) behind to grow more adult (Winter), but then goes back to integrate her unsolved parts (Whitley). Winter needs to do the same and she will with Weiss as a bridge.

GERDA AND KAY'S ADVENTURE: FROM WINTER TO SUMMER

Weiss and Winter's story is set up to end in Vacuo, which fits The Snow Queen's use of seasons. As a matter of fact seasons are rather important in the story and are often mentioned to show the time passing. Kay disappears in winter, Gerda starts her journey in spring, she finds Kay in winter and they go back home in summer.

Can you see what RWBY is doing?

Winter is in Atlas- the Kingdom of Winter

Weiss goes through a self-discovery journey in Mistral - the Kingdom of Spring

Weiss and Winter meet again in Atlas - the Kingdom of Winter

Weiss and Winter will find a metaphorical home and embrace each other in Vacuo - the Kingdom of Summer

Vacuo is then the perfect stage for the Schneesters' final reconciliation, which may allude to the Snow Queen once again. In particular, an ideal ending of Winter's arc should have (imo):

Another reference to the word "eternity"

Winter expelling the shards

The details are clearly up in the air. However, I would not be surprised if all of this is conveyed through a summon. As Weiss's arc shows, unlocking an avatar perfectly conveys the idea of freeing one-self from painful mirror fragments. Moreover, I can't forget this very silly thing from Ice Queendom :'''):

Jokes aside, let's speak a little bit of Semblances...

THE SCHNEESTERS' SEMBLANCE

Glyphs is clearly inspired by the Snow Queen:

The snow-flakes ran along the ground, and the nearer they came to her, the larger they appeared and much more terrible. For they were alive, and were the guards of the Snow Queen, and had the strangest shapes. Some were like great porcupines, others like twisted serpents with their heads stretching out, and some few were like little fat bears with their hair bristled; but all were dazzlingly white, and all were living snow-flakes.

This is the Schnees' summonings in a nutshell: snowflakes that come to be living animals.

There is more, though. The Schneesters' Semblance ties with their allusion in different ways.

Winter is the Snow Queen, who is able to summon multiple "soldiers" at once:

Even now, it is the main difference between Winter and Weiss's technique. Winter likes multiplying her servants, while Weiss prefers playing with their size. Moreover, the Snow Queen is introduced changing snowflakes into "great white chickens" and this is Winter's first summon:

Weiss is instead both Snowhite and Gerda. As Snowhite, her glyphs reference the forest animals she befriends. They become a metaphor of how Weiss progressively tames her inner beasts and integrates with them. As Gerda, there is this:

Then little Gerda repeated the Lord’s Prayer, and the cold was so great that she could see her own breath come out of her mouth like steam as she uttered the words. The steam appeared to increase, as she continued her prayer, till it took the shape of little angels who grew larger the moment they touched the earth. They all wore helmets on their heads, and carried spears and shields. Their number continued to increase more and more; and by the time Gerda had finished her prayers, a whole legion stood round her. They thrust their spears into the terrible snow-flakes, so that they shivered into a hundred pieces, and little Gerda could go forward with courage and safety.

Gerda summons angels, who wear helmets and shields (so Knigts) and have spears:

This is all very cool, but what of it? Winter and Weiss's allusions are used to develop their foiling. On the one hand Winter is the Snow Queen that transforms snowflakes into beasts. Her summons are symbolically cold and made of ice. On the other hand Weiss is Gerda whose breath turns into angels. She changes her inner warmth into an army ready to help her. The hint here is that Winter and Weiss's summons work differently, which is confirmed by Winter's advice to Weiss in volume 3:

Winter: Emotions can grant you strength. But you must never let them overpower you.

Winter never loses control. She dominates her emotions and strives to always be her best version. She is cool, she is perfect, she is an ideal, which means she isn't her real self. Her avatars are the result of repression.

Weiss unlocks her summons when she rushes to save Velvet. She is irrational, she is brash, she is reckless. She doesn't think, but feels and acts. This is why she frees her heart. Her avatars are a result of integration.

In a sense, the sisters are opposite when it comes to fighting styles and personal journeys.

Weiss initially excels at combining her glyphs with Dust, but can’t summon. This is because summons are mirrors of one's interiority. Weiss initially doesn't really know who she is without the family crest, so she can't conjure anything. The moment she grows into herself she succeeds.

Winter is instead great at summoning, but is rarely seen combining her glyphs with Dust. This is because she has cut herself off from the family. Once she accepts her feelings and reaches out to Weiss, she is shown using Dust powered Glyphs much more.

In short, Weiss's arc is about finding her own individuality, while Winter's is about learning to let others in. So, Weiss's style progressively becomes more focused on summons. It would fit if Winter were to use more elemental glyphs in the future.

Not only that, but I would love if Winter started to combine her glyphs with magic to obtain effects similar to Dust. It would show she is starting to depend more on her family. Not Jacques or the SDC, but Penny, who gifted her with the powers:

Winter: This…was a gift.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE SNOW QUEEN?

The fairy tale's message is found in this prayer:

“Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see.”

It is a recurring motif throughout the story. It is the prayer Gerda uses to free Kay and it is repeated at the very end. It means people should keep their childhood ingenuity and generosity. This theme clearly fits RWBY's idealistic message. Not only that, but the prayer fits Ruby herself and her role in Weiss's arc.

Ruby is Weiss's inspiration (the "Hunter" that motivates her to be a better Huntress). She is also the one, who brings out Weiss's inner child:

Weiss: Hey, Ruby? I always wanted bunk beds as a kid.

Through her and the rest of her team, Weiss defrosts. She embraces her childishness more and more:

She discovers herself an idealist, ready to make the world a better and warmer place. She is blooming into a white rose of summer, who will soon become Winter's inspiration. In this way, both sisters will grow into beautiful and resilient flowers, survivors of their icy childhood.

These are my main thoughts on how the Snow Queen is used in RWBY. Sorry it is so long and I took so long to answer. On the bright side, I think the timing is perfect given the Holiday Season :''') I hope you enjoy this meta on Santa's 2 beautiful granddaughters!

Happy Holidays, if you celebrate!

#rwby #rwby meta #weiss schnee #winter schnee #penny polendina #yang xiao long #james ironwood #jacques schnee #asksfullofsugar #thecapturedafrique #once upon an allusion #semblance of the soul #my meta #ruby rose #jaune arc

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