“In some primitive traditions the cannibalistic ingestion of entrails is associated with the absorption of the power and soul of the victim and is also reminiscent of the vagina dentata of the terrible earth mother who attempts to dismember and eat the hero in his quest for the treasure. Whereas the reference to the lungs can be related to the powers of the breath, the liver (like the heart) is linked in folkloric tradition to desire and strength, as well as being associated with the secrets of witchcraft.”
–N. J. Girardot, “Initiation and Meaning in the Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”