King James looks down through the ice to see the young woman (and her apples) frozen beneath. The view of her is being slowly covered by the falling snow. James is amused by this image. The King looks down on the world from the point of view of the absolute monarch with divine right. The young woman is of no account either as a subject or as a female. And yet her beauty is not obscured (initially) - only by his gaze which also 'freezes' her. The apples (fruit) are also frozen. The king's gaze is reiforced by those of the gaggle of (male) courtiers. The images combines beauty, life, fruitfulness and horror, coldness and death (male). This 'maleness' is at an extreme. Potter uses subjective shots: The King looks down on the frozen woman. The woman looks up at the goggling king.
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