Wicked Stepmother: Difference between revisions

[[File:SnowWhite.jpg|frame|The [['''Wicked Stepmother]]''' luring [[Snow White and(fairy The Seven Dwarfs (noveltale)|Snow White]]]]

{{quote|''Better a serpent than a stepmother!''|'''[[Euripides]]''', ''[[Alcestis]]''}}

''When my mither she did die;

''My father married the ae warst woman

''The warld did ever see.''|'''The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea'''}}

The [['''Wicked Stepmother]]''', the woman hostile to her stepchildren, is a perennial trope. [[Older Than Feudalism]], she appears constantly in legends and folklore around the world. She seldom appears played straight in modern works, except when they are retelling [[Fairy Tale|Fairy Tales]]s, but the number of retold fairy tales (especially "[[Cinderella (novel)|Cinderella]]", "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]", and "[[Hansel and Gretel]]") gives her a number of straight appearances. Many psychologists hypothesize that she is an [[Archetypal Character]], devised by children to contain all they hate in their mothers so they can continue to regard Mother as perfect. Sadly enough, [[Truth in Television]]; children are vastly more likely to abused by stepparents (and people cohabiting with the parent are even worse). For any or all of these reasons, even decades (centuries?) of [[Subverted Trope|subversion]] have not tranformed her even into a [[Discredited Trope]]; she can still be played straight or subverted. [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] are commonplace whenever dealing with a stepfamily.

She generally favors her own children -- whetherchildren—whether from a previous marriage or this one -- overone—over her stepchildren. Sometimes her [[Greed|economic motives]] are made clear: there is only so much to go around, and she wants it for herself or her own children. An equivalent male figure is the [[Evil Uncle]] -- because—because inheritance is generally through the male line, the uncle can inherit his brother's children's estate. [[Green-Eyed Monster|Envy]] is another common cause; the [['''Wicked Stepmother]]''' either wants to be [[Fairest of Them All]] or to have her daughters be so.

Her tactics vary widely. She may simply [[Cinderella Circumstances|oppress the heroine, keeping her in rags and slaving at household work]] -- sometimes—sometimes going as far as assigning the [[Impossible Task]]. As a [[Wicked Witch]], she may [[Baleful Polymorph|transform]] the child(ren) [[Animorphism|into animals]]. She may drive or send them off. She may act [[Family-Unfriendly Violence|violently]] toward them and even [[Family-Unfriendly Death|kill]] them (and perhaps cap that by [[Due to the Dead|cooking them up and serving them to their father]].)

The stepchild(ren) may succeed in defeating her through help from their [[Unfinished Business|real though dead mother]] -- the—the Grimms' version of "Cinderella", "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130824062133/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/german.html Aschenputtel]", has Aschenputtel get her gowns from the tree planted on her mother's grave. [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s may also feature, as can a [[Fairy Godmother]]. These figures can do everything from performing the [[Impossible Task]] on behalf of the child to ensuring that [[She Cleans Up Nicely]] despite the dirt and rags she is reduced to.

Her chances of surviving the ending are not good. The [[Happily Ever After]] ending of most fairy tales often dwells with more detail on how the [['''Wicked Stepmother]]''' and/or her children were [[Family-Unfriendly Violence|punished]] than on the hero and happiness. On the other hand, stepmothers who are not disposed of often return; when she is not [[Family-Unfriendly Death|executed at the wedding]], she may, for instance, try to kill the heroine when she gives birth and replace her with her own daughter; so the [[Fairy Tale]] doesn't end (happily or not) until she's dead.

A common subversion is the [[Green-Eyed Monster|jealous]] [[Daddy's Girl]] regarding any stepmother as a [['''Wicked Stepmother]]'''.

* ''[[Prétear]]'', being a mixture of "Snow-White" and "Cinderella" turned into a [[Magical Girl]] anime, does provide the main character with a stepmother, clearly aiming to invoke this trope, but then subverts it -- sureit—sure, Natsue is strict, but not evil, not to mention that she is so much in love with Himeno's father Kaoru she'd rather spend her time with him instead of lecturing Himeno. In the original manga, Natsue is more cruel, but still obsessed with Kaoru, to the point of not caring not only for Himeno, but also for her own daughters. And in this continuity {{spoiler|she was possessed by the [[Big Bad]]}}, so it's not ''entirely'' her fault...

* In ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma 1/2]]'', the secondary character Konatsu has a Wicked Stepmother (who bears a remarkable resemblance to late actor Edward G Robinson) and two Wicked and ''UGLY'' Stepsisters. Konatsu's entire life story is a direct and unabashed ripoff of the Cinderella tale's backstory (except for the cross-dressing ninja part).

* Shigeko from ''[[PietaPietà]]'' does her best to marginalize and shove Rio to the side, so that she doesn't interfere with her [[Stepford Smiler|picturesque family life]].

* In [[The Brothers Grimm (creator)|The Brothers Grimm]]'s "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921113251/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/47junipertree.html The Juniper Tree]" and in [[Joseph Jacobs]]'s "[httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20140401211439/http://surlalunefairytales.com/hanselgretel/stories/rosetree.html The Rose Tree]", the stepmother kills the child, [[I'm a Humanitarian|cooks the body]], and serves the dish to the child's father -- afather—a girl in "The Rose Tree", but the boy of "The Juniper Tree" is the more common form. In most versions, the child [[Unexplained Recovery|gets better.]] (Note that the half-sibling in these stories is invariably on good terms with the stepchild.)

* In "[http://www.classicreader.com/book/995/28/ The Boys with Golden Stars]" the stepmother tried to kill her stepson's children -- againchildren—again because he had chosen a bride other than her daughter.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151144/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/twelvewilducks.html The Twelve Wild Ducks]", the stepmother is [[Green-Eyed Monster|jealous]] of her stepson's bride's beauty and tries to have her killed.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140324190359/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/13threemenforest.html The Three Little Men In the Wood]", the stepmother sends her stepdaughter into the woods on an impossible task to kill her. When she returns having won magical rewards with her good manners, she sends her daughter after and is furious when her ill-tempered daughter is justly punished. When the stepdaughter marries the king, she tries to murder her and replace her with her own daughter.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140405140235/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/135whiteblackbride.html The White Bride and The Black One]", after a similar distribution of curses, the stepmother tries to murder the stepdaughter en route to her wedding and replace her with her own daughter.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130910114342/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/babayaga/ Vasilissa the Beautiful]", the stepmother sends Vasilissa to [[Baba Yaga]]'s hut.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131104152714/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/birch.html The Wonderful Birch]", a [[Wicked Witch]] turns the heroine's mother into a sheep and by [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shapeshifting]] takes her place; she has the sheep killed and feeds it to the woman's husband, although the daughter does not eat and manages to bury the bones. Then she does everything in ''Cinderella'' and then enchants her stepdaughter after the wedding and puts her own daughter in her place.

* The stepmothers in "[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/greenknight.html The Green Knight]" and "[https://web.archive.org/web/20191123051321/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pentamerone/6cenerentola1911.html Cenerentola]" persuade the heroines to get their fathers to marry them, and then start to abuse them.

** Also in "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130824020414/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/hearthcat.html The Hearth Cat]"

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130906231232/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/frogking/stories/wellworld.html The Well At the World's End]", the stepmother sends her stepdaughter to the title well with a sieve and then forces her to obey the frog from sheer nastiness.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130313074520/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/asbjornsenmoe/katiewoodencloak.html Katie Woodencloak]", Katie flees her stepmother in fear for her life.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130713055849/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/laidlyworm.html The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh]", the stepmother, [[Fairest of Them All|out of jealousy at her beauty]], turns her stepdaughter into a dragon; she is disenchanted by her brother.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100206025940/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/moreceltic/ridere.html The Ridere of Riddles]", the stepmother tries to poison her stepson. Her son, however, loves his brother, warns him, and then flees with him.

* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131017031044/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/twelvedancing/stories/katiecrackernuts.html Katie Crackernuts]", the [[Green-Eyed Monster|envious]] stepmother has her stepdaughter Anne's head turned into a sheep's head. Subverted in that the Katie of the title is ''her own daughter'', who sees what she's done and sets out with her stepsister Anne to escape and solve the problem; normally the stepdaughter is the heroine.

* Story 25 of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", seen [https://web.archive.org/web/20111227011158/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/7207/GilesB.htm here]; as a summation doesn't do this story justice, just read the whole thing. Note, however, that the Stepmother is the only one denied a [[Happily Ever After]].

* In "[httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20140401204322/http://surlalunefairytales.com/armlessmaiden/stories/biancabella.html Biancabella and the Snake]", the hero Ferrinando's [[Wicked Stepmother]] orders her men to kill [[The Ojou|Biancabella]] after she marries her stepson; they don't, but they [[Family-Unfriendly Violence|gouge out her eyes and cut off her hands]] as evidence that they have. Biancabella has to go through a [[Break the Cutie]] process to get her place in the family back.

* In "[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/015.htm The Witch]", the [[Wicked Stepmother]] intentionally sends her children to a [[Wicked Witch]].

* In ''[[The Sound of Music]]'', Maria's rival is clearly aiming to be a [[Wicked Stepmother]]; she's already planning to pack the children [[Off to Boarding School]].

* ''[[Sleepy Hollow (Film)|Sleepy Hollow]]'' has {{spoiler|Lady Von Tassell, who offs her husband and tries to off her stepdaughter in order to inherit the family fortune. She's also implied to have killed the first wife while posing as her nurse.}}

* In ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]'' (both the original and the remake), the twins almost end up with an Evil Stepmother. The one in the remake is especially egregious, since the girls' father is a millionaire and the stepmother-to-be is a bona fide [[Gold Digger]].

* Subverted in ''[[The Princess Bride (novel)|The Princess Bride]]'': Prince Humperdinck calls his stepmother "ES", short for Evil Stepmother, because when he was a child he used to think that all stepmothers are evil. She's actually stated to be the most beloved person in the kingdom, and she and Humperdinck have a very good relationship -- therelationship—the name is more of an endearment than anything.

* Mr. Murdstone in ''[[David Copperfield (novel)|David Copperfield]]'' is an archetypal evil stepfather.

* One could argue that Mrs. Reed from ''[[Jane Eyre]]'', while technically an aunt, still qualifies as an evil stepmother. Not only does she play the part, she is Jane's aunt by marriage, and thus not a blood relative, so she is a [[Wicked Stepmother]].

* In the [[Chivalric Romance]] ''William of Palerne'', [[Our Werewolves Are Different|a wolf is really a prince enchanted]] by his [[Wicked Stepmother]].

* Enforced in the [[Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms]]; because the world runs on narrative causality, even stepmothers who don't start out evil become evil, unless [[Genre Savvy]] people can subvert it. Played with to hell and back in ''The Sleeping Beauty'', where no less than three evil sorceresses try to enchant the king while he is still mourning his beloved wife; the local Fairy Godmother beats them to it and marries the king herself in disguise as the [[Obviously Evil]] [[Wicked Stepmother]].

* Averted in ''[[A Dirge for Prester John]]''. When Anglitora comes to meet John, Hagia practically adopts the girl as her own.

* The ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode ''Jack Frost'' is based on a Russian legend of a Cinderella-esque girl who must endure abuse from her standard issue [[Fairy Tale]] [[Wicked Stepmother]] and stepsister. The girl's father is alive, but is so browbeaten that he doesn't object even when told to dump his daughter in the forest in the middle of winter.

* Inverted in ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)]] 2'': Eleanor Lamb much more favors her monstrous, but kind to her, adopted father over her own uncaring, emotionally detached mother and resurrects him to save her from her mother's imprisonment and becoming a tool in her mother's mad plan.

* Otacon's stepmother in [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]] was revealed to have seduced him, causing his birth father to commit suicide and mentally scaring his step-sister who nearly drowned that day, when he was suppose to be watching her. If the stepmother regerts these actions or anything is unknown but she sure as hell didn't mind seducing him.

* Bart's teacher, Edna Krabappell, was dating Ned Flanders in one episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''. Not liking the idea of having her as a neighbor, Bart tried to make Ned's sons, Rodd and Todd, afraid she'd be a [[Wicked Stepmother]] who'd force them to do all the household chores. It backfired because Rodd and Todd enjoy doing them.

[[Category:WickedAbuse StepmotherTropes]]