Wicked stepmother: Difference between revisions
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'''Wicked stepmother''' is a common characterization of adult women in fantasy and fairy tales. The wicked stepmother is usually contrasted with a young, beautiful, innocent female protagonist. | '''Wicked stepmother''' is a common characterization of adult women in fantasy and fairy tales. The wicked stepmother is usually contrasted with a young, beautiful, innocent female protagonist. | ||
The implicit connection between the young female protagonist and her stepmother is their common male relative: the young female protagonist's father, the stepmother's husband, and the shared household of whom he is the patriarchal head. | |||
Their antagonism can only be understood through this connection. The tyrannical stepmother in Cinderella gains control of the household in which Cinderalla still lives because domestic labour traditionally falls to women via their connection to the men who own the houses. The murderous stepmother in Snow White is jealous of her husband's love for his daughter from a previous marriage. | |||
The patriarchal whitewashing of fairy tales often obscures the responsability of the patriarchal system in creating antagonistic relationships between women, and places the emphasis on the rivalry between the women themselves. | |||
==Examples== | ==Examples== | ||
Revision as of 10:49, 14 February 2008
Wicked stepmother is a common characterization of adult women in fantasy and fairy tales. The wicked stepmother is usually contrasted with a young, beautiful, innocent female protagonist.
The implicit connection between the young female protagonist and her stepmother is their common male relative: the young female protagonist's father, the stepmother's husband, and the shared household of whom he is the patriarchal head.
Their antagonism can only be understood through this connection. The tyrannical stepmother in Cinderella gains control of the household in which Cinderalla still lives because domestic labour traditionally falls to women via their connection to the men who own the houses. The murderous stepmother in Snow White is jealous of her husband's love for his daughter from a previous marriage.
The patriarchal whitewashing of fairy tales often obscures the responsability of the patriarchal system in creating antagonistic relationships between women, and places the emphasis on the rivalry between the women themselves.
Examples
- Murderous stepmother in Snow White
- Tyrannical stepmother in Cinderella)