A cruel maternal figure who mistreats the protagonist, one of the most prevalent villain archetypes in fairy tales worldwide.
The Evil Stepmother is a stock character who appears in countless fairy tales as the primary antagonist. She typically marries a widowed father and then abuses his children from his first marriage out of jealousy, often targeting the most beautiful or talented child. Famous examples include the stepmother in Snow White who tries repeatedly to kill her stepdaughter, Cinderella's stepmother who forces her into servitude, and the stepmother in Hansel and Gretel who convinces her husband to abandon his children in the forest. Folklorists interpret this figure in multiple ways: as a reflection of historical family dynamics (when high maternal mortality made remarriage common), as representing children's anxiety about parental replacement, and as externalizing the fear that a nurturing figure could become dangerous. In some variants and cultures, the biological mother plays the villain role, suggesting the archetype is about dangerous maternal figures regardless of biological relationship.