OUTLINE:
My specific topic: My folklore project paper is on the common portrayal of step-mothers as wicked in folktales.
How it relates to folklore: Most of my analysis will center on folktales, primarily marchen. Folktales account for a significant percentage of folklore commonly told to children, and I wish to explore whether the lore transmits cultural values and attitude that continue foster negative images of step-mothers.
Why I decided to do my research on this topic: Apparently this subject appealed to me because I, like many other women, became a bride and wicked stepmother in the same ceremony. In barely more time than it takes to wink an eye, one's life can be transformed from being a single person, to becoming a wife and stepmother. And while a wedding ceremony is rather abstract, meaning you feel no physical differences after it is performed except for a ring on your finger, the consequences and expectations of those two combined roles lend themselves to an interesting living situation. After 13 years of marriage and three stepchildren, I feel somewhat qualified to voice my opinion and theories on wicked stepmothers You never hear any little girl wish to be a stepmother when she grows up. However, experts say that by the year 2000 there will be more stepfamilies in America than intact biological families. Currently it is estimated that one out three Americans, an estimated 60 million adults and 20 million children, belong to a stepfamily.
Exactly how I did my project: First, I began to look up the etymology of the word. I quickly discovered that from the ancient Greeks to today, the term has had negative connotations associated with it. Next, I started to read folk tales in which a step-mother was presented, as well as read academic analysis of such folk tales. By reading the folk tales, I quickly gained an overview of the general ways the step-mother was viewed, how she was presented, and common behaviors associated with her. Besides the academic analyses of the step-mother in literature, I was also able to obtain and read sociological information about how the step-mom is viewed in our society today. After reading the tales, tale analysis, and sociological texts, I began to develop my own in-depth position on the topic--a position that makes for the general thesis behind the paper. Next, I began to compose the paper around a few basic areas: the historical background of the step-mom in folk tales, the fact that the old tales and the current portrayal are similar, the observation that the step-mom's portrayal society is generally negative, the significance of the above points to being a step-mom today, and a possible solution to the negative and false portrayal.
What I learned by doing the project: Sadly,
the term stepmother is almost unheard of unless the word "wicked" is
attached
to the front of it. Not surprisingly, the stigma associated with
stepmothers
seems to be universally accepted. This can most likely be attributed to
the origin of "wicked stepmothers" in folktales as far back as the 5th
century (Watson 49). What is surprising is that the term is still very
relevant today, and quite possibly for the same reasons that it came
about
many previous centuries ago. Seemingly, it appears that a positive
relationship
between a stepmother and her stepchildren was never expected. The
ancient
Greeks and Romans thought ill will from a stepmother to her
stepchildren
was a normal consequence of the relationship. Throughout the history of
folklore stepmothers are portrayed as evil and self-centered. There
seem
to be three standard personality traits they possess: 1) sparked by
jealousy
they often mistreat or plot against their stepchildren. These schemes
usually
fail, and as a result the stepmother is punished or commits suicide by
the time the story concludes (Watson 32). 2) Frequently the new
stepmother
and the stepchildren are relatively close in age. Therefore the
stepmother,
in several folktales, attempts to have an amorous relationship with her
stepson. Of course for this to be a moral folktale the son must reject
the stepmother's advances, thus creating a rage in her that ignites
revenge.
As a result, the stepmother often attempts to injure or kill her
stepson
(21). 3) The third most common plot in these stories is that the new
stepmother
is jealous that her husband's inheritance will be left to the son of
another
woman (26). Usually the tradition was to leave the inheritance to the
oldest
son. In all of these scenarios the stepmother is portrayed to be
wicked,
without morals, and greedy.
While there certainly is some truth to the negative role of the stepmother in society, it was probably a learned defense mechanism. As a survival technique stepparents that wish to remain married to an ineffective disciplinarian must learn to create some form of order in the household. Unfortunately this is often interpreted as interference by the stepchildren and frequently meets with criticism from the spouse. However, if the spouse, the biological father, were more willing to take control of the discipline and set some rigid standards for his children in the household, it wouldn't be necessary for the stepmother to do these things. Chances are, under that management, the stepparent would be thought of more graciously by her family.
All in all, the fact that stepmothers are chosen to play such a negative role says something about our world's society. "Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, and Snow White revolve around the actions of an evil stepmother. These stories may appear innocuous enough, unless of course you happen to be a stepmother or a stepchild. Fairies do not exist, and witches do no exist, but stepmothers do exist, and therefore certain fairy tales are harmful rather than helpful to large segments of the population"
What questions I still have, and how I would do the project differently: Although most of my initial questions were answered by the research I did, I am still not happy with my concluding solution section. I had hoped to arrive at a complete and reasonable solution to the complex problem--I was unable to do either well. Also, if I were to do it again, I would do my own survey. The survey would ask children and adults their current perceptions of stepmothers. I would incorporate the survey results into the paper.