European International Journal of Philological Sciences
52
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
52-55
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
24 January 2025
ACCEPTED
25 February 2025
PUBLISHED
27 March 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue 03 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
The Evil Stepmother and
The Kind Stepdaughter as
Archetypal Constructs in
Cross-Cultural Folklore
Turdaliev Dilshodjon Olimjon ugli
PhD in Philological Sciences, Senior Lecturer, Department of Russian
Philology, Fergana State University, Uzbekistan
Abstract
: This article offers a comparative investigation
into the narrative representations of the evil
stepmother and the kind stepdaughter in folk tales from
diverse cultural traditions. The study employs a
structural-semiotic methodology, integrating insights
from
folklore
studies,
anthropology,
and
psychoanalysis. Emphasis is placed on identifying
recurring narrative motifs, symbolic functions, and the
archetypal nature of these figures within their
respective cultural frameworks. The research elucidates
how such characters contribute to the encoding of
moral values, social norms, and gender ideologies
across societies. Furthermore, the study explores the
socio-historical conditions that have shaped these
images, highlighting their adaptability and persistence
in oral and literary traditions.
Keywords:
Evil stepmother, kind stepdaughter,
folktales, comparative folklore, archetypes, structural
semiotics, gender roles, cultural context, social norms.
Introduction:
Fairy tales constitute a significant cultural
medium for the transmission of moral values, social
expectations, and collective archetypes. Their narrative
structures often reflect fundamental psychological and
societal dynamics, allowing for the encoding and
perpetuation of cultural knowledge. Among the most
persistent and symbolically charged figures in global
folklore are the evil stepmother and the kind
stepdaughter
—
characters whose presence transcends
geographic, linguistic, and civilizational boundaries.
These figures consistently encapsulate complex
emotional and ethical dichotomies: jealousy versus
innocence, cruelty versus virtue, authority versus
submission. While their specific portrayals vary across
cultures, the structural and functional constancy of
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European International Journal of Philological Sciences
these characters suggests an archetypal foundation,
closely aligned with the theories of Carl Jung and later
structuralist interpretations.
The present study aims to conduct a comparative
analysis of the aforementioned figures across a wide
range of narrative traditions, including but not limited
to European, Asian, African, Slavic, and Indigenous
American folklore. Particular attention is paid to their
symbolic functions within the narrative, their
alignment with archetypal typologies, and their roles in
the reproduction of gendered and familial ideologies.
METHOD
The theoretical foundation of this research is rooted in
the structuralist and semiotic traditions of folkloristics
and anthropology. Propp’s Morphology of the Folktale
[2] remains foundational, offering a taxonomy of
narrative functions and character types, wherein the
stepmother regularly fulfills the function of the villain
(antagonist). His formalist model provides a basis for
understanding the invariant narrative positions these
figures occupy.
Lévi-
Strauss’s work on structural anthropology [3]
further informs the present study, especially his
analysis of binary oppositions in mythic structures.
According to his framework, the opposition between
stepmother and stepdaughter symbolizes broader
dialectical tensions: the archaic versus the emergent,
chaos versus order, destruction versus rebirth.
In the context of Germanic folklore, Maria Tatar [4]
interprets the figure of the stepmother as an
embodiment of suppressed social fears
—
particularly
those pertaining to inheritance, lineage, and maternal
rivalry. Similarly, Jack Zipes [5] situates fairy tales
within ideological and political matrices, wherein the
stepmother-stepdaughter dynamic serves as a site for
contesting patriarchal authority and socio-economic
hierarchies.
Cross-
cultural analyses, such as Akiko Motoyama’s
study of Japanese folktales [6], reveal culturally
contingent adaptations of the motif. In East Asian
contexts, the stepmother may emdiv not inherent
malevolence but rather an agent of moral discipline,
shaped by Confucian values and collectivist ethos.
Methodologically, this study employs a hybrid
approach, combining comparative-historical analysis
with
structural-semiotic
interpretation.
A
representative corpus of folktales featuring the evil
stepmother and kind stepdaughter was selected across
diverse cultural traditions. The analysis focuses on
narrative structure, symbolic codification, and cultural
functionality.
Secondary
sources
include
psychoanalytic interpretations, particularly those of
Bettelheim [12], who foregrounds the unconscious
dimensions of fairy tale symbolism.
Key analytical priorities include:
•
Identification
of
trans-cultural
narrative
constants and local variations;
•
Symbolic decoding of character traits and
actions;
•
Functional classification of characters within
their narrative systems;
•
Mapping the sociocultural values reflected in
their representation;
•
Tracing the historical and material conditions
influencing the figures’ evolution;
•
Assessing the gendered implications of their
narrative functions.
RESULTS
The findings indicate that the evil stepmother, across
most cultural variants, is characterized by traits of envy,
cruelty, and authoritarianism. Her antagonism is
typically directed at the stepdaughter, who is portrayed
as beautiful, humble, and industrious. The narrative
conflict is often driven b
y the stepmother’s desire to
secure dominance for her biological offspring or to
eliminate competition within the domestic sphere.
The stepdaughter’s narrative arc frequently involves
unjust suffering followed by a sequence of trials or
ordeals, culminating in reward or liberation
—
often
facilitated by supernatural intervention. This trajectory
reinforces cultural ideals surrounding virtue, endurance,
and moral fortitude.
In canonical European tales such as Cinderella (Perrault
[7]; Grimm [4]), the stepmother is both socially and
morally antithetical to the heroine. Her function is to
test the stepdaughter’s virtue, thus rendering the
latter’s eventual triumph narratively legitimate. In Snow
White [13], the stepmother-
queen’s obsession with
beauty and power serves as an allegory for female
rivalry under patriarchal scrutiny.
In sub-Saharan African narratives (cf. Okpewho [8]), the
stepmother’s malevolence is often expressed through
the use of magic or sorcery, underscoring the cultural
permeability between morality and the supernatural.
The stepdaughter is frequently aided by ancestral spirits
or
natural
forces,
signaling
a
cosmological
understanding of justice and kinship.
East Asian traditions offer distinct inflections. In Ye Xian
[9], a Chinese variant of Cinderella, the stepdaughter
receives assistance from the bones of a magical fish,
emdiving maternal ancestry and posthumous
protection. Motoyama [6] notes that Japanese folktales
sometimes portray the stepmother as an instrument of
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European International Journal of Philological Sciences
social pedagogy rather than outright malevolence,
thereby aligning with Confucian familial values.
In Slavic folklore, as evidenced in Morozko and other
tales collected by Afanasyev [10], the stepmother is
frequently conflated with the witch archetype,
reinforcing her symbolic association with disorder and
transgression. The stepdaughter, aided by magical
beings, ultimately prevails, reflecting an animistic
worldview wherein moral order is embedded in natural
forces.
North American Indigenous narratives, while less
reliant on the stepmother trope, nonetheless present
analogous structures
—
particularly through figures of
impostors or malevolent spirits who disrupt familial
harmony [14].
From a psychoanalytic perspective, the stepmother
can be interpreted as an externalization of the Jungian
shadow [11]
—
the repressed aspects of the maternal
image or societal anxieties concerning female
authority. Conversely, the stepdaughter embodies the
anima or innocent maiden archetype, undergoing a
symbolic journey of individuation and transformation.
Historical conditions, such as high maternal mortality
and frequent remarriage, contributed to the
normalization of blended families. The resulting
domestic tensions are reflected and often exaggerated
in fairy tale narratives, thereby encoding social
warnings and ethical prescriptions [15].
The gendered dimension of these figures is inextricable
from their narrative function. Female ambition, when
embodied by the stepmother, is vilified
—
thereby
reinforcing
normative
expectations
regarding
femininity, maternal conduct, and obedience [5].
DISCUSSION
The
comparative
evidence
corroborates
the
hypothesis that the evil stepmother and kind
stepdaughter
constitute
durable
trans-cultural
archetypes. Their function within folk narrative
systems is not merely ornamental but foundational:
they catalyze conflict, dramatize ethical choices, and
facilitate moral instruction.
The persistence of these figures across disparate
cultures suggests that they respond to universal
psychological
and
social
concerns
—
jealousy,
inheritance,
parental
absence,
and
moral
development. At the same time, the cultural specificity
of their representations reveals how local ideologies
shape the embodiment of these archetypes.
The demonization of the stepmother may reflect deep-
seated patriarchal anxieties about female power and
familial disruption. Fairy tales serve as symbolic
systems that both express and regulate such anxieties
through narrative resolution.
By contrast, the valorization of the stepdaughter
encodes cultural ideals of femininity
—
meekness,
industriousness, loyalty
—
that are rewarded within the
logic of the tale. These gender norms are thereby
naturalized and reproduced across generations.
While the figures in question originate in oral traditions,
their adaptability to modern literary and cinematic
forms ensures their continued relevance. Their
evolution over time reveals the dynamic interplay
between tradition and innovation in cultural
storytelling.
CONCLUSION
The archetypal images of the evil stepmother and the
kind stepdaughter remain among the most enduring
narrative constructs in global folklore. Their significance
lies not only in their recurrence but in their capacity to
mediate complex psychological and social tensions. This
study has demonstrated that these figures, while
anchored in specific cultural traditions, reflect broader
anthropological constants.
Future research might profitably explore the
transformation of these characters in contemporary
popular culture, as well as the reinterpretation of their
roles in light of feminist and post-structuralist theory.
An investigation into male analogs of the stepmother-
stepdaughter dynamic could also yield productive
comparative insights.
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