As a “wicked stepmother” myself, and the loving granddaughter of a “wicked stepmother”, and the loving “wicked stepmother” of a “wicked stepmother”, I can really do without the “wicked” tag.

That said, I agree that the stepsisters in Cinderella were pretty snotty.

But why?

Alice Isak has a simple explanation, which she explores in a brief poem,

Steps
by Alice Isak

Even if you’re a rebellious child, you’re marked by your training. If you’re not rebellious, if following the rules and patterns laid out for you brings you love and rewards, you’re marked without knowing it.

We see it all around, don’t we? We see people who behave as if some people are less than fully human because that’s what they’ve always been taught, because the structure of the society around them reinforces that and rewards them, overtly and subtly, for distancing themselves from those “some people”.

Alice begins by writing about fairy tales, but the meanings of her stories and poems go far beyond the apparent subject.

I’ll be looking forward to my Deal Me In deck turning up diamonds. I probably won’t always go to Alice with my diamond. On the other hand, I won’t be surprised if I do.

A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: If you have a work in progress, why is your “bad guy” bad? Or pick a bad guy from a show, book, comic, or story and answer that question.

MA