The Evil Stepmother is a terrible character who is present in various Disney princess movies, portrayed as wicked, cruel, and truly vain. As someone who has been a fan of Cinderella since childhood, Lady Tremaine— more notoriously known as the evil stepmother— has been perhaps one of the least favorite characters for over 70 years— since it was released in the 50s. Upon watching the classic cartoon again as a high school student, rewatching it with a more mature mindset allowed a new perspective towards her behavior and reason behind her motives.
Despite being represented as vile and uncaring towards her stepdaughter, the evil stepmother sees the protagonist, Cinderella, as competition. When looking beyond her vile character, it is notable that she just wants the best for her unfortunate daughters. Without the brains to survive in society and the average beauty that’s looked past the public eye, Lady Tremaine wants her daughters to be accepted by society— socially and economically. Additionally, her former husband had taken her loving nature with him along with his passing. Her daughters had also lost their capacity for love and kindness at an early age since they were young when their father passed away. In return, they became materialistic, even more so after moving in with Cinderella who was an aristocrat.
With her husband dying, Lady Tremaine was left to fend for herself and her daughters alone. As single mothers are looked down on by society, Tremaine married again, only to have her second husband die. This time, however, she had married not for love, but for necessity— to survive in a world run by social status. Lady Tremaine was also jealous of the love her husband showed to Cinderella, giving her motive to develop a deep hatred for her stepdaughter. With no one to financially support the family of four, she had to earn money and make a living for herself and her daughters.
Let’s view her actions from a modern perspective. Because she was isolated herself, as a widow in the 1900s, her behavior would arise concern towards the public, and she would need to seek therapy. Since society and its expectations are present all throughout history, villains often find themselves self-conscious when around “perfect” children therefore causing them to lash out and find a punishment they think is suitable for their so-called enemy.
To punish them, like other Disney villains, Tremaine doesn’t raise her hand to Cinderella but rather overworks her with chores. Despite this, she isn’t the worst Disney villain by far. Almost all Disney villains want power, and a lot of them go to great extremes to reach them. The Evil Queen in Snow White stooped to lower levels when she poisoned Snow White with the apple. In The Lion King, Scar murders his own brother to rule over his kingdom. Judge Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a great example by burning Paris to exterminate the Romanies that live in the city. Not only that, but he also cruelly abuses his son mentally and emotionally! The worst of all is the Coachman from Pinnochio. He was by far the darkest and scariest Disney villain, as he mentions torturing “stupid little boys” by turning them into “donkeys “(As the curse exists on the island— due to the boys behaving like destructive animals), and selling them as slaves for wealth.
After analyzing the behavior of Lady Tremaine, she still shouldn’t be liked, however, an insight towards behavior would cause readers and watchers to understand her actions better. In contrast to other Disney villains, she has an insight for her harsh behavior and mysterious demeanor, allowing her to turn into more of a villain with more understandable motives.
