A stepfather or stepdad is a non-biological male parent married to one's preexisting parent.
A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his
stepchildren
A stepchild is the offspring of one's spouse, but not one's own offspring, either biologically or through adoption.
Stepchildren can come into a family in a variety of ways. A stepchild may be the child of one's spouse from a previous relationshi ...
.
Culture
Though less common in literature than stereotypical evil
stepmothers, there are also cases of evil ''stepfathers'', such as in the fairy tales ''The Gold-Bearded Man'' (in a plot usually featuring a cruel father) and ''
The Little Bull-Calf''. One type of such tale features a defeated villain who insists on marrying the hero's mother and makes her help him trick the hero and so defeat him. Such tales include ''
The Prince and the Princess in the Forest'' and ''
The Blue Belt
The Blue Belt (Norwegian: ''Det blå båndet'') is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in ''Norske Folkeeventyr''. It is Aarne-Thompson type 590.
Plot summary
A beggar woman and her son were returning ...
'', although the tales of this type can also feature a different female relation, such as the stepsister in ''
The Three Princes and their Beasts''.
In fiction, evil stepfathers include Claudius in ''
Hamlet'' (though his role as uncle is more emphasized), Walter Parks Thatcher in ''
Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' (though this is debatable), Murdstone in
Charles Dickens's ''
David Copperfield'', the King from the movie ''
Radio Flyer'', and Gozaburo Kaiba (who adopted Seto and Mokuba Kaiba) from ''
Yu-Gi-Oh!''. ''
The Stepfather'' also depict an evil father who has murdered his family and subsequent families. The film ''
Sucker Punch'' features a sexually abusive stepfather.
In his opera ''
La Cenerentola'',
Gioacchino Rossini inverted the tale of ''Cinderella'' to have her oppressed by her stepfather. His motive is made explicit, in that providing a
dowry to Cenerentola would cut into what he can give to his own daughters.
[Warner, pp. 213–4] An analogous male figure may also appear as a wicked uncle; like the stepmother, the father's brother may covet the child's inheritance for his own children, and so maltreat his nephews or nieces. Modern films, however, seem to cast stepfathers in a somewhat kinder light, implying honorable men who marry divorced women or single mothers make good stepfathers.
References
Stepfamily
Parenting
Terms for men
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