Wow! I must be sincere and recognize that many of the things you say here, I did not know. Obviously one can intuit which is the real motive behind the representation of the stepmother, but one thing is that one imagines it and another very different that there are studies on the subject. I know for example that some fairy tales were really made to teach young people and children of certain times. On more than one occasion I have read versions of stories in which the evil witch and stepmother is not so evil, as is the case of a story by Bérbely Pérez Rego that versions Snow White and shows how she uses botox and biopolymers, and that is why she is the most beautiful in the city. Also, as a teacher, I've done some creative exercises where students must version the fairy tales themselves and great things come out. As always, thank you for this excellent post, @ladyrebecca.