> But where is Belle's mother? Where is the Little Mermaid's mother?
> Where is Poco's mother? Where is Jasmine's mother? Where is Dorthy's
> mother? Rapunzel's mother? Cinderella's mother?
>
>Catherine Asaro
Well, if you go back to the folklore originals, the grim truth
(pun not entirely intended) is that she probably died in childbirth. This
was the leading cause of death in married women prior to the mid-nineteenth
century and it didn't matter whether they were poor women or nobility.
Which is why their are so many kings without queens in fairytales.
Which is also why there are so many wicked stepmothers. A man who lived
until 45 had better than even odds of long outliving his wife, remarrying
at least once, and having children by the second (and third wife). In a
poor family, a woman faced with the task of having to take care of ten
kids, only half of them hers, would be more likely than not to treat her
own children better than her stepchildren. Child abandonment and
infanticide were quite common in the middle ages. Even the Church tended
to turn a blind eye to these practices in many cases.
Mike Levy
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