Stepfather

"Stepdad" redirects here. For other uses, seeStepfather (disambiguation).

Astepfatherorstepdadis a biologically unrelated 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 hisstepchildren.

In fiction

Though less common in literature than stereotypical evilstepmothers,there are also cases of evilstepfathers,such as in the fairy talesThe Gold-Bearded Man(in a plot usually featuring a cruel father) andThe 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 includeThe Prince and the Princess in the ForestandThe Blue Belt,although the tales of this type can also feature a different female relation, such as the stepsister inThe Three Princes and their Beasts.

In media, evil stepfathers include Claudius inHamlet(though his role as uncle is more emphasized), Walter Parks Thatcher inCitizen Kane(though this is debatable), Murdstone inCharles Dickens'sDavid Copperfield,the King from the movieRadio Flyer,and Gozaburo Kaiba (who adopted Seto and Mokuba Kaiba) fromYu-Gi-Oh!.The Stepfatherdepicts an evil father who has murdered his family and subsequent families.

In his operaLa Cenerentola,Gioacchino Rossiniinverted the tale ofCinderellato have her oppressed by her stepfather. His motive is made explicit, in that providing adowryto Cenerentola would cut into what he can give to his own daughters.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.