# Fairy tales with good adoptive (or step) parents **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700 "2012-05-03T00:29:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/41 "2014-01-01T10:34:01Z")
I know that it’s a banning offense to link to TV Tropes, but … [Happily Adopted](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HappilyAdopted). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/42 "2014-01-02T19:37:21Z")
Nobody has mentioned the Bible? Jesus, Mary & Joseph! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/43 "2014-01-03T01:20:55Z")
I seem to recall hearing about—although Google isn’t turning up any primary sources, at the moment. ☹ —an old Arab fairy tale/folktale about a girl who was adopted by a _Ghoul_, who not only was a loving parent, but granted her some of his powers. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/44 "2014-01-03T15:59:22Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > The famous Japanese fairy tale “Peach Boy” (“Momotaro” in Japanese) has an elderly childless couple adopting the eponymous hero as an infant. As far as I can tell, they were good parents to him. I didn’t notice this thread was a zombie at first, then I saw that someone had beaten me to mentioning Momotaro by more than a year! There’s another famous Japanese fairy tale, “[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter)”, that also involves an elderly couple finding and adopting a baby – in this case a baby girl found inside a stalk of bamboo. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/45 "2014-01-03T17:01:21Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody has mentioned the Bible? Jesus, Mary & Joseph! I see what you did there. Great username-post combo, too. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/46 "2014-01-03T17:46:02Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I know that it’s a banning offense to link to TV Tropes, but … [Happily Adopted](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HappilyAdopted). I find it odd that this is considered a trope, since in my experience, it’s typical: adoptive parents are deeply grateful to have children, and the children are cherished. I’m adopted, as is my son, my brother and sister, and a number of friends. I even have a friend who was adopted and has a natural-born sister of the same age. (I learned that this isn’t unusual: once an adoption is more or less assured, tension releases, and fertility rises.) I only know of one case where things weren’t nearly story-book. A close high-school friend was the child of a single mother who married a man who adopted him at age three, and they then had two more children. He felt he was treated differently from the other kids by the father. He found out the truth practically in the middle of an argument. It’s understandable that he had issues. IMHO, that scenario is more of a TV trope than the happily adopted one. I also find it odd that I can’t find a TV trope for the evil adoption agency, which tries to force unwed mothers to abandon their babies, the agent usually played by a wicked looking person, either a harridan or the evil-banker looking type. I’ve seen that one so many times it makes my eyes roll. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/47 "2014-01-03T17:58:49Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > I find it odd that this is considered a trope, since in my experience, it’s typical: adoptive parents are deeply grateful to have children, and the children are cherished. I’m adopted, as is my son, my brother and sister, and a number of friends. I even have a friend who was adopted and has a natural-born sister of the same age. (I learned that this isn’t unusual: once an adoption is more or less assured, tension releases, and fertility rises.) > > I only know of one case where things weren’t nearly story-book. A close high-school friend was the child of a single mother who married a man who adopted him at age three, and they then had two more children. He felt he was treated differently from the other kids by the father. He found out the truth practically in the middle of an argument. It’s understandable that he had issues. IMHO, that scenario is more of a TV trope than the happily adopted one. > > I also find it odd that I can’t find a TV trope for the evil adoption agency, which tries to force unwed mothers to abandon their babies, the agent usually played by a wicked looking person, either a harridan or the evil-banker looking type. I’ve seen that one so many times it makes my eyes roll. I’ve never seen that trope on TV or in movies, but there’s a very common trope in which nice people adopt a baby, raise it for years, and then lose it when the birth mother comes back seeking to regain custody. I’m not saying that never happens, merely that it’s very unusual. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/48 "2014-01-03T18:14:36Z")
Terry Pratchett handles adoption nicely in several instances: Carrot Ironfounderson is a human adopted by Dwarves. They raise him well–as a Dwarf!–and he turns out great. Death (the anthropomorphic personification) adopts a daughter, who marries his assistant Mort, and they have a daughter, Susan–“Death’s adopted granddaughter,” who also turns out great. I know there’s a 3rd example but it’s not springing to mind immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/49 "2014-01-03T18:22:43Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > I find it odd that this is considered a trope, since in my experience, it’s typical: adoptive parents are deeply grateful to have children, and the children are cherished. Most of the entries on TV Tropes are for things that are typical, or at least fairly common, in fiction. (It’s not a cite about tropes you _don’t_ see on television.) Some of these entries are also things that are fairly common in real life; these are known as “[Truth in Television](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TruthInTelevision)” and the Happily Adopted article is noted as such. ---
**Author:** ![redhed1962](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@redhed1962](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redhed1962)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/50 "2014-03-27T14:40:05Z")
As both a step-parent and bio parent myself, I would say that step parents get a bad rap. Most are loving, warm and compassionate people who have opened their hearts and home to their stepkids… They often get all the difficulty of a bio parent, with none of the ‘wins’ …but I digress. The father in Will Farrel’s Elf is a great step dad. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/51 "2014-03-27T17:03:28Z")
You may also enjoy this Brad Paisley song about a loving stepdad, “He Didn’t Have To Be”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BjO1F6oCab8/maxresdefault.jpg "Brad Paisley - He Didn't Have To Be") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjO1F6oCab8) > **[Brad Paisley - He Didn't Have To Be Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bradpaisley/hedidnthavetobe.html)** > > Brad Paisley "He Didn't Have To Be": When a single mom goes out on a date with somebody new It always winds up feeling more like a job i... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/52 "2014-03-27T18:40:30Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Most of the entries on TV Tropes are for things that are typical, or at least fairly common, in fiction. (It’s not a cite about tropes you _don’t_ see on television.) Some of these entries are also things that are fairly common in real life; these are known as “[Truth in Television](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TruthInTelevision)” and the Happily Adopted article is noted as such. Most are common in a particular section of fiction, but I wouldn’t say most are common in all fiction. They have the whole [PeopleSitOnChairs](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs) exception, after all. Being happily adopted is only a trope if it has meaning to the narrative, and I’d argue it usually does not. Being unhappily adopted, on the other hand, always has meaning to the narrative. Then again, the site stopped being just about “tropes” a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/53 "2014-03-27T21:23:38Z")
There is a good stepmother (always called “Mom”) in Doris Gates’ novel **Blue Willow** , and good adoptive and foster parents in her novel **Sensible Kate**. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/54 "2014-03-28T00:07:15Z")
> [@redhed1962](#): > > As both a step-parent and bio parent myself, I would say that step parents get a bad rap. Most are loving, warm and compassionate people who have opened their hearts and home to their stepkids… They often get all the difficulty of a bio parent, with none of the ‘wins’ …but I digress. > > The father in Will Farrel’s Elf is a great step dad. YMMV. My real-life ones have always been assholes and bitches of the highest order and I have had several. I always cheer when a step-parent (almost always the step-mother) gets killed or brutalized in a fairy-tale. That is a big part of their appeal to me at least. I promised my daughters that they will never get a stepmother mainly because I would never, ever consider doing something like that to my flesh and blood but also because I don’t want to end up on an episode of COPS after the inevitable conflicts occur. My motto is flesh and blood over everything. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/55 "2014-03-30T20:27:17Z")
Another good fictional stepmother: Kate in Louise Fitzhugh’s **Sport**. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/56 "2014-04-01T04:30:39Z")
I’d forgotten about this thread, and I haven’t been checking Cafe Society that much recently, so this was really cool to see! I would love to see more! **Shagnasty** : hi Dad! …my dad’s family features an evil stepmother (only one, though), which has, sort of grimly-hilariously, made them super worried about my step-uncle-by-marriage remarrying after the death of his wife (my step-grandmother’s daughter). ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/57 "2014-04-01T11:18:37Z")
I highly suggest Book of Lost Things, which is one of my most favorite modern fairytales. The boy protagonist gets a stepmother that tries to be decent but he is a total brat to her (although to be fair he is still grieving his mother’s death). ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700/58 "2014-04-01T12:09:32Z")
Closest I can come is Joe Gargery from Great Expectations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairy-tales-with-good-adoptive-or-step-parents/620700.md?page=2)