Motif
hostile mother-in-law steals newborn children
hostile_mother_in_law_steals_newborn_children
A motif of the Jealous Stepmother and Persecuted Child family, within the sub-family Newborn Theft and Falsified Births. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
germanic
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Household Tales by Brothers Grimm SECOND STORY / FIRST STORY / SECOND STORY / THIRD STORY; lines 7254-7327 confidence: high
The king's mother speaks against the mute queen, steals each of her three children, smears blood on her mouth after the first birth, and accuses her of being a man-eater. The queen keeps sewing and offers no verbal defence; after the third accusation she is sentenced to death by fire.
The king's mother opposes the marriage and removes the queen's children after each birth, using the thefts to accuse her.
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