Lady Tremaine
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| Lady Tremaine | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Cinderella (1950) |
| Created by | Charles Perrault |
| Voiced by | Eleanor Audley (original) Susan Blakeslee (sequels) |
| Also known as | The Wicked Stepmother |
Lady Tremaine (also known as Stepmother to Cinderella) is the main villain from Disney's animated classic Cinderella. She is based on the original character from the Cinderella fairy tale created by Charles Perrault. Her original voice actress, Eleanor Audley, would later be the voice actress for the evil witch Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, which was released nine years later. There can be many likenesses drawn from the art styles of Maleficent and Lady Tremaine.
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[edit] Role in story
Lady Tremain is the second wife of Cinderella's father, whom he married so Cinderella could have a mother figure. She was a a woman of good family and had also been married before, and had two daughters, just Cinderella's age, named Anastasia and Drizella. Both were rather plain and socially awkward (although Anastasia is reformed in Cinderella II: Dreams Come True). She also owned a very stubborn, malicious cat named Lucifer, who was just like her in terms of personality. Lady Tremaine was nice to her stepdaughter and treated her just like her real daughters if not better, but upon the time of her husband's death (Cinderella's Father), her dark secret, which was to be kept hidden, was revealed; she was a bitter, cruel, selfish, and snobbish woman determined to forward her own interests as well as that of her daughters. She was openly jealous of the kind and beautiful Cinderella, who was hampered and abused by her stepfamily until she became a maid in her own household.
[edit] Personality
Cold, ruthless, calculating, and snobbish, Lady Tremaine's primary role as antagonist is simple: to oppress Cinderella and shatter her dream of a happily ever after. Throughout the film, Lady Tremaine repeatedly tries to keep Cinderella as downtrodden as possible and will stop at nothing to prevent her from being happy. A few mere words from her can be just as damaging as a magical spell, such as the ones woven by the witches from Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. For example, in the original Cinderella film, Lady Tremaine recognises the ball gown Cinderella is wearing had been made from her own daughters' rejected clothing. After casually pointing this out to her daughters, the stepsisters viciously attacked Cinderella and left her beaten and her dress torn to shreds.
[edit] Drizella and Anastasia
Lady Tremaine has two daughters by her deceased first husband. Drizella is the firstborn daughter with dark hair, and a cruel and snobbish streak to her; Anastasia is the younger daughter with red hair and is slightly more compassionate than Drizella, reforming her selfish and snobbish personality and befriending Cinderella. Both sisters are very plain in appearance, have been spoiled and doted upon by their mother, and they are bitterly resentful and jealous of Cinderella, whose beauty and virtues surpass their own.
Drizella and Anastasia not only have ugly personalities, they are also physically ugly. They force Cinderella into becoming a housemaid and only speak to her when they are verbally abusing or berating her. Their mother, Lady Tremaine, is aware of their faults and is determined to better the two girls to ensure that they find husbands. She attempts to teach them to sing and play musical instruments, all in vain, and fears that Cinderella's beauty shall put the two girls in the shade. Drizella and Anastasia are unbearable to be around, as they are constantly bad-tempered, and even resort to physically assaulting each other and Cinderella.
[edit] Other appearances in movies
She made her second appearance in the direct-to-video sequel Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, this time voiced by Susan Blakeslee. In this film, she only appeared in the An Uncommon Romance segment, where Anastasia has to go against her mother for the first time.
Her latest appearance was in the second direct-to-video Cinderella sequel, Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (once again voiced by Blakeslee). This time, she manages to get a hold of the Fairy Godmother's wand because Anastasia brought it to her. Lady Tremaine then uses the wand to reverse time so that the slipper fits Anastasia. The Prince realizes that Anastasia is the wrong girl, but Lady Tremaine makes him forget about Cinderella and marry Anastasia. Cinderella tries to steal the wand, but in the end Lady Tremaine catches Cinderella and tries to ship her away. At the same time, Drizella (but not the not-so-wicked and sympathetic Anastasia) taunts Cinderella for being shipped out of the kingdom. The mice tell the Prince the truth. The Prince saves Cinderella from shipping away. Lady Tremaine then uses the wand to turn Anastasia into a clone of Cinderella, and puts Cinderella onto an evil pumpkin carriage with Lucifer as the coachman. In the end Cinderella stops the wedding, and Lady Tremaine and Drizella are turned into toads when the wand's magic is reflected off the prince's sword. Lady Tremaine intended to turn both Cinderella and Anastasia into toads, on the suggestion of Drizella, after Anastasia said "I don't" when she should have been saying "I do" (Anastasia did this especially for unselfish reasons). Anastasia told her mother that she wanted someone to love her for her when her mother was angry at her refusal. After the end credits, Lady Tremaine and Drizella are shown to be returned to their true forms but, as punishment, are wearing work clothes identical to those Cinderella used to wear; the implication is that they will be working in the palace as servants.
[edit] Other appearances
Aside from the films, Lady Tremaine has also made various appearances on the Disney Channel series House of Mouse; she frequently shares a table with another famous wicked stepmother, the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Again, in these appearances, she is voiced by Susan Blakeslee.
