The Witches Daughter

I wrote a little bit about this character here, but let me introduce you to her properly.

In many of the folktales I’ve been reading I kept meeting this unfortunate character – the witches’ daughter. Simply because she is the daughter of a “witch” (read that as an old woman living on her own in the woods, ostracized by her community, efficient in the use of healing herbs and potions, perhaps grown bitter and cranky after a long life of ill treatment) she too is destined to an ill fate of being loathed and feared.

The princesses and daughters of rich barons all get wedded off to princes and dashing knights, to continue living their comfortable lives of wealth and privilege. The witch takes pity on her forlorn daughter, and uses her magic to make a prince fall in love with her. When the ruse is uncovered, everyone is horrified and furious – both the witch and her poor daughter are ruthlessly killed (sometimes in quite violent and barbaric ways) for having tricked the gentry. The prince in question marries a princess, and everyone lives happily ever after.

 

I imagined the terrible moment when the miserable girl awaits her cruel fate, destined from birth simply because she was born.