Justice In The End: Lin Lan, Brothers Grimm

Abigail Price

Professor Soto

HUM 2000A

6 April 2023

Justice in the End

Cinderella-like stories are common across many different cultures. Despite having differences, these Cinderella stories serve a common purpose: to teach universal lessons to their readers. In the case of these three stories (Lin Lan, Brothers Grimm, and Something Cow) each has its own unique way of teaching the reader a common concept. Lin Lan, Brothers Grimm and the Black Cow, all utilize the archetype of the “evil stepmother" or her “evil step-daughters” in order to address the theme of justice.

Brothers Grimm is the Cinderella story that most people are familiar with. In this story we have Cinderella, whose mother dies while she is young, leaving her to her father,

The Cinderella character, in this case named Beauty, loses her mother at a young age, leaving her with a stepmother. Again, this stepmother takes her own biological daughter to the theater, leaving Beauty behind, assigning her a tedious task with the promise of getting to attend tomorrow. Yet, despite completing these tasks, “Day after day, the stepmother would still not take Beauty to the theater” (Lin Lan 128). Beauty escapes the house, and meets a scholar who marries her. When Beauty returns home, her stepmother and stepsister change how they act, treating “them both in the most friendly and attentive manner” (Lin Lan 129). However, this is not kindness, rather deception, as the pair plot and successfully kill Beauty, sending her sister in her place back to her

Beauty comes back as a ghost, utilizing the help of a neighbor to become real again. When she comes back, she challenges her step sister to a series of challenges including walking on eggs, climbing a ladder made of knives, and finally jumping into a cauldron of hot oil. At the end of this trial “the wicked sister jumped into it and did not come up” (Lin Lan 131). So a life for a life exchange took place, as the sister killed Beauty, and in turn lost her life. Then, in continuing the execution of justice, Beauty sends her sister's bones to her mother, who is so shocked by what she sees, “let out a piercing scream and fell down dead” (Lin Lan 131). Once again, through the life of the evil stepmother and her daughter who wrong Beauty, we see the theme of justice portrayed in an eye for an eye manor.

Lastly, we have the Story of the Black Cow. This story is more different than the previous two, but still has some similar patterns. The Cinderella character in this story is a Brahmin’s son, whose biological mother dies, once again leaving him with his stepmother and a sister. It is said that this stepmother is “very unkind to her little stepson” (Black Cow 125). She feeds him cakes made of ashes,disguised to “give them the appearance of food (so) that the Brahmin might not notice” (Black Cow 125). She even watches him to make sure he isn’t getting nourishment in other