MovieChat Forums > Ever After (1998) Discussion > Does everybody hate Marguerite?

Does everybody hate Marguerite?

posted 9 years ago by Sumseth
15 replies | jump to latest

I've read many comments on this board about how evil she is. While I agree she was selfish and could be cruel at times, I don't see her as the wicked creature her mother was, for several reasons:

1. She was raised by a quite cold woman whose main goal in life was to improve her social status. So she did her best to teach her child into her self-interested ways, and made she'd look down on anyone "beneath" her. I assume she didn't focus on Jaqueline as she thought Marguerite was the one that had more possibilities to find a good catch.

2. There is not one single scene in the whole movie where we get to see an affectionate gesture on Rodmilla's part. Not even towards Marguerite, who was supposed to be the centre of her attentions. The only special treatment she gets from their mother that Jaqueline doesn't is the way she encourages her to do whatever is necessary to marry the prince. Which can hardly be considered as a proof of motherly love. One might argue Jaqueline didn't receive love from her mother either, and she still was a nice person. Which would bring us back to reason 1: Jaqueline was not the object of Rodmilla's poison.

3. Marguerite's cruelest moments happen in the shoes/book scene. First when she remarks -in a quite contemptuous way, true- that Danielle's mother was dead. She obviously shouldn't have said that. But who has never said anything cruel and hateful to another person? Many people do so even with people they actually love, just because they are mad at that moment, or because they wish to hurt the other person. However, none of these reasons apply here. She was only trying to have things go her way; she wanted to wear that dress to the mask, so when Danielle stated it was her mother's dress. She used the one argument she had to claim she could. One must keep in mind Marguerite was taught to think only of herself and look down on her step-sister. Granted, her reply was cruel and out of line. She just was not -could not- be aware of that.

Then the moment when she burns "Utopia", which was even more cruel. This is the easiest scene to hate Marguerite. She does something despicable out of spite just to hurt Danielle, and to see her pain in that very moment. She does that as an act of revenge for having punched her and chased her through the house while screaming menacing words. In no way I will defend her behaviour here, but I can certainly relate. Many people who has siblings could relate, I'm sure. It's not unusual for siblings (especially those whose personalities frequently clash) to be vindictive in this kind of way. When I was a child I got to do things to hurt my sisters that I regretted afterwards. Much like Amy from "Little women", when she burnt Jo's manuscript. That was a very cruel thing to do, and she felt sorry afterwards. But at the moment she simply wanted to get back at her elder sister. Now, the argument could be: "Amy was a child, Marguerite hurt Danielle in a cool-blooded way." True. But then again, reasons 1 and 2 don't apply to Amy.

My point is: I don't think Marguerite's to blame for all her faults. Considering the way she was raised, the "values" she was taught, I find her a quite tragic character. To me, she is mainly a victim of a twisted upbringing.

[–] kenonw 9 years ago

Marguerite is probably my favorite character. She isn't evil, but I think she is spiteful. Besides the incidents you mention, she called Danielle "Cindersoot" or "Cinderella" as an insult. I think calling someone an awful nickname for 10 years just because you can is pretty cruel.

[–] Sumseth 9 years ago

She is my favorite character too. I just love complex characters. I agree she is spiteful, and it is mean to insult someone for such a long time when they haven't done anything against you. She is definitely flawed, but I don't think that makes her evil.

This may be only me but I feel sorry for her when Henry pointedly tells her: "I don't believe you've met... my wife." The way she slowly looks away gets me every single time.

[–] The-Musicscope 8 years ago

This may be only me but I feel sorry for her when Henry pointedly tells her: "I don't believe you've met... my wife." The way she slowly looks away gets me every single time.

Hmm, to me her look is just because she was beaten by Cindersoot, not because she was heartbroken or something like that.

Har ring molassis abounding
Common lap kitch sardin a poor floundin.

[–] whoanelly (1592) 4 years ago

Why do posters always try to “explain” cruelty in characters by suggesting they are “complex”?

[–] Solastine (1104) 4 years ago

Cruella DeVil isn't a puppy murdering lunatic, she's just a poor misunderstood child with a traumatic past. Oh that poor poor child, her mother didn't love her enough and those silly dogs just refused to become a gorgeous fur coat. She completely deserved a movie all about her and how we should feel sorry that Jasper and Horace (who were simply two poor gay men) were mistreated so much by those nasty dogs. The dogs are the real villains in the movie, we should feel sorry for these complex characters like Cruella.

Yeah, there is no forgiving the stepsisters for what they did, and being down right evil doesn't make their characters any better.

[–] whoanelly (1592) 4 years ago

lol

I don’t take issue with fans loving mean characters because they can be really fun to watch, especially when played by good actors. But I kind of chuckle at the need to defend the character’s motivation or to justify their actions by saying they’re complex. (Plus, a lot of the cruel characters who get tagged “complex” are far from it.).

[–] maggieameanderings 8 years ago

I think calling someone an awful nickname for 10 years just because you can is pretty cruel.

And very normal sibling behavior.

I sat down and wrote a list of awful names my brother routinely called me (his younger sister). The list was at least 30 names long. I handed the list to him and said if he wanted to call me something nasty in the future to come up with something not on the list as I was bored with them after having been called them all my life by him.

That was a list of 30 insulting names my brother had for me, yet I consider that to be a pretty normal sibling relationship for a time when parents didn't care how their children insulted each other.

[–] MarblesLove 9 years ago

The only scene where I truly hate her, I think, is the one you mention where she says Danielle's mother is dead and then burns Utopia. Not that I really like her the rest of the movie, but I son't really hate her either. I'm mostly just annoyed by her but also just kind of feel sorry for her because how else could she have turned out with the way she was raised? Like you said, people will try to say she could have been different cause of how Jaquline turned out, but like you also pointed out, even Jaquline wan't raised the same way Margurite was. None of Rodmilla's efforts to better Margurite were used on Jaquline. In fact, the very reason Jaquline is so nice is because of how neglected she was by Rodmilla.

Once upon a time there was a magical place where it never rained. The end.

[–] Helenlaurence 9 years ago

But if you go down that path then everyone should be forgiven for everything if they have a 'bad' childhood!
Rodmila also had a difficult childhood, but you don't forgive her.
Of course margarite was affected by having such an awful mum- but she's no longer a child and at some point you have to take responsibility for your actions!
She was completely selfish and nasty. Not actually evil though.

[–] ScorpionTDC 9 years ago

My point is: I don't think Marguerite's to blame for all her faults. Considering they way she was raised, the "values" she was taught, I find her a quite tragic character. To me, she is mainly a victim of a twisted upbringing.

To some extent she was, no doubt about that. Rodmilla as a mom would f-ck anyone up. That said, Marguerite new damn well what a bitch she wass and couldn't care less (book scene, which was pure cruelty). Having Rodmilla as a mom explains why she might do this..... but she still chooses to act like she does. Also of note is that Margeurite doesn't feel an ounce of remorse for burning Utopia.

So, yeah, I did hate her. Though Rodmilla is no doubt far worse

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[–] WickedRising 9 years ago

Is it not rather the point to hate her, being the "evil stepsister"? Regardless, i love her as one of those villains you love to hate and thought she was hilariously evil! :D

[–] Housefan2 8 years ago

She was raised by a quite cold woman whose main goal in life was to improve her social status.

From the sound of things, Rodmilla was also raised by a cold woman. Who demands that her child wash her face over and over again and declaring that she's still dirty? We can also look at clues within the movie. Rodmilla is a noblewoman. Danielle's father is a commoner. Yes, he's a wealthy and prosperous merchant, but still a commoner. The wealthiest commoner is still below the poorest noble. Yet, Rodmilla is married to him. Why? In the 16th century, class barriers were very strict. Nobles married nobles and commoners married commoners. Now, that isn't to say there aren't examples of the nobility marrying commoners but it wasn't common.

However, one reason a noble family might marry off someone to a commoner is that the noble family is broke and they want access to money. Danielle's father would have jumped at the opportunity to marry a noblewoman. While it wouldn't change his title (women inherited the titles of their husbands), it would give him a connection to a noble and, therefore, might give his daughter the opportunity to make a fortuitous match.

Knowing that Rodmilla's past seems to have pain in it too, should she get a pass the same as Marguerite?

The argument seems too much like affluenza.

However, I'm going to say that this movie would agree with your analysis though. Danielle declares that servants aren't thieves and that those who are can't help themselves because they were raised in ignorance and want. Therefore, shouldn't both Rodmilla and Marguerite, also victims of their environment, get the same distinction?

It's an interesting argument.

Lizzie

To love another person is to see the face of God! - Les Miserables

[–] The-Musicscope 8 years ago

Marguerite was a major twit, but I guess there was one grey area with her. If you were a woman back then when the man's status was everything and had a realistic chance to marry a Prince, you'd go after it. So maybe on that front you can kind of forgive her deviousness and fakeness.

I'm not so sure that Marguerite deserved the same fate as Rodmilla at the end of the film, but really, even if trying to nab Prince Henry was understandable, treating most people like crap, throwing Danielle's book in the fire etc. makes it really hard to feel too sorry for her.

Har ring molassis abounding
Common lap kitch sardin a poor floundin.

[–] kenonw 8 years ago

When you really think about it, Marguerite had a good chance at marrying Henry! If Henry never met Danielle/Nicole, I'm pretty sure Marguerite realistically would have become Queen of France someday.

[–] ThrillerTalk (1119) 6 years ago

One could say the mom was also the way she was because of how she was raised, as was her mom for being raised the way she was even though it's obviously not in the movie.

At the end of the day people are responsible for their own behavior no matter how they're raised, and if they choose to be cruel then that's on them. I liked Marguerita though. The actress Megan Dodds is always nice to see in general.