--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always found the witches and wicked…" description: "\"I always found the witches and wicked stepmothers far more interesting than the 'heroines' - at least they actually did something.\" — Sarah Pinborough" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg" --- # I always found the witches and wicked stepmothers far more… ![“I always found the witches and wicked stepmothers far more interesting than the 'heroines' - at least they actually did something.” quote by Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg) > “I always found the witches and wicked stepmothers far more interesting than the 'heroines' - at least they actually did something.” [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Witches and stepmothers are compelling because they act, unlike passive heroines **In simple terms:** Active antagonists are more interesting than passive heroes Key Takeaway Seek agency in characters and stories Themes feminism storytelling characterization Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - reading - character analysis - creative brainstorming Key Concepts empowerment subversion of tropes Questions to Reflect On - What makes an active character more engaging? - How can heroines be written with agency? A Different Perspective May undervalue the value of traditional heroines ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Heroines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroines/) ## Related quotes > [“I do so love my witches and wicked queens. I find myself drawn to feminine archetypes that previous generations have found threatening or dangerous:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-do-so-love-my-witches-and-wicked-queens-i-find-myself-drawn-to/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Life and stories are alike in one way: They are full of hollows. 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'...Seems she was off poisoning someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/i-thought-it-was-her-wicked-stepmother-who-poisoned-her-turned-out/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [Things we are accustomed to regard as myth or fairy story are very much present in people's lives. Nice people behave like wicked stepmothers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/things-we-are-accustomed-to-regard-as-myth-or-fairy-story-are-very/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [It is through hearing stories about wicked stepmothers, lost children, good but misguided kings, wolves that suckle twin boys, youngest sons who receive no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-macintyre/it-is-through-hearing-stories-about-wicked-stepmothers-lost-children/) [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-macintyre/) > [I've always thought it would be fun to update "Hansel and Gretel." I'd have these white parents in the suburbs with an income of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-always-thought-it-would-be-fun-to-update-hansel-and-gretel-i-d/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“It is through hearing about wicked stepmothers, lost children, good but misguided kings… that children learn or mislearn what a child and what a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ward/it-is-through-hearing-about-wicked-stepmothers-lost-children-good-but/) Michael Ward > [“It is customary to have vampires in stories nowadays - they are quite the norm, just like wicked stepmothers used to be. 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All of us play different characters, and have equally important roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-antony/there-are-no-heroes-and-heroines-in-naan-all-of-us-play-different/) [Vijay Antony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-antony/) > [I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-am-going-to-take-a-heroine-whom-no-one-but-myself-will-much-like/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Many of the heroines from outside Karnataka have worked in my films, but the attitude and adjusting nature of top South Indian actress Nayantara…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rockline-venkatesh/many-of-the-heroines-from-outside-karnataka-have-worked-in-my-films/) [Rockline Venkatesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rockline-venkatesh/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Sarah Pinborough > [“For me, life has always been the storm. The storm and watching from the window for the thing that could stop it, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/for-me-life-has-always-been-the-storm-the-storm-and-watching-from-the/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [My first six books were horror, I think because when I was young I loved Stephen King. John Wyndham, Daphne Du Maurier, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/my-first-six-books-were-horror-i-think-because-when-i-was-young-i/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [The unreliable narrator is an odd concept. The way I see it, we're all unreliable narrators of our lives who usually have absolute trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-unreliable-narrator-is-an-odd-concept-the-way-i-see-it-we-re-all/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [“Something is building, bubbling in my stomach, flaring into white heat, and I don't know if it will explode out of me in anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/something-is-building-bubbling-in-my-stomach-flaring-into-white-heat/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [I'm a lot less travelled as an adult than I was as a child, but I think living in far flung places gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-m-a-lot-less-travelled-as-an-adult-than-i-was-as-a-child-but-i/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [Never trust a narrator whose opening gambit is to insist he's not mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/never-trust-a-narrator-whose-opening-gambit-is-to-insist-he-s-not-mad/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [“The past is as ephemeral as the future—it’s all perspective and smoke and mirrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-past-is-as-ephemeral-as-the-future-it-s-all-perspective-and-smoke/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [I wrote my first five horror novels while I was teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-wrote-my-first-five-horror-novels-while-i-was-teaching/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [The only rule I have in how I let characters tell stories is that they must always tell the reader their version of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-only-rule-i-have-in-how-i-let-characters-tell-stories-is-that/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [We all love a bit of 'true love conquers all,' and when I started on 'Poison,' 'Charm' and 'Beauty,' that was one rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/we-all-love-a-bit-of-true-love-conquers-all-and-when-i-started-on/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [“Sometimes there are just too many words filling up space and not enough emptiness left for thinking. I keep a little emptiness inside for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/sometimes-there-are-just-too-many-words-filling-up-space-and-not/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [Maybe even at six or seven, I knew that, sweet as they were on the surface, all fairy tales needed a feminist shake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/maybe-even-at-six-or-seven-i-knew-that-sweet-as-they-were-on-the/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [I'm very much, like, 'We've all got to help each other.' If there's a new female writer, I'm much more likely to read her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-m-very-much-like-we-ve-all-got-to-help-each-other-if-there-s-a-new/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [The strange thing about living somewhere for a couple of years and then moving on and not returning is that those locations become ghosts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-strange-thing-about-living-somewhere-for-a-couple-of-years-and/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [Oh, there's a teenage girl inside all women. It comes out mainly when we walk into a room filled with other women and immediately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/oh-there-s-a-teenage-girl-inside-all-women-it-comes-out-mainly-when/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) [Explore all 45 Sarah Pinborough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always found the witches and wicked stepmothers far more interesting than the 'heroines' - at least they actually did something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Pinborough" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-stepmothers-far-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-stepmothers-far-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/228/sarah-pinborough-14664_always_i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-st_1771114.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always found the witches and wicked stepmothers far more interesting than the 'heroines' - at least they…” — Sarah Pinborough", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sarah Pinborough", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always found the witches and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-stepmothers-far-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/i-always-found-the-witches-and-wicked-stepmothers-far-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```