One theme is violence due to jealousy. In two stories this is a theme: Briar Rose and Snow White. In Briar Rose, the princess is cursed by one woman because that woman was not invited to the birth celebration. She cursed the princess to die at the age of 15, when she pricked her finger. However, the curse was softened by another woman who was invited to the celebration. This woman turned the curse into 100 years of sleep.
In Snow White, the step mother was jealous of Snow White's beauty. Her hatred was so extreme that she sent a hunter to take little Snow White to kill her. He didn't, but rather brought back the tongue and heart of an animal. Once the evil step mother discovered that Snow White was still alive, her bitter jealousy caused her to try to kill her three times. In the end, she is punished by having to dance to death in "red hot iron shoes".
In both of these stories innocence prevails over bitter jealousy. The violence caused by the evil women does not bring them any satisfaction.
In both The Golden Goose and The True Bride, there is violence portrayed as abuse. The abused or neglected children in both of these stories find fortune through magical figures. In The Golden Goose, the generous youngest son, who is given less food than the others and not valued by his family, is rewarded for his kindness to an old man in the woods. He ends up with the golden goose, which causes a princess to laugh. The outcome is that this mistreated son ends up with his own kingdom.
In The True Bride, the evil step mother (again we see the theme of evil step mothers) gives the pretty child an impossible task to do. She has enchanted help, which rewards her with a castle and a prince. The step mother is mean and abusive and ends up being killed by being hit by the cellar door.
In both of these tails, the selfish and mean adults do not get the best rewards. Instead the children end up wealthy and happy.
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