The parental writing in A Wicked Tale of Cinderella's Stepmother is so fun. I love how Mildred is a wonderful mother but still very much has her flaws. She loves her children dearly but she is constantly putting Iris and Lily's looks down in her mind. She is not free of the biases she was taught growing up herself- biases that the original Mildred would have had even more strongly enforced because looks and beauty are what determine a woman's value in upper society. Those thoughts are never voiced aloud or even reflected in how she interacts with them- which is what makes her an exceptional mother. She wants her children to be free of those biases while at the same time being realistic and not pushing an empty optimism.
Lily is the best example of this. Mildred would love to let Lily live at home her entire life and paint, but she knows that isn't realistic and will limit what Lily can do later in life. Not to mention what Lily will do if something happens to Mildred. She wants Lily to pursue what she wants while keeping Lily open to all the options available to her. It is also true that Mildred is incredibly pushy about the idea of Lily marrying- a case of Mildred's expectations carrying over into her interactions with her daughters. She's pushy about it with all of them because in her eyes, being married is not only a part of them growing up but also something that is needed for them to be happy. However, despite this, when Casey asks to be engaged to Lily, Mildred says he must get Lily's approval first before she will agree. She also pushes Lily to be a painter while setting up things without her daughter knowing to try and make a world where Lily can be a painter without scorn from high society.
I love how things shake out with Iris as well. Iris being the eldest daughter, having seen what Mildred has done to support them after their father died, is determined to take some of that burden away. It's her belief that she needs to be responsible for her family, and it pushes her to accept the idea of being married to a wealthy prick who is way too old for her just so she can support her family better. Mildred handles it with a lot of grace- including almost snapping and killing the guy <3 But really, Mildred wants so much for her girls to just grow up as they please. She introduces them to adult responsibility at a pace that's best for them- including making allowances for Ashley considering how much she was stunted by her father's neglect.
The story handles parenthood in such a grounded way and has all the children being complex three dimensional figures. It feels so realistic, including the areas where Mildred messes up. Because parenting is never perfect but it is people trying their best.
