Importance of Stepmother

Stepmother, her real name is never said, is the second wife of Father after his first and mother of his children passed away in childbirth. Stepmother is depicted at first as a wonderful woman, who empowered Rose and Briony to step up to Father and practice their gifts, Briony for writing and Rose for drawing. She also let Briony know that she was a witch, which helps Briony to stop using her powers for evil. After Briony (apparently) calls Mucky Face onto her Stepmother out of jealousy, the Stepmother becomes injured and ill eventually dying of an arsenic overdose. It is later revealed that she was a Dark Muse the entire time, and what she was actually doing was lowering Briony's self-esteem and self love in order to increase her artistic production and keep her in the house with her.