A stepfather or stepdad is a biologically unrelated male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren.

In fiction

Though less common in literature than stereotypical evil stepmothers, there are also cases of evil ''stepfathers'', such as in the fairy tales ''The Gold-Bearded Man'' (in a plot usually featuring a cruel father) and '' The Little Bull-Calf''. One type of such tale features a defeated villain who insists on marrying the hero's mother and makes her help him trick the hero and so defeat him. Such tales include '' The Prince and the Princess in the Forest'' and '' The Blue Belt'', although the tales of this type can also feature a different female relation, such as the stepsister in '' The Three Princes and their Beasts''. In media, evil stepfathers include Claudius in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (though his role as uncle is more emphasized), Walter Parks Thatcher in ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

'' (though this is debatable), Murdstone in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

's ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'', the King from the movie '' Radio Flyer'', and Gozaburo Kaiba (who adopted Seto and Mokuba Kaiba) from '' Yu-Gi-Oh!''. '' The Stepfather'' depicts an evil father who has murdered his family and subsequent families. In his opera '' La Cenerentola'', Gioacchino Rossini inverted the tale of ''Cinderella'' to have her oppressed by her stepfather. His motive is made explicit, in that providing a

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

to Cenerentola would cut into what he can give to his own daughters.Warner, pp. 213–4 An analogous male figure may also appear as a wicked uncle; like the stepmother, the father's brother may covet the child's inheritance for his own children, and so maltreat his nephews or nieces.

References

Stepfamily Parenting Terms for men {{parenting-stub