YMMV / The Juniper Tree

• Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Despite the overall gory nature of the tale, it is incredibly sweet to see how poor Marlene loves her brother, which is a huge rarity in fairytales among the biological children of wicked stepmothers and not a guarantee even for full biological siblings. It is her decision to bury her brother's bones under the juniper tree and mourn him that leads to him coming back to life.
• Complete Monster: The evil stepmother, upon marrying the husband, grew to resent her stepson, knowing that he would inherit the family's wealth when he got older. Forming a plan, she convinces her stepson into looking into a chest for an apple, only to then decapitate him by slamming the lid onto his neck. The stepmother uses a bandage to reattach her stepson's head, and she manipulates her daughter, Marlinchen (or Marlene in some versions), into thinking that she killed her own brother. She then takes the body, cooks it into a stew, and she serves it to her unsuspecting husband. The story repeatedly makes it clear that the stepmother cared only for herself, and that she committed these actions out of greed, as well as a genuine hatred for her stepson.

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