Character Relationship Map: The Ugly Stepsister

Characters

• Elvira (played by Lea Myren) — protagonist

  Elvira is Rebekka's eldest daughter and the central figure in the family's attempt to escape poverty. She longs to marry Prince Julian, endures painful beauty treatments and a tapeworm, and becomes in...

• Rebekka (played by Ane Dahl Torp) — protagonist

  Rebekka is the widowed mother of Elvira and Alma, and Otto's second wife. Driven by poverty and social ambition, she pushes Elvira toward Prince Julian through painful cosmetic procedures, controls Ag...

• Agnes (played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss) — supporting

  Agnes is Otto's beautiful daughter and Elvira's stepsister. Initially haughty about her superior status, she secretly loves Isak and is punished by being reduced to a servant called Cinderella. She re...

• Alma (played by Flo Fagerli) — supporting

  Alma is Rebekka's younger daughter and Elvira's sister. She quietly witnesses the damage caused by Rebekka's obsession with beauty, hides her first period to avoid similar treatment, and is horrified...

• Prince Julian (played by Isac Calmroth) — supporting

  Prince Julian is the shallow royal suitor whose ball is intended to produce a marriage. He mocks Elvira when they meet in the woods, briefly chooses her for the opening dance, then shifts his attentio...

• Isak (played by Malte Gårdinger) — supporting

  Isak is a stable boy who is secretly involved with Agnes. Elvira discovers them having sex and reports it to Rebekka, who reacts by throwing Isak out and turning Agnes into a servant. His relationship...

• Agnes's Mother (played by Agnieszka Żulewska) — minor
• Otto (played by Ralph Carlsson) — supporting

  Otto is Rebekka's older widower husband and Agnes's father. He marries Rebekka while both hope to gain wealth through the other, only for them to discover that neither has money. Otto suddenly dies du...

• Sophie von Kronenberg (played by Cecilia Forss) — supporting

  Sophie von Kronenberg runs the finishing school attended by Elvira and Agnes. Her school reinforces the social hierarchy between them, while Sophie personally gives Elvira a tapeworm egg as a weight-l...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Agnes's Mother → Agnes (mother)
• Rebekka → Prince Julian (Professional Marriage Broker) — Rebekka treats Julian as the intended solution to the family's poverty.

  Rebekka plans to marry Elvira to Julian as a way to save the family from poverty, while judging Elvira's chances according to her appearance.

• Sophie von Kronenberg → Agnes (Professional Finishing School Instructor) — Sophie presides over the school hierarchy that favors Agnes.

  Agnes and Elvira are both enrolled in Sophie von Kronenberg's finishing school for girls, where dance classes separate Agnes from Elvira.

• Sophie von Kronenberg → Elvira (Professional Finishing School Instructor) — Sophie influences Elvira's training and dangerous transformation.

  Elvira and Agnes attend Sophie's finishing school. Sophie later gives Elvira a tapeworm egg for weight loss.

• Prince Julian → Agnes (Romantic Chosen Partner) — Julian ultimately chooses Agnes rather than Elvira.

  At the ball Julian shifts his attention to the veiled Agnes, and the next morning the plot states that Julian and Agnes have already found each other.

• Elvira → Prince Julian (Romantic Suitor) — Elvira pursues an idealized marriage to Julian.

  Rebekka plans to marry Elvira to Prince Julian, and Elvira dreams of marrying him despite his obnoxious behavior.

• Elvira → Otto (Family Stepdaughter) — Otto becomes Elvira's stepfather through the marriage.

  Elvira is one of Rebekka's daughters, while Otto is the widower who marries Rebekka and brings Agnes into the household.

• Agnes → Isak (Romantic Lover) — Agnes and Isak have a secret sexual relationship.

  Elvira discovers Agnes having sex with Isak in the stable area and reports it to Rebekka.

• Elvira → Alma (Family Sister) — The sisters ultimately support each other against Rebekka.

  Rebekka's two daughters are explicitly named as Elvira and Alma. Alma later helps Elvira escape the tapeworm's effects.

• Agnes → Alma (Family Stepsister) — Agnes and Alma share a strained blended-family household.

  Agnes and Alma become stepsisters through Otto and Rebekka's marriage. They remain part of the same household as Rebekka's daughters.

• Agnes → Elvira (Family Stepsister) — Their step-sisterhood develops from admiration into hostility.

  Agnes is Otto's daughter and Elvira is Rebekka's daughter, making them stepsisters after the marriage. Elvira initially admires Agnes's beauty and poi...

• Rebekka → Otto (Family Spouse) — Their marriage is founded on mutual financial expectations.

  The plot states that Rebekka marries the older widower Otto. Their marriage is motivated partly by each hoping to become wealthy through the other.

• Otto → Agnes (Family Father) — Otto is Agnes's deceased father.

  Otto is described as the widower whose beautiful daughter is Agnes. After Otto dies, Agnes's corpse remains in the house and Agnes reprimands the fami...

• Rebekka → Agnes (Family Stepmother) — Rebekka exercises harsh control over her stepdaughter.

  Rebekka becomes Agnes's stepmother after marrying Otto. She later removes Agnes from finishing school and turns her into a servant.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Rebekka → Isak (Conflict Expeller) — Rebekka forcibly ends Isak's place in the household.

  After Elvira reports the encounter, Rebekka throws Isak out of the household.

Story Analysis

A family trapped by poverty and beauty standards turns against itself before two sisters escape their mother's tyranny.

Plot Progression

1. A Marriage Built on Poverty — Rebekka marries Otto while both expect the other to provide wealth. Otto's sudden death leaves the blended family financially desperate and exposes the household's instability.
2. Beauty at Any Cost — The royal ball creates a possible escape from poverty through marriage to Prince Julian. Rebekka begins forcing Elvira through painful cosmetic procedures and social training.
3. Sisters Beneath Judgment — Finishing school humiliates Elvira while Agnes receives preferential treatment. The tapeworm, the affair with Isak, and Rebekka's punishment deepen the family's divisions.
4. The Ball and the Slipper — Elvira's deteriorating body is concealed with a wig and gown, while Agnes receives her own enchanted-looking ball attire. At the ball, Julian shifts from Elvira to Agnes, who flees at midnight.
5. Escape from the House — The slipper contest triggers Elvira's attack and Rebekka's brutal mutilation of her daughter. Alma helps Elvira expel the tapeworm, and the sisters leave together while the old household is abandoned.