| “ | How can anyone love a pebble in their shoe? | „ |
| ~ Rodmilla telling Danielle she never loved her. |
Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent is the main antagonist of the 1998 romantic drama film Ever After: A Cinderella Story. She was the inspiration of Lady Tremaine from the Cinderella series based on the classical Cinderella fairytale.
She was portrayed by Anjelica Huston who also portrays the Grand High Witch in The Witches, Emily Grierson in the television adaptation of A Rose For Emily, the Supreme Leader in Captain EO, Miss Battle-Axe in the film adaptation of Horrid Henry, Gothel in Barbie as Rapunzel, and Miss Harridan in the 2003 film Daddy Day Care.
Biography[]
During sixteenth century France, widower Auguste de Barbarac, father of Danielle, marries Rodmilla, a rich baroness and mother of two daughters, Marguerite and Jacqueline. When Auguste dies from a heart attack, his final words are given to Danielle. Rodmilla becomes jealous and cruel towards Danielle.
Ten years later, the estate has fallen into decline and Rodmilla wants to get back to King Francis' royal court instead of farming, which she sees an inconvenience. Rodmilla has reduced Danielle to a servant in her own home and one morning she and Marguerite steal Danielle's mother's dress and slippers to wear at the ball. When Marguerite says something bad about Danielle's mother's death to Danielle, Danielle punches Margurite and chases her around the manor and then Marguerite threatend to burn Danielle's copy of Utopia which was given to Danielle by her father before he died. Reluctantly Danielle gives her late mother's slippers to Rodmilla, but Marguerite throws the book into the fireplace anyway out of spite. Later, Rodmilla and Marguerite punish Danielle cruelly by having her whipped. Jacqueline secretly heals Danielle's wounds and condemns Marguerite for what she said.
Baroness Rodmilla has a confrontation with Danielle believing she stole the dress and slippers, which have disappeared. Rodmilla has Danielle locked up in the pantry for insulting Marguerite. It gets worse when Rodmilla tells everyone, including Crown Prince Henry, Danielle's identity at the ball as Rodmilla claims to Queen Marie that Danielle is married. When Henry gets confused and mad about this, Danielle runs from the castle, losing one of her slippers, but the slipper is found and given to Henry by Leonardo da Vinci who reprimands him for his actions.
Rodmilla sells Danielle to a vicious landowner named Pierre le Pieu, who attempts to force himself on her, but she slashes his face and threatens to dismember him unless he free her, which he does. Meanwhile, Henry arrives at Pierre's home and finds, apologizes, proposes, and puts the slipper on Danielle's foot.
Later, Rodmilla, Marguerite, and Jacqueline are summoned to the King's royal court, thinking that Henry plans to propose to Marguerite. In truth upon her arrival, Rodmilla is asked by King Francis if she has lied to the Queen about Danielle. Queen Marie tells her to choose her own words wisely as they may be her last. Rodmilla admits that she stretched her details and unintentionally got carried away with it as Marguerite starts arguing with her mother which King Francis breaks up. When King Francis asks Jacqueline if they are always like this, she states that they're worse in private. When Rodmilla asks her if she had anything to do with this, Jacqueline sarcastically tells her that she just came for the food. Queen Marie tells Rodmilla that she is stripped of her title and that she and her horrible daughter are sentenced to be shipped to the Americas on the first available boat....unless someone speaks on their behalf. As the other noblemen and noblewomen present look coldly at Rodmilla (with one of them even shaking his head no as though to silently say he will not speak for her), she states that there seems to be a few people "out of town." Danielle appears stating that she will speak for them as Rodmilla is her stepmother. Much to her dismay, Rodmilla is forced to bow down to her. Prince Henry asks Marguerite if she has met his new wife. With Rodmilla having bowed to her, Danielle quietly quotes to her "I want you to know that after this moment, I will forget you and never think of you again. But you, I am quite certain, will think about me every single day for the rest of your life." Rodmilla asks how long that would be, but does not get an answer. Danielle then tells King Francis and Queen Marie that all she asks is to give Rodmilla and Marguerite the same courtesy that the two of them had given her.
As a result of King Francis and Queen Marie taking Danielle's advice, Rodmilla and Marguerite are reduced to working as laundry maids for the rest of their lives. Rodmilla and Marguerite then argue over their new positions as the laundry supervisor gets annoyed and knocks them into a vat of dye with a laundry sack. The other laundry maids briefly laugh with the supervisor until she tells the two of them to get to work. Rodmilla is left to fume at her new predicament while Marguerite breaks down and cries uncontrollably over it. As for Jacqueline, she is spared punishment because of her showing kindness to Danielle.
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