I am at the point where Elle and quaint are taking things from Greta's room. Elle acknowledges that Daneka will likely be blamed and her books may be lit on fire.

My gut response if that this was unfair, but then I remembered how Daneka may not cause direct harm, but she does nothing to support Elle. Elle is basically a Roomba to her; an inanimate object to be used and ignored.

This got me thinking on degrees of evil and how this and many Cinderella type stories have different degrees of evil for the various characters (stepmom and step sisters). All three are evil (in this version) but they range from truly horrific to more everyday evil.

In this case, it feels that Greta is the true evil. She is a sorceress that torments the living and the dead. We see it clearly with the various forms of torture she uses to force Elle to do her bidding. Breaking windows, carving wood, throwing lentils, and more. We see it in how Daneka seems to fear her and how her mother is anxious to marry her off before her evil is too obvious. I mean she loves fire and tortures animals.

Then we have the obvious but more pragmatic evil of the stepmother. She doesn't seem to commit her harmful acts out of malice, but something else. It is like she does not care who she hurts or what she does to get the end that she wants. It seems she did not kill Elle because she hated her or wanted to harm her, but just because of greed. She doesn't take pleasure in Elles current situation like Greta, but does use this 'tool' at her disposal. It is more like nothing besides her desires matter.

Last we have Daneka. She is not evil in her actions but in her inactions. She has the ability tove a single kindness to Elle but chooses to turn away from the truth. She chooses to shut the door and accept the benefits of other's crimes. She does not care if Elle is tormented by Greta, only if she herself is. This inaction, this lack of empathy, this is still evil. It is just more accepted because it is easier to place the claim elsewhere.