The tales from the Brothers Grimm come from a very patriarchal era. Maleen could not obey her father’s wishes (…er, demands) and accepted her punishment for that. However, in her own way, she was a strong girl even at such a young age. She stood up to her father. While she was locked away for seven years she still stood her ground and chose to be locked up rather than marry someone she didn’t love. In that day and age, that’s pretty impressive!