Keeping Up With The Penguins

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9 Best Mothers In Literature

Last year, I did a post on the best fathers in literature, and I think it’s high time the ladies got a look in. That’s just, like, the rules of feminism! William Ross Wallace, U.S. lawyer and poet, said back in the 19th century that “the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world”, and it’s just as true today, but don’t be fooled! The best mothers in literature aren’t all gentle, maternal wallflowers. Here’s a list of my favourites…

The Best Mothers In Literature - Text Overlaid on Image of Mother and Son - Keeping Up With The Penguins
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Marmee

From Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I figured we’d get the obvious pick out of the way straight up: you’ll be hard-pressed to find a list of the best mothers in literature that doesn’t feature Marmee, from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Everyone comes for the all-American-girl archetypes of the March sisters, but Marmee is the real star of the show. She runs a huge household on the smell of an oily rag, with her husband off at war, all the while still prioritising generosity and charity, and yet she doesn’t come off as a martyr. Marmee has an incredible sense for exactly what each of her daughters need, be it tough love or gentle comfort, and she dishes it out accordingly. Imagine if she and Atticus Finch got together, they’d probably fix the world. Read my full review of Little Women here.

Úrsula Iguarán

One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Book Laid on Wooden Table - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

If life-span were the criterion by which we judged the best mothers in literature, Úrsula from One Hundred Years Of Solitude would surely get the gong. She lives to be over 150 years old, all the while caring for three subsequent generations of her family. And that’s not all! She rolls up her sleeves and renovates her whole house herself (more than once!), runs a business, and keeps all the plates spinning with enviable aplomb. She keeps the whole family in check, and acts as a touchstone for rationality and practicality in Márquez’s whirlwind multi-generational epic. Read my full review of One Hundred Years Of Solitude here.

Catelyn Stark

A Game of Thrones - George R R Martin - Book Laid On Wooden Table - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I know the direwolf is the sigil of House Stark in George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, but Catelyn Stark, in my mind, is a damn lioness. She’s fiercely protective: just try looking at one of her kids a bit funny, and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of some serious wrath! Catelyn shows us that being a good mother doesn’t always mean being warm and gentle – or even present. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your kids is storm off across the country and raise hell on their behalf. And before you say it, I can forgive her for being a bit rough on Jon Snow; it can’t have been easy raising the kid you believe is the living, breathing evidence of your otherwise-wonderful husband’s infidelity… Read my full review of A Game Of Thrones here.

Sunyan Woo

The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan - Book Laid on Wooden Table - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Joy Luck Club‘s founder, Sunyan Woo, isn’t one to wallow. Instead of getting rightfully depressed about her very shitty life circumstances, she cops on with it, basically manifesting the happiness she so desperately wishes for her family. She makes some heartbreaking sacrifices, even knowing all the while that her daughters will never truly understand the choices she makes, but believing firmly in what is best for them. We usually think of “good” mothers as giving their kids everything they want, and the kids smiling and thanking them endlessly, but there’s another side to it in real life. Sunyan Woo is a wonderful example of that type of good motherhood. Read my full review of The Joy Luck Club here.

Addie Bundren

As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

OK, I’m well aware that this is a controversial inclusion in a list of the best mothers in literature, but I stand by it. Addie dies pretty early on in As I Lay Dying – hope I didn’t spoil that for you, but heck, the title is a pretty big clue – and there’s really only one chapter written from her perspective. And yet, Faulkner still manages to tell us so much about her! I feel like I know her personally. Through her reflections, and those of her family, we know that Addie did pretty well to plan the hand she was dealt in life. But she reveals to us that she didn’t lose touch with who she truly was, someone who didn’t wish to be a mother, and didn’t relish the job, despite all the social pressure to feel differently. She cared deeply for her family, but she was also movingly honest about not quite fitting the mold her life had cut for her. I found it refreshing and incredibly endearing. Read my full review of As I Lay Dying here.

Molly Weasley

Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone - JK Rowling - Book Laid on Wooden Table - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (boo! hiss!)

Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter series is the Marmee for this generation. Sure, everyone goes ga-ga over Lily Potter’s big “sacrifice”, but in our heart of hearts we all know we’d rather be mothered by the hard-arse matriarch of the Weasley family. She cares deeply and tenderly for all of her children, taking in Harry and Hermione as her own as well, but she’s never a soft touch and she doesn’t hesitate to dole out the discipline as required (which, given that she raised two identical-twin pranksters, is pretty often). I challenge you to read her immortal line – “Not my daughter, you bitch!” – and tell me to my face you don’t get chills.

Ma Joad

The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck - Book Laid on Wooden Table - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Ma Joad is the true hero of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and that’s a hill I’m happy to die on if you want to argue the point. She whips up meals out of thin air, miraculously keeping starvation at bay for the whole family. She shields the still-warm corpse of her own mother from the rest of them to ensure they reach California safely. She calms the nerves of her pregnant daughter, and delivers the baby herself when the time comes. I could give a hundred other examples, but I’m sure by now you’re as convinced as I am that she is the backbone of the Joad family. Read my full review of The Grapes Of Wrath here.

Miss Honey

Matilda - Roald Dahl - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From Matilda by Roald Dahl

Miss Honey is proof that motherhood is not to be found only in blood or biology. Matilda‘s birth parents are all kinds of awful (Dahl did have a real knack for writing shitty guardians), but in Miss Honey this young girl finds the love and support she needs. Like any other mother, Miss Honey sees Matilda’s special talents and incredible intelligence, and goes above and beyond to protect and nurture her. In each other, Matilda and Miss Honey find their real family, and it’s so touching – far more than you’d expect from a children’s book!

Helen Graham (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte - Book Laid on Wooden Table - Keeping Up With The Penguins

From The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

The best mothers in literature haven’t always been recognised as such. In fact, Helen Graham – the titular Tenant of Wildfell Hall – was so shocking, so controversial, so blatantly feminist that Charlotte Brontë forbid the book’s republication after Anne’s death. The notion that a woman(!) would think for herself, and escape her philandering drunk of a husband to start a new life with her adored son instead of just, y’know, putting up with it, was not only confronting to rigid Victorian sensibilities – it was literally illegal. Thankfully, we can now recognise Helen Graham as the brave feminist icon she is, and admire her incredible commitment to taking care of her child, flying in the face of all social expectations. Read my full review of The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall here.

Who do you think are the best mothers in literature? I would love some more examples of wonderful WOC and LGBTIQ+ mothers – they’ve historically been so underrepresented in books, and we need to redress that balance! Drop some suggestions in the comments (or tell everyone over at KUWTP on Facebook!).

14 Comments

  1. Great post and great concept. It had gotten me trying to think of my own examples. You have also gotten me thinking about Addie. Though I have read As I Lay Dying a couple of times, I found character evaluation challenging in that book. Maybe I will reread her chapter for Mother’s Day.

    Have a happy Mother’s Day!

  2. Such great choices! Marmee, Molly, Ms. Honey… I love them too.
    100 Years of Solitude was a tedious read for me but you did raise a good point about the whole 150 year old matriarch. She could get on this list here just by virtue of her age! Hahaha. I really would like to read Joy Luck Club soon.

    • ShereeKUWTP

      May 10, 2019 at 11:20 AM

      Hahahaha right?! Would love to hear what you think of Joy Luck Club when you get to it – I think it’ll be a good one for you! 😉👍

  3. Great list! So often mothers are a bit on the nasty side in literature, or they have died a tragic death. It’s always good to point out the nice ones. Molly Weasley is one of my favourites.

    • ShereeKUWTP

      May 10, 2019 at 4:06 PM

      Yesss! The Molly Weasley passages from Harry Potter should be set texts in all parenting classes, she was the best.

  4. Fully agree with Marmee March and Molly Weasley. Would also add Anne (Shirley) Blythe and quiet, steady, hardworking Ma Ingalls. 🙂

  5. This is a great list and I wish I head read more books on it. I also thought long and hard on this and I realized how often I have read strong female characters in fiction but how rarely they have been moms. If I had to put anyone on the list it would be Marilla Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables. Technically not a mother, but she was definitely a foster parent to Anne and had a steadying influence on her life.

    • ShereeKUWTP

      May 13, 2019 at 8:07 AM

      Yes, absolutely! I think that “motherhood” is a broad church, and mothers can be logical, biological and otherwise (look at Miss Honey from Matilda!), so Marilla Cuthbert certainly belongs with them. Thank you!

  6. What an incredible list, not to mention varied! I love the range of places and time spans you’ve covered, while bringing out all the bold and loving motherly qualities these women shared. I reckon Marmee March and Molly Weasley might have really struck it off together. 😀

    • ShereeKUWTP

      May 16, 2019 at 7:47 PM

      Oh my goodness, YES! I can totally imagine Molly venting her frustration with Fred and George, and Marmee being like “Yeah, I know, but doll, you love them, and God loves them, get it together” = perfection!

  7. Patricia Anne Bryan

    May 15, 2019 at 4:22 PM

    Mannie’s mother in Tall Oaks.He is the most wonderful teenaged boy I’ve read about so his mother deserves many kudos.

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