Who is your favourite fictional mother figure?

[DontTellMama]

Something I’ve been working on in therapy for a long time is what makes a good (enough) mother. And I’ve realised I don’t have any real life role models of good mothers (aunts and uncles on one side of the family are childless, and on the other side are estranged), so I’m looking to fiction for some help!

Who would you say is the best/your favourite fictional mother figure?

The alien in Alien. What she did to keep her brood alive!! The power and determination!!!!

Molly Weasley

One of the main themes of The Secret Life of Bees is mothering. The most intuitive and wise mother figure is August Boatwright who mothers her sisters and the main character, Lily, who turns up on her doorstep.

But there are other 'good enough ' mother figures such as Rosaleen who looks after Lily when she is younger; she's not like August, but her love for Lily shines in a different way.

I think the book explores the relationships more than the film, but both show what good mothering can look like.

i agree! I’ve started rewatching it as have fond memories of it from my childhood. I never realised as a child how beautiful she was, and how she was so kind and patient all the time - despite having 7 kids and living with her in-laws!

Ripley! Yes. And the alien herself too. Aliens is a great film for Mother's Day 💪❤️

Start with Guards! Guards! and then read the books with the Watch in order. Otherwise there will be spoilers!

The mum in The Shining. Although the film version makes her look a bit hapless at times, she keeps her son safe from her narcissistic husband as well as dozens of terrifying ghosts. And on top of that, she basically does said narcissistic husband's job for him, caring for that entire hotel while he fails to write a novel.

Nanny Ogg, Mistress Weatherwax, and Marion Cunningham from Happy Days.

Favourite but for different reasons, is Shivs mother in Succession. Well, mother to 3 of the 4 siblings, but particularly fascinated by the terrible relationship with Shiv. The mother is utterly selfish, occasionally spiteful, completely removed from her children. Only interested in fact in borrowing money for her new husband. Portraits of fluffy loving mothers make me feel bad about my mum ( she was not fluffy) or bad about myself. Terrible mothers make me think at least Im not as bad as that! See also, Maud in Riders, worse even in the books than on the show.
But for aspirational Mother, agree eith PP, Nanny Ogg all the way. She has exactly the right amount of benign negligence going on.

Caroline Ingalls from Little House on the prairie, the 1970/80 tv series.
she was calm, protective & loving to her family….

She's in the Guards series, she's the wife of my namesake, Sam Vimes.

I absolutely love Granny Weatherwax too, she's possibly my favourite character in all of fiction, I'd have to go for Nanny Ogg as the mother figure in that group though.

How about Livia in I Claudius? Scheming and murdering to secure her sons's interests.

Imagine the Mumsnet threads she might have started!!! "DH favouring ex's family over our son. AIBU to poison his figs??"

Mrs Honeychurch from A Room with a View.

Connor from Normal People - his mum. She really stayed with me as brilliant.

Great thread, OP, and Thank You for starting it.
I don't have a fictional mother to add who hasn't already been mentioned. But I'd like to give thanks to my RL person, 20 yrs older than me, who hugged me when I was shaking after my Csec. They said: 'aim to be good enough & know years later they will mention what you got wrong/didn't do & the fact they confidently can, & you can acknowledge it and you can all then hug & know you love each other anyway means you got it right enough. I came from a highly abusive background and I was so scared to be a mother. (Sorry for slight de-rail)

Molly Weasley - strong loving protective hilarious warm powerful brave and magical.
Aunt Fanny in Famous Five for cake making skills and giving children freedom
Ma Larkin for being joyful and generous and creating an amazing strong family

John Davidson’s adoptive mum Dottie, in the movie “I swear” about the boy/man with tourette’s. His own Mum was quite cold and couldn’t cope with the diagnosis, but a friends Mum took him under her wing and moved him in so she could look after him. An amazing Mum who understood the tourette’s and supported John.

Molly waa a great mother to Harry.
But not as good to her own sons. Not bad, but not fantastic.

Another vote for Caroline Ingalls, although Little House could be very cheesy! And Olivia Walton. I remember being quite indignant as a kid every time the cast names appeared & saying “ You can’t call a woman Michael”!

She only sees her children in the summer holidays though once they turn 11! Occasionally at Christmas, but she was happy to go to Romania to see her adult child and leave the young ones at school over Christmas. If anyone did that in real life you would be horrified.

@Summerhouse21 The real life Ma , or at least the version from the books, is also pretty amazing given her insane husband regularly tries to kill them all with his lunatic behaviour. Let’s cross the frozen Mississippi River incredibly late in the season! Watch out Caroline, the house is falling on you! I’m sure the Indians won’t mind us moving in on their land! The woman’s a saint.

Fictional mothers are often awful or absent or dead because it makes for a better story. Kids can't get up to adventures if they have a loving mother keeping an eye on them. I can't think of any particularly great fictional mothers!

Helen Parr from The Incredibles
Leigh Ann Touey as played by Sandra Bulllock although not fictional and perhaps not as nice IRL
Pam

I also thought of Molly Weasley.

Excellent shout from PP about Nancy in Oliver.

Pauline Mole