Who is your favourite literary mother?

[MissHoneyPenny]

Your favourite mother/mother figure from literature.

I think my top choices would be Marmee from Little Women, Miss Honey from Matilda (hence username) and Ma Joad from The Grapes of Wrath.

All the mums in the Shirley Hughes books. They all looked a bit like my mum, and their kitchens were messy like ours was.
Honourable mention to Mrs Quimby and Katharine’s progressive grandma in Forever by Judy Blume.
Marmee: too pious
Ma Ingalls: racist, and played favourites

Kristy's mom in the Babysitters Club. Elizabeth (?) Thomas raised 4 kids as a single parent, ran a company, bagged a millionaire, gained two step kids and then adopted a toddler from Vietnam. What a woman.
Imagine the responses to "We have 6 kids, should we adopt a seventh?" on AIBU!

Moominmamma!

The Provincial Lady
Michelle Hanson's mother in Life with Mother to the Very End (non fiction, is that allowed)
Yes to the Dowager Duchess of Denver

I came on to say Mrs Quimby too. Far more like my mother than Mrs Weasley.

Also Bridget Jones's mother, who is largely dreadful to her daughter and husband, but having a great time.

I too love Mrs Jones!

Countess, Captain Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, and her firm belief in helping children develop 'forward momentum'.
Her children (birthed, fostered and found) change empires and planets.

Oh yes, how could I forget the dear Captain? I wish LMB would write more Aral and Cordelia, Shards of Honour is ❤️

another vote for Cordelia, but with a respectful acknowledgement of Lady Alys.

Marmee from Little Women for me.

@NazeLife that’s her! “But Aunt Sadie was away in her cloud of boredom.’Yes, yes very naughty and silly and don’t call me Sadie’”

“Aunt Sadie, who had only just finished having her seven children, was not very reassuring. ’Yes, it is the worst pain in the world, but the funny thing is, you always forget in between what it is like. Each time, when it began, I felt like saying “Oh now I remember, stop it, stop it” but of course by then it was nine months too late to stop it’.
In the end we got far more information from a book called “Ducks and Duck Breeding”.’

Mrs Weasley for me as well

Also Connell's mum in Normal People (Lorraine) is an extremely good egg.

Lady Sybil Vimes.
Mrs Blackett
Dowager Duchess of Denver
Jo Bhair
Augie’s mum in Wonder

Oh, I remember thinking that I would have loved to be a mother like Elisabeth when reading that book. Wonderful role model for her daughter.

Missus in 101 dalmatians.
She lives a fairly ordinary urban life, first time mum, just given birth pretty much, everyone always tells her she isn’t as clever as her husband, and she’s absolutely terrified of the person who kidnaps her puppies - but she sets out on an epic journey through terrible weather to rescue her kidnapped puppies, and ends up rescuing another 70 odd that she isn’t even related to.
She’s the reason I’ve always wanted a Dalmatian (although it hasn’t happened yet, one day though…)

Mrs Madrigal in Tales of the City.

She has many faults but she is genuinely interested in all her "children" and comes to an understanding with her actual child in the end. And what a backstory.

It's a film rather than a book but the first time I saw Freaky Friday I identified with Lindsay Lohan as the teenage daughter, but then on a second viewing, years later, with Jamie Lee Curtis as the harried mum. Total whiplash!

1000000 times yes

Mrs Large from the Large family books...especially in 5 Minutes peace....love how she shamelessly goes for a bath with a tray of treats to escape her kids.

Marmee always really annoyed me!

I love Elizabeth Zott. Also, Bridget's mother (Pam?) In BJD although wouldn't want her as my own!

Yes!!

Lots of these and yes I found Marmee a bit too pious for my liking. I’m going with Ma Larkin, Pam Ferris in the tv series has her spot on as described in the books.

Nanny Ogg from Discworld
Aurora from Terms of Endearment

Absolutely agree.

Mrs Ruggles - the family from one end street

Madge Bettany, though, as an aunt / elder sister / guardian figure, would definitely get a vote from me - at least until Jo starts having kids and Madge somehow becomes a bit useless ...