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.

Me too! Definitely Moominmama!

Mrs Large from Five Minutes Piece 🐘

On the other end of the scale, Cersei Lannister is a mother I love to hate.

I was going to say Mrs Walker as well. (Splendid name@squashyhatby the way)

Topaz in I Capture the Castle is pretty great too

Lyuba in The Cherry Orchard

Caroline Ingalls (Ma) from Little House on the Prairie 🥰

Why thank you!

Mrs Brown, mother of William, Ethel and Robert in Richmal Crompton's "William" books. She deserves a sainthood.

I liked Laura Morland in High Rising by Angela Thirkell (a recommendation from another thread) - because being a mother is a major part of her characterisation, but the story isn't about being a mother, and because she's fully aware of how horrific and boring her child is, as well as obviously loving him very much.

I like many of those mentioned (especially Mrs Brown, William’s mother). I like Everard Bone’s mother in Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women, a fierce woman with a phobia of birds perhaps not very motherly but a funny character.

Another vote for Elizabeth Zott.

There's a children's book by T Kingfisher called Minor Mage, where the mother has to go to look after her married daughter for a week and reluctantly leaves Oliver (the minor mage) at home. As soon as she's gone the villagers insist on him going off on a quest and when he gets home at the end she's clearly not long back herself. He comes in the door and she's in the middle of prepping everything she needs to come after him.

Another vote for the Dowager Duchess of Denver! And for Kate Somerville in the Lymond books.

I’d have said Ma Ingalls too. They’d put down roots, build a house and get the kids into school, and then Pa would get itchy feet and drag them off in the wagon to start over. I’m sure she didn’t want to keep moving across the country.

Lady Violet Brigerton was my first thought, and of course, and Violet Crawley from Downton, if we’re allowed tv influenced mothers.

She only makes a brief appearance, but Phoebe Tucker from Gaudy Night. MNetters would no doubt deplore her habit of casually dumping her offspring on grandparents before going off to join her archaeologist husband on a dig. But she thinks they're 'rather fun', approves of her son 'patiently and correctly excavating the gardener's rubbish-heap and making a collection of bones' and isn't bothered by germs and dirt.

Marmee came to my mind first and someone earlier on has reminded me of Martha's and Dickon's mother (Susan Sowerby?) but now you mention Angela Thirkell you've set me wondering. Did Mrs. Morland have a son called Tony and hairpins which kept escaping?
I have to go, but I want to say that it is such a treat to have threads like these.

Mrs Peggot Demon Copperhead

Another in admiration of Mothers Blackett and Walker, and many mothers of Blyton adventure characters who made themselves scarce, absent, missing in a plane crash* etc so that their offspring could get on and live their best lives.

*found safe and well once the children’s school holiday was completed.

Jumped on to say Susan Sowerby too!

Sarah Miller has written a book called Caroline which imagines the Little House books from Ma's point of view. There is also a very interesting non-fiction book called Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser which looks at the truth behind some of the stories. It sounds like your interpretation is correct- Ma didn't want to be dragged across the wilderness with small children. The family really struggled with poverty too and she had to find some ingenious ways to feed them all. It was a very hard life.

Pauline Mole, my number one. I love her. I often think to myself "What would Pauline do."

Two, Daisy in Polo by Jilly Cooper. Bloody Hector. I was so happy when she ended up with Ricky.

Mrs Ruggles, washerwoman and mother of 7 in The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett. The children were the focus of the stories but mum and dad each provided a constant, warm and loving presence.

I agree Mrs Weasley is a most endearing character and "Mollywobbles" still makes me smile.

Sorry to go low-brow but I love Taggie Campbell-Black. And Lizzy Vereker

Also several other Jilly Cooper mothers such as Maud O’Hara and Daisy France-Lynch but just because they are lovely people, not necessarily great mothers!

@ExemplaryVegetable hello, fellow Jilly fan!

I'd come to post exactly this Mum! And she gets to relax for 30 seconds in the end downstairs. And her facial expressions in Mr Large in Charge. Never felt quite so validated as in those books!

Oh how funny 🤣