When I set out to write about mothers in literature, I knew it would be complicated. Because motherhood is complicated. The moms I know – myself included – certainly do our best, but we are all working within the parameters of our current existence and under the veil of our past experiences. I always say, I might be correcting the mistakes of the mothers before me, but I’m making entirely new ones in the process.
Defining a “good” mother in fiction or reality is, thus, a subjective task. There’s Marmee March, of course, morally steadfast and true, and Mrs. Rabbit of Beatrix Potter lore, always aproned and full of sage advice. But one of the hallmarks of good literature is authenticity. Nobody is an angel of the home all the time.
On the flip side, there are quintessentially bad mothers: Mrs. Wormwood from MATLDA, vain and self-centered, or sociopathic Cathy Trask from EAST OF EDEN. While some may find the antics of Jane Austen’s Mrs. Bennett entertaining, I’m no fan. Her meddlesome desperation never felt like it had her daughters’ best interests at heart.
There must be a middle ground. Moms who are devoted to their children, but still warm-blooded women. Women who make mistakes but continue to try again, who defy convention, take risks, and love with fierce abandon. These are the types of mothers that people the pages of my latest novel, MOTHER OF ROME. Characters who fight back, go wild, sacrifice and survive.
The most memorable fictional mamas are neither good nor bad, but they remain with their readers long after the book is put down. Here are five of my favorites.
Cersei Lannister, the unscrupulous mama
There are plenty of mothers in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series - Catelyn Stark, Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons, but Cersei’s lethal loyalty to her children stands apart. Sure, maybe her values are a bit skewed - Joffrey didn’t turn out so well - but Myrcella and Tommen had serious potential. And I have to respect Cersei’s commitment: there is literally nothing this woman would not do to protect her babies…. even if that means burning down the Great Sept with wildfire.
Molly Weasley, the scrappy mama
Dear Molly, with her seven Weasley children and tight budget, brings overbearing love and comedic relief to the Harry Potter series. Besides being the ultimate caregiver (her knitted sweaters! her tinfoil-wrapped lunches!), she delivers one of the most iconic lines in all children’s lit when she tells Bellatrix Lestrange: “NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!” Molly may be a mama, but she’s a powerful witch in her own right, and never more so than when she duels for Ginny’s life.
Agnes Hathaway, the resilient mama
If you haven’t yet read Maggie O’Farrell’s HAMNET, I must put you on notice. Please put down this article and run to your nearest bookstore/library immediately because it is so, so brilliant. Agnes, wife of Shakespeare and mother of three, suffers the most unconscionable loss when her son dies of plague. Yet the way she mothers Hamnet and her daughters while her own heart is breaking is nothing short of heroic. This is tragedy, pure and simple, but beautifully wrought. Here is a mother who could easily succumb to grief but continues to show up for the family that still needs her. It is catharsis. It is a message of hope.
Elizabeth Zott, the cerebral mama
Brilliant scientist and single mother, Elizabeth Zott, the heroine in Bonnie Gamus’s LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, approaches child-rearing like an experiment. Unlike others of her generation, Elizabeth does not infantilize her daughter, nor does she limit her with gender norms. Instead, she views Mad as an individual, a human being, and raises her within a system of mutual respect. While Elizabeth’s eccentric parenting confounds her community, it gives readers cause to cheer - this is nonconformity at its finest! – and a testament to a mother’s independence and bravery.
The Mother from WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, the unconditional mama
Though unnamed and largely absent from Maurice Sendak’s classic book, the presence of Max’s mother is felt from the first page to last. We empathize with her exasperation; we get why she sends that naughty boy to his room! And yet, we also understand why there’s hot soup waiting for him at the end. Parenting, after all, is about forgiveness. Forgiving your kids when they misbehave, forgiving yourself when you don’t mother the perfect way you want to. This story, besides being a monstrous rumpus, is a celebration and acceptance of the wildness in all of us.
A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history’s greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible.
The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children.
But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story.
Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir.
Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.
Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land.
To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight.
All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.
Women's Fiction Historical | Fantasy [Ace, On Sale: August 13, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593638941 / eISBN: 9780593638958]
Lauren was born in Boston and raised in Long Beach, CA. After studying English at UCLA and Education at LMU, she taught middle-school Humanities for over a decade — and survived! She is a teaching fellow for the Holocaust Center for Humanity, and lives in Seattle with her husband and three young children. She likes crossword puzzles and being on or near the water without getting wet.
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