Happy Mothers Day to all you Mum's, Grandmothers, adopted parents and foster carers out there! Today marks a celebration of all of the mother figures in the world, and the good they do for everyone around them. Today we will treat our Mum's to an evening out or a bunch of flowers simply to say thank you for being you; for being in my life.
Here in the Books section we have discussed some great literary mothers, from Louisa May Alcott's 'Marmee' or Mrs March in the novel Little Women who raised her four children on little to nothing while her husband fought in the Civil War, to the adored Molly Weasley who is seen throughout the seven-part Harry Potter saga created by J. K. Rowling. It is somewhat controversial by introducing a list of the five Worst Mothers in Literature on Mothers Day, but they are mother characters after all.
Some are which you may love to hate, others you may simply hate!
We begin our countdown with a tricky character, due to the fact that, strictly speaking, she isn't a physical character which a reader will encounter. Bloch published his novel Psycho in 1959 under Simon and Schuster. The main character, Norman Bates is middle-aged man who is thought to run a motel with his mother, Mrs Bates. Mrs Bates is described as being a domineering woman, who is incredibly jealous, and thus keeps her son Norman to herself, denying him a social life and the company of others. Over the course of the story, secrets unravel. In order to not give away any spoilers for those of you who do not know the story, lets just say that nothing is as it seems, but the description Norman gives of his mother is terrifying to say the least.
With the film adaptation of Coraline creeping into our local cinema screens in 2009, it would be shocking to find someone who hasn't either seen the film or read the book. Neil Gaiman wrote Coraline's spooky story in 2003 and was published by both Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. This tale tells of a little girl and her mother and father, both of which are hard-working people struggling to make ends meet. They move into an old house which has been renovated into numerous flats, which houses Coraline's unusual neighbours. When Coraline goes through a little door while investigating the old house strange things begin to happen. She meets a character who describes herself as Coraline's 'Other Mother', and seems to be the perfect mother anyone could wish for; showering the young girl with affection and she has all of the toys she wants. Coraline even ignored the buttons she had for eyes because of how perfect everything else was. Everything is better in this new reality, which Coraline knows as the Button World. When the 'Other Mother' offers Coraline the chance to stay with her in the Button World forever, she is very tempted to leave behind the reality she knows. The only problem is that the 'Other Mother' wants Coraline to sew buttons into her eyes. Coraline flees but to truly escape the 'Other Mother' she must also free her real parents and the souls of three ghost children who have already been lost to the 'Other Mother'. To say that this is a story for children, it is really scary, and the 'Other Mother' is a character whom you won't be able to shake from your imagination too quickly.
Queen Gertrude makes this list as Hamlet's mother. Shakespeare wrote this play between 1599 and 1602, and it is his longest play. It has been adapted for stage and screen multiple times; with it being an unmistakable classic of literature it seems everybody has their own take on how to portray it. Queen Gertrude of Denmark is notorious for being a neglectful parent to the story’s protagonist Prince Hamlet of Denmark, which has many people blaming her for his downfall later in the story. She accepted a hasty marriage proposal from her brother-in-law King Claudius after her husband King Hamlet's early death, which did not go down well with her young royal son as Hamlet believes that Claudius killed his brother to take the throne for himself. Constantly hurt by his mothers marriage, he also sees Gertrude as an example of weak women, and this later affects his relationship with Ophelia. Although there are conflicting views on the Queen, other characters viewed her as in a hugely negative light. She is known for having a turbulent relationship with Hamlet and accuses him of madness in the play, but she makes this list predominantly for her selfishness and neglect of her son's feelings.
Roald Dahl created a masterpiece adored by children and adults alike since its release in 1988. It has since made for a stupendously famous film adaptation of the same name, starring actor Danny DeVito and a young Mara Wilson in the leading role of a girl gifted with magical powers. Matilda is not understood by her wealthy but ignorant parents, Mr and Mrs. Wormwood. They see her intellect as a cry for attention, and view her as a 'brat', due to which they consequently ignore her. Mrs. Wormwood is the direct opposite of what a mother should be, and although she is not cruel to Matilda, she simply does not have the time for her or her interests. Matilda finds a friend in Miss Honey, her teacher from school, and this friendship is what makes Matilda forget her life with the Wormwoods, and the terrifying headteacher Miss Trunchbull (who may be the worst literary teacher ever!). Although she is on this list of Worst Mothers in Literature, Mrs. Wormwood's selfishness does benefit Matilda in the end, when she allows her to live permanently with Miss Honey, and they begin a happy life together.
Cinderella or Cendrillon is a folk tale that tells of a heroine in unfortunate circumstances, whose fortune takes a 180 turn overnight when she attends a ball hosted by The Prince, with the intention of finding a wife amongst the women who attend. Cinderella's stepmother does everything in her power to control and intimidate her, and her two daughters (commonly known as the 'ugly stepsisters') follow suit in Cinderella's abuse. However, Cinderella is known to be a virtuous woman, who is constant in her kindness and generosity, and does not tell her father of the suffering she endures because she knows that the Stepmother controls him also. The Stepmother becomes so determined that one of her daughters should marry the Prince that she bans Cinderella from going to the ball because she knew that Cinderella would catch the Prince's attention if she were to attend. It is only with the help of a Fairy Godmother that Cinderella is able to go to the ball. The Stepmother makes this list due to her domineering nature and her continued abuse of Cinderella. She hides her away from the world because of selfishness, and this is not something that would make a good literary mother.
Can you think of any bad mothers that should have made this list? Let us know in the comments below!