It’s another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
The official topic is ~ Mother’s Day related Freebie: favorite moms in literature, books about motherhood, best mother/daughter or son relationships, books to buy your mom, worst moms in literature, etc. etc.
First off, shout-out to the best mom in the world! She inspired my love of books by reading me countless children’s books until I was old enough to read them to her. And the rest is history.
This topic was so open-ended I wanted to go in 3 different directions at once. I settled on highlighting 10 memorable moms in literature, whether noted for their sage advice or annoying presence. A few of these are non-traditional “moms”, being mother figures (sometimes reluctantly) to motherless or orphaned children for a large part of the story. Like in real life, these women who choose to love are just as important to recognize as key leaders in these little ones’ lives.
10 Memorable Moms in Literature
1. Mrs. Bennet in Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
She was the first notable mother that came to mind, mostly because of her obsessive and nervous tendencies. On the surface, she just wants to marry off all of her children ASAP. But, I think beneath her actions is a mother’s heart that wants to see her girls cared for in the long term.
2. Good Voice (Two Hawks’ mom) in The Pathfinders series (The Wood’s Edge and A Flight of Arrows) by Lori Benton
Good Voice is of exceptional character. Through her eyes, especially as book 2 progresses, readers see the sacrifice she had to make as a mother and the continued sacrifices she was willing to make in order for her adult children to be at peace.
3. Mrs. Hale in North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Obviously, Mrs. Hale is memorable for her annoyance and frailty. At least that’s how I remember her. She did not have the strongest of mindsets through the ups and downs her family faced, but she was loved and cared for by Margaret just the same.
4. Ingrid Christiansen in the Christiansen Family series by Susan May Warren
She’s an encourager, always showing her adult kids grace in a different way. Her heart is really revealed at the beginning of each book in the series, where readers are treated to a letter from her perspective, told like a journal entry to her children.
5. Caroline Ingalls (“Ma”) in the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These books hold a special memory for me and my mom. This is the first series I remember us reading together when I was little. I recall Caroline as a resilient and resourceful mother, always working for her children’s happiness. She was always ready to share encouragement or wisdom with them, teaching them important lessons of friendship and faith.
6. Donata Vassallo (Ben’s mom) in A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay
Though she has minor page time, she commands what scenes she’s in with an unmistakable passion and demeanor. She loves her children fiercely and serves as an example of changing family dynamics as she adjusts to her new role as Emily’s mother-in-law.
7. Eisley Barret in Just the Way You Are by Pepper Basham
Eisley is a single mom successfully juggling her career and 3 spunky kids. She’s realistically portrayed as a loving mother in all the chaos and humor of everyday life. She is memorable for her flexibility and selflessness that spills over into other areas of her life.
Non-traditional mother figures:
8. Julianne Chevalier in The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green
Without giving too much away, Julianne finds herself in a new world during this story (French New Orleans). Toward the latter half of the book, she becomes the mother figure to a precious half French, half Mobile Indian little girl, showing her such tender care in an unsettling world.
9. Sophie Menzies in The Mistress of Tall Acre by Laura Frantz
What starts out as a friendship between Sophie and her neighbor’s daughter, Lily Cate, becomes a deeper relationship as the story goes on. Sophie is a natural mother!
10. Elle Drake in More Than a Promise by Ruth Logan Herne
This book is a contemporary marriage-of-convenience story, so Elle becomes an instant mother to 3 hilarious and rambunctious boys. It’s been a long-time dream of hers to be a mother, so to see it realized in an unexpected (albeit challenging) way is quite fun.
That’s it for my list. Have you read any of these books? What is a memorable “mom” in book you’ve read?
The Green Mockingbird 