Top 5 Fictional Moms or Maternal Figures

As I was thinking about fictional moms, I realized that a lot of books have really bad mothers/mother figures.  It seems having a terrible mother (or no mother, or an evil stepmother) is one of the most common literary devices. Nonetheless, I have come up with a list of five fictional mother figures that I think embody the best parental qualities that help the main character grow and develop.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is an orphan and her aunt who becomes Jane's guardian is an epitome of an evil stepmother. She is absolutely horrid to Jane and ends up sending her to a boarding school for poor girls. At the school, Jane meets the first person (and there will be several of these in Jane's life) who really steps up and becomes a role model and a mother figure for her. I am talking about Jane's teacher Miss Temple. She helps clear Jane's name of wrongful accusations, encourages her curiosity, inspires her and becomes a really good friend. I think in a lot of ways Miss Temple is Jane's ideal and the influence she has on Jane propels her to aspire to more in life and continue to see the good in others.

2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

This is not really a fictional figure. Wild is autobiographic in nature. But the entire plot and the reason why Cheryl Strayed ends up hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is because she needs to deal with the grief she feels after losing her mother. Cheryl's mom was an amazing woman. Barely educated and without the means to support herself, she finally finds the courage to leave her abusive husband and raises two kids by herself. The love she feels for her children is palpable and I really admired her as a strong woman and mother.

3. The WondLa series by Tony DiTerlizzi

I have not reviewed this middle grade series on my blog yet as I am about to start reading the last book in the trilogy. However, this book definitely has one of my favorite maternal figures. In the series, a little girl Eva Nine is being raised by a robot named Muthr - a Multi-Utility Task Help Robot. There are no other humans around and Eva regards this robot, who is her primary caretaker, as her mom. This non-human Muthr is definitely one of the most admirable mother-figures you'll ever read about. Not only does she do a superb job of caring for the child, she multiple times sacrifices herself to keep Eva safe, and does things that are beyond what she was originally programmed for.

4. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Well, even though Harry himself is an orphan and his aunt definitely falls on the "evil stepmother" spectrum of things, Ron Weasley's mom is one of my favorite fictional mothers. It is in her house that Harry finally experiences what a loving home feels like. She is kindhearted, generous, caring, selfless and if necessary, ready to die for her family.

5. Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Here is a story of another orphan - a little boy raised by animals. My favorite character by far in this book is Bagheera the panther. She is lethal to her enemies and deeply protective and caring of those she loves. She also shares little nuggets of wisdom with the little boy and teaches him to be brave and smart.