Winter advisories in central, northeast Minnesota; blizzard warning northwest 

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The fiction section is a scary place for parenting advice.

Moms run amok through classic literature (dads do more than their fair share of damage as well): Fictional parenting pointers include how to accidentally marry your own offspring and where to find a woodsman to cut out your step-daughter's heart.

Some are simply cases of benevolent neglect — Did no one 

 wonder where Nancy Drew was? — but others belong smack-dab in the horror section.

For Mother's Day, behold a bevy of literary ladies who won't be getting a card this Sunday.

1) Charlotte Haze from Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita"

Poor Charlotte Haze and her horrible taste in men. How else do you explain bringing home Humbert Humbert? Instead of kicking him to the curb when she notices him leering after her daughter Lolita, she treats Lolita like a competitor for his affection. It doesn't end well for anybody.

2) Mrs. Wormwood from Roald Dahl's "Matilda"

Matilda is about as exceptional as any kindergartner can be: whip-smart, total bookworm, telekinetic... But none of that can sway Mrs. Wormwood into squeezing out even an ounce of affection for her daughter. Her priorities put a game of bingo high above her five-year-old. Of course, she's not as bad as Mr. Wormwood, but that's not saying much. When the Wormwoods ultimately flee the country, they leave Matilda in the much more capable care of Miss Honey.

3) Lady Macbeth from William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

Lady Macbeth doesn't often mention babies, but when she does, stand back:

 
How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me.


I would, while it was smiling in my face, 


Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums


And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you

4) Daisy Buchanan from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

Did you remember that Daisy even had a baby? She's rarely mentioned ‐ toddlers are kind of a buzzkill when it comes to champagne-drenched soirees — but Daisy does recall what she thought when she found out she was having a daughter. "I hope she'll be a fool," Daisy said. "That's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." No word on how the wee one turned out with such an empowering mantra in her head.

5) Marisa Coulter from Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass"

Cold and calculating, Mrs. Coulter is capable of occasional affection, like the time she saves her (secret) daughter Lyra from captivity. Of course, that might just have been because she needed a human sacrifice for the next stage of her plan. Details, details.

In the original Brothers Grimm version of "Hansel & Gretel," both parents lead the children out to the woods and abandon them there — fairy tale parenting at its finest. As the story evolved over the centuries, however, Mom got more of the blame. She morphed into a stepmother who masterminds the scheme and, like any good villain, dies at the end. Stepmoms just can't catch a break.

7) Margaret White in Stephen King's "Carrie"

Living with Margaret White might be enough to give anybody telekinetic powers, just to get out of there. Everything is a sin, according to Margaret, who raises Carrie in abusive isolation and turns her into the emotional wreck we know and fear. (Have fun at prom, kids!)

8) Corrine Dollanganger from V.C. Andrews' "Flowers in the Attic"

Kids? What kids? Nope; I didn't hear anything coming from the attic.

Is there a literary mom that haunts you from the page?

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Tracy Mumford

Author

Behold a bevy of literary ladies who won't be getting any brunch this Mother's Day.

Nightmare mothers from literature

Go Deeper.

Like this?