Mum's the Word

Sarah from "Little Children" joins the ranks of the litany of literary mothers who neglect their children to focus the self gratification of an affair. Certainly not the first mother to do so, and compared to many of the mothers on this list, she's also not the worst.

But it is precisely this that makes her one of the realest of mothers. That it could actually happen to any woman out there, any woman who's unhappy with her marriage and her hand in life.

Running with Scissors is a memoir by Burroughs after after his mother, a chain-smoking aspiring poet, sent him to live with her psychiatrist. It's an extremely entertaining memoir because all the things that happened to him seem so out of this world.

Burroughs's mother is shown as emotionally drained, excessive, self-centered, and ultimately incapable of being a parent. She has a sexual relationship with a local minister's wife, which is revealed to Burroughs when he accidentally walks in on them when he skips school. Y I K E S. And that's just one of those incidents. If anything, Burrough's mother can be described as a mess. But moms will be moms... right?

Might the five Lisbon sisters have a shot at a decent future if their mother wasn't so controlling and stifling? Jeffrey Eugenides' dreamy novel set in the thick air of the suburban bears the extra weight of a mother who won't let go. Of a mother who is determined to rein in her daughters. Of a mother who is bringing them up on her terms, not theirs. It's a fantastic subtle read into her parenting style, and it makes you wonder if the daughters turned out this way because of her, or if they were destined for that path regardless.

The Bonesetter's Daughter chronicles the vast gap between an American-born Chinese woman and her immigrant mother. Luling, is in her eighties and seems forgetful, demented and always making bizarre comments. Ruth, her daughter, struggles to understand her mother.

Luling at the start seems like a shell of a mother - unable to provide, a burden and devoid of motherly instincts. But as the novel goes deeper into her past, you get to see the lengths that she goes in order to keep her daughter, and family afloat.

How does it feel to have a mom who constantly plays pranks on you? Maybe pretty fun for a while, since she seems like a cool, fun mom. But for the Fang family, the children are sick of their parents playing tricks and pranks on them - even right when they're in their 40s. The Family Fang explores the dynamics of parent-child relationships, and how parents, even as they grow older, may not assume the right role of a parent.

Ramona Quimby is our favourite girl heroine. Her imagination inspires us and we love her zest for life. But we have her parents Bob and Dorothy to thank. Maybe Dorothy, more so in this case.

Bob and Dorothy seem like the realest of literary parents. They handle real topics like layoffs, quitting smoking, and settling fights. But most of all, Dorothy always remains so ever patient and affectionate with the sometimes-naughty Ramona. Not gonna lie, we're pretty jealous.

The Other Mother in Coraline must be truly one of the most terrifying mother figures to exist (she collects children for goodness sake!). She may look exactly like Coraline's mother, but beneath that is a evil creature who sucks the life out of people.

So when the Other Mother asks for Coraline to stay with her forever, we can only imagine the goosebumps.

At the core of it, Viviane seems like a decent, good mother. But humans are fallible and it is her ego, pride and vanity that makes her lapse into questionable behaviour. The best example is when she sees an interview with her daughter (Siddalee) in Time magazine, expressing her opinions of an unhappy childhood. Viviane proceeds to act like a child and goes berserk -- launching a war against her daughter by refusing to talk to her and even taking down family photos.... Oof.

This is one instance where hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Medea is centered on one wife’s calculated desire for revenge against her unfaithful husband. And she will stop at nothing -- including killing her sons to prove a point to her husband. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Charlotte is not a bad, evil mother per se. But she has to be one of the most useless mothers -- to the point that her uselessness ends up as a dangerous trait to have. Her sins: 1. Falling for a man who has designs on her daughter, 2. Not seeing it and 3. Dying in a car accident and leaving her daughter in the hands of such a man.

There truly was no hope for Dolores aka Lolita.

The novel starts with a bang. Josh gets a message at work that his 8-month-old son has been rushed to the emergency room. When he arrives a few minutes later, he hears that Dori had noticed blood in the baby's vomit and taken him to the hospital. The staff had checked him over, assured her that he was fine and sent them home, but in the parking lot the baby lost consciousness and needed to have his heart restarted.

All this while, his wife Dori remains calm. "More Than It Hurts You" is a great look into Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy -- where parents hurt children to experience the vicarious thrill of solicitous medical attention.

As far as moms go in a dystopian novel, we think Natalie Prior - Tris' mother is one of the best. Not only brave, intelligent and righteous, Natalie Prior very willingly sacrifices herself so that she may save her daughter. Now how many literary moms will do that?