Top ten literary mothers

In honour of Mother’s Day, celebrating mothers in all shapes, here are my top ten mothers from literature:

1. Kattrin - Mother Courage by B. Brecht
   Surviving in war and protecting your children can and is a nightmare.

2. Sethe – Beloved by T. Morrison
   Sometimes a mother’s love is so fierce, absolute and desperate that even death seems better than slavery.

3. Circe by M. Miller
   Those who think Circe is out for her own pleasure and destruction for destruction’s sake have not read this book—a fierce warrior mother who, quite literally, goes to the end of the world to protect her son.

4. Sophie — Sophie’s Choice by W. Styron
   Similar to Kattrin, trying to protect one child can be at the expense of the other, only here we see the world afterwards where she has to live with the choice she made.

5. Ma—Room by E. Donoghue
   Even the most horrific confinement can be transformed into a world of safety and imagination by a dedicated ingenious mother.

6. Hasanaginica – Bosnian folk ballad
   A mother trapped by the concept of honour and patriarchal cruelty sees no way out for herself and her children to stay united.

7. Miss Honey—Matilda by Dahl
   Miss Honey is a nurturing mother-figure who shows quiet courage and kindness to Matilda and offers her safety and love that she has never known.

8. Anne Hathaway—Hamnet by M. O’Farrell
   An intuitive and protective mother whose grief becomes a raw, elemental force.

9. Ogechi—Who Will Greet You at Home by L. Nneka Arimah
   The longing for a child and motherhood can take various forms and here it is both magical and a curse.

10. My Evil Mother by M. Atwood
    Is she a witch or not? She is most certainly wry and manipulative, wearing her eccentricities like a flag, all as part of her devotion to her daughter’s safety.