Literary Moms I Want to Be (or just be friends with)

I love reading a well written mom. A mom like me. Not Donna Reed. Not June Cleaver. I need more than heels and pearls. I’m a train wreck. And even though I read a lot of fiction with fantasy and paranormal elements, I still want a mom who isn’t a cardboard cut out.

Today, I’m giving you my list of moms in books that I admire and wouldn’t mind having over to drink coffee (wine).

Molly Weasley (Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling)

Although Molly may be the mother to Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the gang, she extends her care to Harry and Hermione as well. She not only loves and cares for her children, though she does so very much, but she also risks her life to keep them safe.

Jennifer Honey (Matilda, Roald Dahl)

While Miss Honey begins the novel as Matilda’s patient and kind teacher, she becomes Matilda’s adopted mother at the conclusion. She encourages Matilda to never stop dreaming or studying and serves as a constant source of love and support, lessening some of the enormous emotional weight she is carrying.

Dr. Kate Murry (A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle)

I think Kate Murry is awesome. Any geeky girl who read the Wrinkle in Time series as a child either aspired to be the shrewd, bright, and enigmatic microbiologist as their own mother or just wanted to emulate her. It’s not surprising that her children are courageous and capable of finding their lost father.

Aurora Greenway (Terms of Endearment, Larry McMurtry)

A journey is the Aurora Greenway. She is self-centered, funny, quirky, and seductive, and she adores her daughter Emma wholeheartedly. When she visits Emma in the hospital during her final days and eventually (and selflessly) takes her grandkids into her house to raise them in Houston, this love is never more apparent.

Marmee (Little Women, Louisa May Alcott)

Marmee (also known as Margaret March) is the center of her family, taking care of the home on her own while her husband is deployed, contributing to the war effort, and modeling for her children how to become strong, intelligent, and kind adults.

Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery)

Marilla may come across as stern and direct, but that’s just because she has a knack for getting things done. It doesn’t imply that she despises Anne, whom she warmly welcomes into her family and home, and it doesn’t imply that she is only concerned with herself. She has also had fun.

Who is your favorite book mom? Let me know in the comments below.