A Palate Cleanser: Who are the Worst Mothers in Literature
Well sure Medea and Gertrude come to mind. But in the books, we actually read, who scares you most? How about Mrs. White, Carrie's mother? Stephen King is hard to top in creating monsters.
Um...Stephen King is pretty easy to top in creating monsters.
Now, Patricia Highsmith is hard to top in creating mosnters...let's recall "The Terrapin." Robert Bloch, Joe Lansdale, Harlan Ellison...lots of people are better at creating monsters than King. Richard Condon's mother from THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is pretty malevolent.
Blaming Eve seems rather convenient, but that ain't my faith.
(I never believed in Mrs. White, and her "dirty-pillows"...weakest part of that novel, which in turn is still the best I've attempted from King. It is impossible to not believe in the mother in "The Terrapin.")
My wife, and mother of my children, offered a good one: Sybil's mom is hard to top. I'd offer up Lilly Dillon from Jim Thompson's THE GRIFTERS.
ReplyDeleteHow about Mother Bates from PSYCHO? Oh, wait...
ReplyDeleteNobody can ever top Sybil's mother. I still have nightmares about her.
ReplyDeleteNorman is an unofficial mother.
Someone already beat me to it, but the mother from THE GRIFTERS was the first one that came to mind.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen that movie since it was at the theater. I really need to rent it.
ReplyDeleteThe mother in PRECIOUS.
ReplyDeleteMOMMIE DEAREST comes to mind. And, at a different level, Mary Tyler Moore in ORDINARY PEOPLE.
ReplyDeleteEve. She ruined it for everyone.
ReplyDeleteUm...Stephen King is pretty easy to top in creating monsters.
ReplyDeleteNow, Patricia Highsmith is hard to top in creating mosnters...let's recall "The Terrapin." Robert Bloch, Joe Lansdale, Harlan Ellison...lots of people are better at creating monsters than King. Richard Condon's mother from THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is pretty malevolent.
Blaming Eve seems rather convenient, but that ain't my faith.
(I never believed in Mrs. White, and her "dirty-pillows"...weakest part of that novel, which in turn is still the best I've attempted from King. It is impossible to not believe in the mother in "The Terrapin.")
ReplyDeleteEleanor's mother in THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (and her sister, of course).
ReplyDeleteOh, THE TERRAPIN. Love it.
ReplyDelete