12 Badass Mothers From The Amazing World Of Literature

Mothers are generally the first and the most badass persons we encounter in our lives. From real life to books, moms never fail to overcome any difficulty that comes their way. Though bookmoms slay enemies, run countries and are often secretly superheroes, real life mothers are no less cool. They are our go to lifelines in any and every problem, disaster, and emotional meltdown because life comes with a mother, not a manual.

Here are some of the most badass mothers from literature who decided not to give a damn!

1. Penelope from The Odyssey

Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus, this woman single-handedly kept her husband’s kingdom going while keeping 108 suitors at bay for twenty years till Odysseus returned. If that’s not badassery I don’t know what is!

 

2. Mrs. Weasley from Harry Potter Series

Molly Weasley, Harry Potter’s best friend Ron’s mother is not only the mother figure for Harry, she is also a really badass woman. She let’s the Order use her home as their headquarter knowing fully well what the consequences could be if Voldemort or the Death Eaters find out! She is also responsible for the defeat of Bellatrix Lestrange, Voldemort’s second in command.

 

3. Catelyn Stark from Game of Thrones Series

The wife of Eddard Stark and mother of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon, she is fiercely protective of her children. She later takes the name ‘Lady Stoneheart’, leading a brotherhood that pursues and kills anybody who betrayed her family and led them to ruins.

 

4. Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter

Hester Prynne is the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s magnum opus The Scarlet Letter set in mid 15th Century. After being sent to the colonial America by her husband, she lived an independent life working as a seamstress and had a daughter with her lover, the local pastor. Even after being condemned by the puritan society for adultery she didn’t give away her daughter nor the name of her lover.

 

 5. Marmee from Little Women

She is the mother of the four March sisters, Meg, Joe, Beth and Amy. She keeps the household running when her husband was in the war. She is the biggest influence on her daughters’ lives. Despite poverty, she has high and unconventional ethical values. A 17th century woman couldn’t get more rebellius than asking her daughters not to marry for money but for love.

 

6. Ashima Ganguli from Namesake

Ashima Ganguli is the mother of the protagonist, Gogol. A Bengali woman born in India, she goes to the States with her husband after an arranged marriage and pretty much lives up-to the American Dream. She was a cool mom, who barely flinched when her kids dated non-Indians and didn’t mind living alone after her husband died.

 

7.Kala from Tarzan of the Apes

Kala is Tarzan’s ape mother in the original novel. She fought with her mate Tublat, her entire clan and the vicious Kerchak, the leader of the band of apes to save and keep Tarzan alive.

 

8. Rosa Hubermann from The Book Thief

Rosa Hubermann dealt with Nazy commanders on a regular basis because of her laundry business while hiding a jew in her basement, that too during the WWll. She also adopted Liesel even though they themselves were going through a tough time.

 

9. Grendel the Giant’s Mother from Beowulf

In the old English saga of Beowulf, after the protagonist kills the monster Grendel, his mother attacks the hall of Heorot, killing one man in revenge. She also gives Beowulf a lot of trouble before he finally succeeds to defeat her. Now that is some mom!

 

10. Narcissa Malfoy from Harry Potter Series

Mother to Draco Malfoy, this woman is extremely protective of her son and family – so much so that she doesn’t even hesitate to lie to Voldemort to find her son.

 

11. Natalie Prior from Divergent Series

This tattoed mom knows how to use a gun and saves Tris from dangers multiple times, all the while living a life based on secrecy that can give James Bond a good competition. She finally sacrifices her own life to save her daughter’s!

 

 12. Helen Thermopolis from Princess Diaries Series

This free-spirited artist raised her daughter Mia alone, going against her parents after she became pregnant out of the wedlock. She is one of those very few characters is the series who are not scared of Mia’s grand-mere, the wealthy Dowager Princess Clarisse and an eternal source of inspiration and encouragement in her daughter’s life.

God bless Mothers 🙂

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