Why no mothers?

Sammie

Sammie

The Doctor...
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Messages
4,370
Ok - this is one that's been bugging me for ages. Why are the protagonists in MOST "typical" (and a fair proportion of atypical) fantasy novels so unlikely to have living mothers?? Most of them not only lost their mother before the story began, but had to grow up without her.

Examples:
Rand al Thor,
Richard AND Kahlan (SoT)
Caine (Heroes Die)
Jon Snow, (and Cersai, Jaime and Tyrion come to think of it)
Garion AND Ce'Nedra,
Sparhawk and Ehlana(sp?),
Ash AND Raif (Cavern of Black Ice),
Simon (MS&T)
Mara (Feist/Wurts Empire Tri)
Lessa AND F'lar (McCaffrey's Pern bks)
The red-head girl in 'The Way Between the Worlds" series.
Ooooooh and Luke Skywalker :D

And these are just off the top of my head. Finding v hard to think of fantasy leads that DON'T fit this category!

These are meant to be harsh worlds, i know, but the odds aren't right - their friends and acquaintances don't seem to suffer the same losses!

Any theories as to why this is such a common choice on the part of the author??
 
It's something authors use to make the reader feel sympathy towards the good guy, more so than if they lost their fathers. As you said, Sammie, it's just another cliche that goes along with the classic farmboy-saves-world story.

Also, in the medieval-like worlds these stories take place in, many mothers did die in childbirth, so I think there is at least some basis in fact in these stories.

On another note, have you noticed how many characters are raised by their uncles?
 
Add Fitz to your list :)

A basic mould for any type of literary protagonist is a character with several flaws. A dead/unknown mother will almost always make the protagonist more vulnerable - so that is a major flaw. I can't think why this particular flaw is so much more common than anything else.

It is interesting to note that in "older" literature (eg Dickens off the top of my head) it is quite common for the protagonist's father to be dead.
 
A basic mould for any type of literary protagonist is a character with several flaws. A dead/unknown mother will almost always make the protagonist more vulnerable - so that is a major flaw. I can't think why this particular flaw is so much more common than anything else.

It is interesting to note that in "older" literature (eg Dickens off the top of my head) it is quite common for the protagonist's father to be dead.
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I find it quite fascinating that's something I never noticed. I have noted it in classics, as I love the classics, but guess I didn't pay attention closely to fantasy books I've read. Interesting to find such a common and specific flaw. I do tend to feel for less than perfect characters more than others. For instance, I really didn't like Rhapsody because she was perfect.

Got me thinking now...
 
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I think that the dead mother bit is also used for obscuring the origins of the hero, since this way he can be most powerful wizard and if the mother was alive she'd let them know before they had 500 pages of a quest.
Also, maybe a mother would be a problem for the quest part. If you have a loving mother or a family somewhere, you would be much less likely to go off to look for who-knows-what. You'd just stay home and live normally, but the fact that they don't have much to keep them back helps the author.
 
This is typical in children's literature, too: Harry Potter, the Prydain Chronicles, Heidi, Pippi Longstocking, A Series of Unfortunate Events, James & the Giant Peach, or even Cinderella.

For one thing, if your protagonist is young, this is a useful plot device to get them off on an adventure. If a happy kid with two parents, and maybe some brothers and sisters, went off on an adventure, it wouldn't be any fun--their parents would be worried sick, and the hero and/or the reader would be conscious of this throughout the story.

(Didn't mean to copy you, Lani. It appears we were writing at the same time.)

Also, the loss of one or both parents creates a person who is hungry, who might even feel that they have nothing to lose, and who will therefore be more likely to go on a ridiculously dangerous quest to save the world. The stereotypical fantasy hero is young, maybe something of a misfit, and is looking for something more out of life. The fewer attachments they have, the easier it is for us all to enjoy the ensuing adventure.
 
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I think that its more of a case that the authors of these books believe that they could have been heroes opf this world, if not for their domineering mothers. I'm sure Sigmond could explain it better.
 
Some of these charectors are almost demi-gods. Would any of the various leaders in Wheel of Time listen to Rand if his mother was getting on to him for having a messy room? Or could Jon Snow be a moody leader of the Black Watch if his mother was constantly reminding him to chang his underwear? In the words of Brien's mum, "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy".
 
This is a very good point, and something I didn't even notice before. Although maybe I did unconciously because the book I'm writing has 3 brothers destined to save the world in someway, but they have both a mother and a father. I think the trick is to make it so that the parents raise the kind of children who are independent and can do their own thing.
 
You know that was always something that bothered me about Jordan's Nynaeve. She apparently has no mother and father and it's never explained how that happened. But PRE BOOK SIX before they started to meander.. I am in the minority of LIKING the character of Nynaeve and wonder if the lack of mother (she did mention was closer to her father once) was an explanation for her neurosis. But then, I'm not sure Jordan thinks that far ahead (er, behind). At least not anymore.
 
I can't believe i forgot Fitz!!

Yeah, my theory when i first noticed this was on the lines of the vunerability thing - but there must be other mechanisms for achieving that effect.

I like the point that in older literature it seems more to be the fathers who are missing. Reflects a changing view of parents' roles/relative 'importance' perhaps??
 
Perhaps. Most single parent families today are mother-only so maybe we see a child brought up by his/her father only as particularly vulnerable. Though I'm not sure what the pattern for single parents was like in Victorian times.
 
Dead parents usually provide a convenient (and often-used) vehicle for vengeance too.

Like the hero can draw on extra reserves of willpower just by remembering his lost parents or whatever.

Besides, parent to child is a complex relationship, so (I know I would) maybe authors just feel a little awkward introducing an integral character like a mother and then taking the young hero to the ends of the earth. It would feel like, "What the heck do I do with this character now? It's his mom, she's important, but in context she so ISN'T!"

I bet a lot of authors don't write about moms just because it's above their ability to handle.
 
Yep.

I agree saintjon, that's the problem. Most authors think they can't handle that kind of stuff.

But all about writing is taking the challenge (in everything), so I hope we see more mothers and fathers in fantasy.

How about a mother going on a quest to save her son/daugher, b/c s/he fell captive to the bad guys? Nice, huh? ;)
 
I'd read it :D

Originally posted by Mamb
Perhaps. Most single parent families today are mother-only so maybe we see a child brought up by his/her father only as particularly vulnerable. Though I'm not sure what the pattern for single parents was like in Victorian times.
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I'm guessing you'd be more likely to lose a mother than a father.....childbirth etc being the joy that it was :rolleyes: So the theory would still stand.....
 
I think more than anything it's just a pain having all your characters with big families. Especially at the beginning where you can't have the family hibernating. Also, when the characters go off on their journey, you have to take the family along or have a damn good reason for the abandonment.
 
I'm sure there's a lot of truth in that....and yet,it doesn't of itself explain why Mothers get bumped off with preference over fathers!
 
Well, the father has to be present to pass on words of wisdom at appropiate times...

"Inch towards daylight...."
 
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