The 15 Worst Mothers in Books
Mom. Mommy? MOM! Most mothers know best, but these terrible moms only know worst. We’ve compiled a list of the horrible, mean, bad moms in fiction.
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1
Add to BookshelfMatilda’s mother
by Roald Dahl
THE WORST. Let’s all agree that Miss Honey is Matilda’s true mom.
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2
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Cersei Lannister
by George R. R. Martin
Cersei is evil and will do anything for the iron throne, a lifestyle that doesn’t reflect well on her children.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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3
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Queen Gertrude
by William Shakespeare
Marrying your (recently) late husband’s brother is one thing, but ignoring your son? Shame on you, Queen G.
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$11.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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4
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Beth Jarrett
by Judith Guest
Beth allows tragedy and mourning to destroy her ability to love anyone but her dead son.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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5
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Dori Goldin
by Darin Strauss
Dori has an illness that makes her deliberately harm her own child called Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
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$22.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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6
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Mary, Precious’s mother
by Sapphire
Read by Bahni Turpin
Precious does everything for her mother and receives nothing but abuse.
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7
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Sophie Portnoy
by Philip Roth
Sophie is a neurotic mess and completely redefines the definition of a helicopter parent.
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$16.95Buy from Other Retailers:
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8
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Janice Angstrom
by John Updike
Drunk, mean, awful Janice Angstrom is definitely one of the worst mothers on this list.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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9
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Margaret White
by Stephen King
Carrie’s mom is as creepy, scary, and awful as they come, “I can see your dirty pillows.” Gross. Bad mom!
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$17.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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10
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Marcus’s mom
by Nick Hornby
Marcus’s mom is just plain mean. Luckily, Marcus isn’t a product of his environment.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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11
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Medea
by Christa Wolf
Hm, yes, killing your sons to get revenge is not your best maternal behavior.
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$20.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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12
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Addie Bundren
by William Faulkner
If you didn’t want children, you shouldn’t have had children. Get on with it, woman. And while you’re at it, quit abusing your students.
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$26.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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13
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Charlotte Haze
by Vladimir Nabokov
Pay closer attention to your daughter.
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$28.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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14
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Cathy Ames
by John Steinbeck
She may look innocent, but her monstrous behavior becomes apparent early on.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
