|
May 09, 2008 11:35 am
Fictional mothers can teach us a lot
Whether a good mother or bad, there’s something from just about any fictional mother we can learn; one of the best forms of inspiration, after all, is to make a mistake.
By Paul Lane
CNHI News Service
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — If you haven’t yet, go hug your wife, mother, grandma and any other mom in your life.
Today is their day, and all of us should pay tribute to those who nurtured us from day one.
Just like anything else, though, there is no single type of mother. Those varying types — caring, overprotective, involved and indifferent — are reflected in the fiction we regularly consume. Since many characters are based on someone from real life, there is a lesson imbedded in just about anything we watch or read.
Whether a good mother or bad, there’s something from just about any fictional mother we can learn; one of the best forms of inspiration, after all, is to make a mistake.
With that in mind, here is an alphabetical look at some of the world’s most well-known moms and what we can take from their actions — or inactions.
Carol Brady
• SYNOPSIS: Matriarch on “The Brady Bunch,” a family of eight which was formed when a divorcee with three girls wed a widower with three boys; was a housewife who stayed quite involved in family affairs and clearly cared deeply for her loved ones.
• PROS: She welcomed her three stepsons with open arms, helping the newly formed family to bond quickly; nurtured Marcia through an ugly broken nose incident that threatened to ruin the big dance, Cindy as she struggled to overcome her lisp and Peter when puberty wreaked havoc on his body and voice. Her high-energy approach to life was contagious, leading the rest of the family to give its all, whether out shopping or engaged in a potato sack race; even though she had help from housekeeper Alice, managing to have all those meals and school lunches ready day after day was no small feat. She worked wonders with money, stretching the family budget as far as an architect’s salary could be expected to go for eight people; and was more than willing to help out extended family, allowing her nephew Oliver to live with the family for a year.
• CONS: Did little to combat space issues in the house, as six children had to share two bedrooms and one bathroom; failed to help the kids cope with the death of the family dog Tiger, not even bringing it up after the canine was gone.
Peggy Bundy
• SYNOPSIS: High school sweetheart of football star Al Bundy, who gave up a college scholarship to marry her after impregnating her on “Married ... With Children”; a housewife in the worst sense of the word, preferring to watch “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and eat to doing anything productive; wore high heels at all times even though she rarely leaves the house.
• PROS: Stuck up for children Bud and Kelly when Al wouldn’t; put up with Al’s frequenting of strip clubs and leadership role in the group National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood.
• CONS: Criticized Al for not making enough money despite her spending it all on junk and not even entertaining the notion of getting a job herself; took a bit too much fun out of foiling Al’s schemes; outlandish appearance was an embarrassment to herself and her family; failed to stay loyal to friends and family members, even her children — although she defended them more than anyone else.
Roseanne Conner
• SYNPOSIS: Working-class mother of three on “Roseanne;” worked all kinds of menial jobs before finding herself and opening her own loose meat sandwich restaurant; ended up winning the lottery but losing her husband in the process.
• PROS: Fully accepting of her family, even if their antics annoyed her at times; willing to do anything to support them, including working an assembly job at a plastic factory, a floor-sweeping job and a waitress position; continued to love her family even as they had babies out of wedlock, foolishly spent money and made other mistakes; always told it exactly as it was, giving her family every reason to trust her.
• CONS: Extremely nosy, especially in the affairs of her sister Jackie; her brash attitude was off-putting to many, leading to some situations escalating to a drama level beyond what was warranted; did not do enough to instill morals in her children.
Sarah Connor
• SYNOPSIS: One of the few humans in the “Terminator” film series to realize that the robots were back from the future and bent on eliminating her son John, who went on to lead the anti-machine resistance in the fight against extinction.
• PROS: Once she learned of Skynet’s plans involving her son, she did everything — EVERYTHING — to save him; introduced as a meek waitress, she did a bulk-up of Mark McGwirian proportions while overhauling her attitude and undergoing extensive weapons training so that she could pass down to John what he would need to know to survive; managed to eliminate at least two seemingly indestructible robots from the future whose lone objectives were to kill John; ever the thinker, she had her casket filled with weapons after losing a fight with leukemia, knowing that John would probably some day need the assistance.
• CONS: Hard to find one, but if you’re being picky she allowed herself to get placed in a mental institution, from which she eventually escaped.
Wilma Flintstone
• SYNOPSIS: Wife of quarryman Fred Flintstone on “The Flintstones;” worked as a waitress until she met Fred, then became a housewife and wizard with an elephant vacuum cleaner and other animals used as household products.
• PROS: The stereotypical yin to Fred’s yang, she remained the voice of reason when her husband hatched another hare-brained scheme and was ever-patient as he got himself into jam after jam (and let him back in the house after locking himself out every week); was an excellent mother to daughter Pebbles, making sure she was taken care of and got plenty of time to play with best friend Bamm-Bamm.
• CONS: Probably should have been a bit more wary of Bamm-Bamm’s violent outbursts, as his club-swinging could have done some damage to little Pebbles; failed to do a background check when hiring a babysitter, as she and Fred hired a person who wasn’t even real (“Annie,” who was really Ann-Margrock in Bedrock for a concert).
Clair Huxtable
• SYNOPSIS: Lawyer, mother and wife to Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show”; often allowed Cliff to think he was in control, but was more than willing to assert herself when she felt she or her children were being wronged.
• PROS: Managed a legal career and five children, especially tough when your husband is an obstetrician and was always on call; always tried her best to instill proper morals and to guide her children to make the right decisions, but supported them even when they didn’t; remained extremely patient as son Theo struggled throughout grade school, a plight that ended up attributable to his dyslexia; also trusted Theo’s word when he brought home a marijuana joint that another student had planted in his book.
• CONS: A bit overprotective, especially of Theo when he wanted to play sports; her temper occasionally got the best of her, especially when discussing her children or female/racial issues; didn’t seem to go through very much hardship in life; overcompetitive, especially when the other contestant was Cliff and his losing would result in his looking foolish.
Shirley Partridge
• SYNOPSIS: Widowed mother on “The Partridge Family” who raised five children and played keyboards in their eponymous band.
• PROS: Raising five children is tough enough, yet alone organizing them and keeping them motivated as they tour the country on a psychedelic bus; at the request of a tour manager who thought she was uncool, willingly left the group so that they could tour Europe (although the children refused to perform without her); made sure the children stayed involved in school even as stardom beckoned, also refusing to allow the kids to become too caught up in the show business lifestyle.
• CONS: Yes, it was the ’70s, but red velvet? Really?
Marge Simpson
• SYNOPSIS: Blue-beehived mother of Bart, Lisa and Maggie on “The Simpsons.” She was largely a stay-at-home mom, but Marge took a stab at being a police officer, real estate agent, painter, pretzel cook and gambler.
• PROS: Put up with the never-ending idiotic antics of husband Homer, showing the patience of 1,000 saints; took an even-handed approach to disciplining her children, but wasn’t afraid to lay the smack down when needed; always managed to see the bright side of things, no matter how depressing or strange things seemed; quite the accomplished chef, her dishes were the envy of multiple cooking contests; fiercely defended her children, encouraging Lisa to enter a beauty contest and refusing to believe Bart was a thief even when he was guilty; has aged remarkably well considering she’s in her 19th season on television.
• CONS: Needed to be less of a doormat, especially when Homer did something stupid like, well, everything he does every week; sometimes tried to do too much and please everybody, causing her mental health to wane at points.
Contact editor Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.
Paul Lane writes for the Niagara (N.Y.) Gazette.
X X X
MORE ONLINE
Visit Paul Lane’s Life in the Slow Lane blog for more on famous fictional mothers, as well as parenting and entertainment news.
* pauljlane.wordpress.com
|
