Today is a very special day, and not just because the clocks went forward and stole an hour of your life. No, today is the day when mothers around the world are rewarded for their hard work - there are no holidays, sick leave or free coffee in this job. To celebrate, here are four favourite fictional mums, and one marvellous maternal mess.
Lorelai Gilmore
Gilmore
Girls
Just sixteen when she gave birth to Rory and ran away from
home, Lorelai might be a bit of a hot mess when it comes to basic life skills
like chores, nutrition and not sleeping with other people’s spouses, but she
gets an A star for effort. Not only does she nail Rory’s pop culture education,
but she passes her caffeine-fuelled work ethic, spirited wit and slightly weird
name on to her insufferably perfect offspring. Whether it’s a work, wardrobe or
romantic crisis, Lore is just a phone call (or, quaintly, a page) away, ready
to jump in her jeep at a moment’s notice and deliver wicked and worldly advice
at 300 wpm.
Skyler White
Breaking
Bad
She might start out as the nagging stereotype stamping all
over Walt’s dreams of wealth, power and infamy, but by the end we’re all rather
in awe of Skyler. This straight-talking, quick-thinking car wash queen manages to
bring up a baby and an increasingly moody teen more or less alone while their
wayward father becomes a meth kingpin, dealing with door-slammings and sulking levelled
at her by said 17-year-old with resigned dignity. Sure, she smokes more than a
Victorian factory and takes her cereal with gin and resentment, but who can
blame her? She’s also got some seriously shrewd business skills going on: laser
tag Saul? Really? Better call Skyler.
Vianne
Chocolat
Colourful, cool and aloof, Vianne stands out from all the
other sensible-shoe wearing mothers in the sleepy French village that she
whisks daughter Anouk to (because you can always judge a woman’s sense of
adventure by her footwear.) It’s not just her feisty personality and sense of
whimsy that make her a fun mum: she can be a bit flaky and has terrible taste
in men - but who wouldn’t want a chocolate-making genius for a mother? While
all those other poor kids are chewing disdainfully on their rice cakes and
cornflakes, Anouk is merrily gorging on cream-laden hot chocolate, chocolate
croissants, gateux and other goodies. As if this weren’t enough, Vianne also
has mysterious magical powers, which she’s kindly passed on to her daughter:
much more valuable than a stable childhood and a bike.
Lily Potter
Harry
Potter
More than just a pair of green eyes (seriously JK, how often
do we have to hear about those?) Lily is always willing to stick up for the
little, hook nosed, greasy-haired guy. (Sure, she ditches him for the handsome,
arrogant troublemaker in the end, but the heart wants what the heart wants.) It’s
Lily’s love for Harry that saves him from Voldemort’s curse, earning him a
pretty awesome scar and lots of psychological trauma in the process.
Mother Gothel
Tangled
Not all witches are so good at this motherhood thing. With
her flowing red robes, flair for the dramatic and amazing head of curls (a sure
sign of evil, apparently) Tangled’s
scheming Mother Gothel is fabulously foul. There’s no retinol or Botox in Disney,
so our villain has to resort to kidnapping to maintain her glamorous and
youthful looks. She’s willing to bully, trick and trap her ‘daughter’ into
staying in her tower, delivering eternal youth through the magic of hair care.
If you think your mum is hostile to your love interest, wait until you see what
Gothel has in store for Rapunzel’s new fella… Sassy, sexy and wonderfully
wicked, you don’t want to mess with this mother.
Do you agree? Which other mothers should have made the cut? Don't be stingy - post your views in the comments.
Happy Mother's Day!
