Literary notes about mother (AI summary)
In literature, the word “mother” is a remarkably versatile term that encapsulates both literal familial bonds and broader symbolic meanings. At times, it straightforwardly denotes a nurturing figure or a source of comfort and identity—as when characters are directly addressed or recall intimate interactions with their mothers ([1], [2], [3]). In other instances, “mother” becomes emblematic of origin and creation, suggesting both the generative forces of nature and the all-encompassing source of life, as seen in descriptions of a "mother of everything" ([4]). Yet, the term can also carry ambivalent or even negative connotations, evoking loss, sorrow, or conflict when a character’s relationship with their mother is fraught with complexity ([5], [6], [7]). Thus, across diverse narratives—from the personal and affectionate to the metaphorically grand—the word “mother” functions as a powerful literary device that enriches thematic exploration of care, authority, and identity.
- At last he said, ‘Master, my time is up; I must go home and see my poor mother once more: so pray pay me my wages and let me go.’
— from Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm - “I’ll tell you,” said Diana, “we’ll get Mother to ask Marilla.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - There was a red velvet footstool in the best parlour, on which my mother had painted a nosegay.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - She is the mother of everything; the flowers and trees and winds.
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - He hated his mother's affectations.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - You are my son, then, I’ll tell you; and your mother was a wicked slut to leave you in ignorance of the sort of father you possessed.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - "If Mother was only at home!" exclaimed Jo, seizing the book, and feeling that Washington was an immense way off.
— from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
