English Literature

Mothers and mother figures play pivotal roles in childrens literature and fairy tales. This is because mother figures play such an important part in our childhoods in real life. The typical image of a mother figure is that of a caretaker, nurturer, protector and educator. They offer guidance, leadership and wisdom about good and evil, right and wrong, and the valuable moral lessons that one must learn early in life to develop into a well-rounded, capable, responsible adult. We expect mothers to be the foundation for the family and the representation of everything good, honest and true. In fairy tales, however, the mother or mother figure is often represented in a much different light. Fairy tales strip down archetypes of traditional roles and often portray them in a much more realistic sense. Both Hansel and Gretel and Alices Adventures in Wonderland feature mothers or mother figures that are different than the traditionally infallible and virtuous role in which mothers are usually placed. As with other fairy tales and childrens stories, these two pieces of literature show not only the imperfections possible for mothers, but also that mother figures can be found in characters other than the actual mother. These two pieces of childrens literature prove that no mother is perfect and that mother figures can be found or represented in unlikely people.

The family structure in Hansel and Gretel is, at first glance, a normal one. The hardworking father struggles to provide for his wife and two loving children.  But when the family falls on hard times, it is the mother that comes up with the solution to abandon the children in the woods to lighten their financial burden. Villains that lie and conspire in fables and fairy tales are often male, but the mother in this otherwise seemingly perfect family possesses many of the negative characteristics usually attributed to male villains, monsters or evildoers. The father, a character that is normally a strong, stable breadwinner figure, is instead represented as the weak member of the family that is coerced into doing something he doesnt believe in.

Hansel and Gretels mother is the antithesis of the caring mother or supportive wife. After she presents the idea to her husband to leave the children in the woods and be rid of them (330), she pesters and hounds him until he finally gives in and agrees to go along with her plan. She makes him feel guilty by telling him that if he doesnt conspire with her against the children, it will be his fault that the whole family dies of hunger. This is clearly meant to emasculate him for being incapable of providing for his family, and to convince him that he has no choice. When her plan fails the first time, she uses the same tactics to convince the loving father to abandon his children a second time. To make sure her plan works, she even locks Hansel in his room to prevent him from gathering rocks to help him find his way home. She is clearly self-motivated, conniving and willing to manipulate her husband by whatever means necessary to get what she wants.

The mother in Hansel and Gretel shows a complete lack of warmth or emotion towards her children. She shows no remorse the day she abandons them, calling Gretel fool and lazybones (331) instead of addressing her by name. She lies to the children repeatedly, telling them, we will be back to fetch you (333) when she knows they wont and seems to have no guilt for lying to them or abandoning them. Even on the day that she abandons her children to die in the woods, she shows no compassion or warmth towards them. The Brothers Grimms view towards this type of mother is evident in the way the actions of Hansel and Gretels mother are mirrored in those of the old woman in the woods. The old woman, the archetypal villain or monster in the fairy tale, calls Gretel, lazybones (337) just like the mother. The old woman also shows a complete lack of remorse for planning to roast and eat the children. In the end, the children and their father only manage to live happily ever after when both women are dead. The old woman is given a taste of her own medicine when Gretel shoves her into the same oven she was planning to use to roast Hansel in, and the mother has died of unspecified causes by the time the children escape the old woman and find their way home. Both deaths are advantageous. The children use the old womans stash of jewels and pearls to find their way home. Once they do, they are returned to the loving arms of their father without their conniving mother, plus all their financial woes are taken care of with the wealth they took from the old womans hut.

Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland is told almost entirely in a fantasy world full of talking animals, magic and living playing cards. There is no actual mother to Alice present in the story. The mother figure in the story is an unlikely character Alice herself. The reader is presented with Alice at the beginning of the novel as a bored, mischievous little girl, but as she makes her way through Wonderland the reader is shown how she grows up during her journey and takes on many adult roles and responsibilities throughout her adventure.

Alices transition from a young girl to a mother figure upon falling down the rabbit hole is represented in her actions while shes in Wonderland and the statements she says and thinks during her adventure. She treats several of the creatures in Wonderland with the authority of a maternal figure. She leads the creatures out of the pool of her tears and gives up her own candy to make sure every participant in the caucus-race has a prize. It is not typical to expect a young girl to so generously give up all the candy in her pockets to make sure everyone around her has some. This is more similar to a mother giving treats to all the children in her charge so they all feel included and special. Her first fear after falling down the rabbit hole is not for her own safety or ability to escape, but that no one will remember to feed her cat, Dinah, and the cat will be hungry. Later she saves the baby from harm by rescuing it when the cook is throwing pots and pans in the kitchen. She takes the baby with her to keep it safe, even though she admits to herself that shes not sure how she will care for it once she returns home from being down the rabbit hole. These are both clear examples of the presence of a maternal instinct. In both cases, she is concerned for the safety and wellbeing of a creature smaller and more vulnerable than herself, protecting them as a mother would a child.

Alice also speaks like an adult mother figure and is referred to in adult terms several times throughout the novel. When she cries at the unexpected consequences of drinking the Drink Me potion, she reprimands herself like a mother would a child throwing a tantrum You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a great girl like you, to go on crying this way (28). Later, she refers to her childhood in the past tense and states that she is an adult. Ironically, it is the subject of fairy tales that makes her realize she has made this transition. I used to read fairy taleswhen I grow up, Ill write onebut Im grown up now (58). She later doubtfully refers to herself as a little girl (84) just before the Duchess calls her dear old thing (147), indicating that the residents of Wonderland view her as an adult too. The Duchesss calling Alice old is odd, given that Alice initially recoils from the Duchess when she meets her because the woman is so old and wrinkled and speaks and behaves in an antiquated way that irritates and confuses Alice. To turn the tables and have Alice be the one who is verbally identified as old signifies that adults recognize the change in Alice and are acknowledging that she is no longer the little girl she once was. Alices maternal treatment of the creatures, her logical plan of action to return to her normal size and get out of the rabbit hole to go home, and the way the creatures treat her as a wise, adult figure all make Alice a mother figure to herself and the creatures and animals she encounters in Wonderland.

The Brothers Grimms representation of an actual mother presents her as in imperfect woman driven by greed and self-motivation. Her lack of love, caring or maternal behavior towards her children makes her an unexpected fairy tale villain. The consequences of her actions are represented in her juxtaposition with the child-eating old woman in the woods and the demise that comes to both of them for their evil deeds. The children and their father, however, are rewarded with wealth and a life as a happy family for their virtuousness and unwillingness to give up, in spite of the fact that Gretel murdered the old woman in order to escape. Carroll shows the reader that mother figures can exist in people other than actual mothers, and that a maternal instinct can be found in just about anyone with a good heart and compassionate soul when need be. Alice began the novel as a little girl, but she became more of an adult and a mother figure both to herself and the characters she encountered in Wonderland not because she consciously chose to, but because the instinct was inside of her and the situations she faced called for that mother figure to be called into action. Alice guides herself through Wonderland, telling herself not to cry, solving problems logically, caring for those around her in need, always being polite when asking for help and always helping others when asked, even if shes unsure of the situation. This is a true representation of a mother figure discovered in the character of a little girl. Young Alice proved to be more of a virtuous mother figure than Hansel and Gretels real mother because she acted on her maternal instinct and did what any good mother would do.