15 of the most evil moms in literature

1 of 16

Miss Havisham (Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens)

Chapman & Hall

There are plenty of admirable mothers in books: Molly Weasley, Marmee from Little Women — but this Mother’s Day, let’s look to the opposite end of the spectrum, at the women whose maternal instinct seemed a little less nuturing and a little more satanic.

First up, Miss Havisham: Estella’s adopted mother trained her to break men’s hearts. (Eh, there are worse jobs out there.)

2 of 16

Mrs. Wormwood (Matilda, by Roald Dahl)

Penguin Random House

Matilda’s mother didn’t understand her brilliant daughter and verged on negligent.

3 of 16

Margaret White (Carrie, by Stephen King)

Doubleday

Is there anything more horrifying than a controlling, obsessed religious zealot coming at you with a knife?

Continued on next slide.

4 of 16

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin)

Bantam

Sure she’s not evil to her own children, but the murderous, ambitious (not to mention incestuous) Cersei definitely qualifies for this list.

5 of 16

Queen Gertrude (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare)

Simon & Schuster

Marrying the man who killed your husband — and your husband’s brother — is low.

6 of 16

Mary (Push, by Sapphire)

Penguin Random House

Mary is the classic example of an abusive, manipulative monster of a mother.

Continued on next slide.

7 of 16

Charlotte Haze (Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov)

Knopf Doubleday

Charlotte definitely should have realized something creepy was going on a lot sooner.

8 of 16

Janice Angstrom (Rabbit Run, by John Updike)

Random House

No one is saying Janice had an easy life, and it sucks to be chained to a husband like Rabbit, but even so …

9 of 16

Eva Khatchadourian (We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver)

HarperCollins

At times you feel sorry for Eva, mother of a murderer, but her coldness toward her son from the start might have helped lead Kevin down a dark path.

Continued on next slide.

10 of 16

Sophie Portnoy (Portnoy's Complaint, by Philip Roth)

Random House

The mother of all overbearing Jewish mothers, Sophie gave Portnoy plenty to complain about.

11 of 16

Eleanor Melrose (The Patrick Melrose novels, by Edward St. Aubyn)

Picador

Distant and dismissive, Eleanor is every stereotype of a terrible WASP mother. She becomes downright evil when you realize she might have been covering up her husband’s assault.

12 of 16

Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Scribner

Did you forget that Daisy had a baby? Exactly.

Continued on next slide.

13 of 16

The Other Mother (Coraline, by Neil Gaiman)

HarperCollins

Black buttons will haunt our nightmares forever thanks to the Other Mother.

14 of 16

Eleanor Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon)

McGraw-Hill

It’s the first thing they teach you when you become a new mother: Don’t brainwash your child into becoming a political pawn.

15 of 16

Grendel's mother (Beowulf)

She definitely had protective instincts when it came to her baby, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a monster (whether or not she looks like Angelina Jolie).

Replay gallery

15 of the most evil moms in literature

1 of 16

Miss Havisham (Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens)

2 of 16

Mrs. Wormwood (Matilda, by Roald Dahl)

3 of 16

Margaret White (Carrie, by Stephen King)

4 of 16

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin)

5 of 16

Queen Gertrude (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare)

6 of 16

Mary (Push, by Sapphire)

7 of 16

Charlotte Haze (Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov)

8 of 16

Janice Angstrom (Rabbit Run, by John Updike)

9 of 16

Eva Khatchadourian (We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver)

10 of 16

Sophie Portnoy (Portnoy's Complaint, by Philip Roth)

11 of 16

Eleanor Melrose (The Patrick Melrose novels, by Edward St. Aubyn)

12 of 16

Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

13 of 16

The Other Mother (Coraline, by Neil Gaiman)

14 of 16

Eleanor Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon)

15 of 16

Grendel's mother (Beowulf)

Up Next

Popular in Books

All Topics in Books

Everything in this Slideshow

Account

15 of the most evil moms in literature

1 of 16

Miss Havisham (Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens)

2 of 16

Mrs. Wormwood (Matilda, by Roald Dahl)

3 of 16

Margaret White (Carrie, by Stephen King)

4 of 16

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin)

5 of 16

Queen Gertrude (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare)

6 of 16

Mary (Push, by Sapphire)

7 of 16

Charlotte Haze (Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov)

8 of 16

Janice Angstrom (Rabbit Run, by John Updike)

9 of 16

Eva Khatchadourian (We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver)

10 of 16

Sophie Portnoy (Portnoy's Complaint, by Philip Roth)

11 of 16

Eleanor Melrose (The Patrick Melrose novels, by Edward St. Aubyn)

12 of 16

Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

13 of 16

The Other Mother (Coraline, by Neil Gaiman)

14 of 16

Eleanor Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon)

15 of 16

Grendel's mother (Beowulf)

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Share the Gallery

Popular in Books

All Topics in Books