Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The 10 best songs of 2022

      The 10 best songs of 2022

      From disco-trap to deconstructed techno to Dolly-style country, we rank our favorite tracks this year. Read More
    • The 10 best movies of 2022 (and 5 worst)

      The 10 best movies of 2022 (and 5 worst)

      Let there be Mavericks, Bollywood magic, and a Cate Blanchett maestro on the loose. Read More
    • The true story of the g-strings and murders behind Welcome to Chippendales

      The true story of the g-strings and murders behind Welcome to Chippendales

      A look back at the crazy true story of Chippendales founder Somen "Steve" Banerjee and the murder and murder-for-hire plots at the center of the Hulu series. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. 15 of the most evil moms in literature

15 of the most evil moms in literature

By Dana Schwartz May 10, 2018 at 08:30 AM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Miss Havisham (Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens) 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens CR: Chapman & Hall
Credit: 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.)

1 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Mrs. Wormwood (Matilda, by Roald Dahl)

Matilda (1998)by Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake CR: Penguin Random House
Credit: Penguin Random House

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

2 of 15

3 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Margaret White (Carrie, by Stephen King) 

Carrie by Stephen King CR: Doubleday
Credit: Doubleday

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

3 of 15

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

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

A Game Of Thronesby George R.R. Martin
Credit: Bantam

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

4 of 15

Advertisement

5 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Queen Gertrude (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare)

Hamlet by William Shakespeare CR: Simon & Schuster
Credit: Simon & Schuster

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

5 of 15

6 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Mary (Push, by Sapphire)

Push by Sapphire CR: Penguin Random House
Credit: Penguin Random House

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

6 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Charlotte Haze (Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov)

978-0-679-72316-5.JPG
Credit: Knopf Doubleday

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

7 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Janice Angstrom (Rabbit Run, by John Updike)

Rabbit, RunBy JOHN UPDIKE CR: Random House
Credit: 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 …

8 of 15

Advertisement

9 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

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

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN BY LIONEL SHRIVER PAPERBACK CR: HarperCollins
Credit: 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.

9 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

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

Portnoy’s ComplaintBy PHILIP ROTH CR: Random House
Credit: Random House

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

10 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

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

The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn CR: Picador
Credit: 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.

11 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

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

The Great Gatsby (9/30/04)by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Credit: Scribner

Did you forget that Daisy had a baby? Exactly.

12 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Other Mother (Coraline, by Neil Gaiman)

Coraline
Credit: HarperCollins

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

13 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Eleanor Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon) 

The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon CR: McGraw-Hill
Credit: 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.

14 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Grendel's mother (Beowulf)

BEOWULF BOOK COVER

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).

15 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Dana Schwartz

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 15 Miss Havisham (Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens) 
    2 of 15 Mrs. Wormwood (Matilda, by Roald Dahl)
    3 of 15 Margaret White (Carrie, by Stephen King) 
    4 of 15 Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin)
    5 of 15 Queen Gertrude (Hamlet, by William Shakespeare)
    6 of 15 Mary (Push, by Sapphire)
    7 of 15 Charlotte Haze (Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov)
    8 of 15 Janice Angstrom (Rabbit Run, by John Updike)
    9 of 15 Eva Khatchadourian (We Need To Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver)
    10 of 15 Sophie Portnoy (Portnoy's Complaint, by Philip Roth)
    11 of 15 Eleanor Melrose (The Patrick Melrose novels, by Edward St. Aubyn) 
    12 of 15 Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald) 
    13 of 15 The Other Mother (Coraline, by Neil Gaiman)
    14 of 15 Eleanor Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon) 
    15 of 15 Grendel's mother (Beowulf)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    15 of the most evil moms in literature
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.