Joyce Gemperlein writes about Nancy Drew and her absent mother. “Nancy immediately goes out on a rainy night with a revolver and falls through the floor of a spooky mansion that she’s broken into in The Hidden Staircase. Then, in The Bungalow Mystery, she escapes a sinking boat, once again sneaks into a creepy house and is clobbered senseless with the butt of a gun.”
Nancy Drew is one of many leading fictitious characters who seek danger without a hovering parent, and her can-do attitude may be something the hovering parent should consider cultivating in their children. For another girl of strong spirit, but with a difficult mother-daughter relationship, see Pixar’s Brave this summer.
I just read both those links. CLEARLY the problem is that daughters tend to come with mothers. If we could raise all the girls in orphan creches, they’d have far better stories. [sarcasm]
Rowling (since Gemperlein brings her up) is more honest than that. Mrs. Weasley is far from perfect – not to mention Sirius’ mother (yikes) – but Rowling doesn’t pretend that filial conflict is a _good_ thing. The goal is a real, functional-ish family.
Also, I think God likes mothers. He invented them, anyway…