noun, plural good-wives [wahyvz].
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, Ceres, c. 1660, Oil on canvas
Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy, 1951 - 1957
The Good Wife is a sub-archetype of the Mother which embodies what classical patriarchal societies believe to be the ideal female spouse and mother. This usually means being servile to your husband, domestic, a home-maker and most importantly a child-rearer.1 This archetype is a reflection of what a woman’s expected roles in society were (and sometimes still is) and set the precedent of what it meant to be the ideal woman past childhood - a ‘good’ wife and a ‘good’ mother. Of course there are some nuances to this description - in Ancient Greece, deities that fit this archetype were also ruthless, however they were ruthless for concern of their child - Demeter is an example of this:
Antoine-François Callet, Ceres (Demeter) Begging for Jupiter’s Thunderbolt After the Kidnapping of Her Daughter Proserpine (Persephone), 1777
Annie Murphy and Eric Petersen as Allison and Kevin McRoberts in Kevin Can F**k Himself, 2021 - 2022
More contemporary figures of The Good Wife can be seen in American sitcom comedies that became popularised in the USA post WW2. Shows like Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best were centred around nuclear, all-white American families - a father with a white collar job, two or three kids and a doting housewife.1 These sitcoms were a response to post-WW2 American societal shifts, with men coming back from the war and women displaced from the workforce and expected to become a wife and a mother, these change in societal shifts exacerbated in a new booming economy and the rise of suburbia.2 However, some of these shows were also beginning to challenge these expectations. I Love Lucy’s premise is about a wife, Lucy that wants to work and the joke of the show is that she is ‘bad’ at being a typical housewife (because she doesn’t want to be one), which frustrates her clueless husband.3
In Greek mythology, this archetype is
best reflected by the Goddess Demeter, who resides
over the Harvest, Agriculture and Fertility.
Although spouseless in much of the literature,
her most well-known tale is centred around the
love she has for her daughter, Persephone. After
Persephone is kidnapped by Hades so that he
could forcefully make her his wife, Demeter
brought upon a deadly drought in order to convince
the other Gods and Zeus that Persephone should be
released:
“Then that fair Nymphe Alpheias [Arethousa] . . .
rose from her pool and brushed back from he brow her dripping hair,
and said : ‘O thou, divine Mother, who through the world hast sought
thy child, mother of crops and harvest, cease at last thy boundless
toil and end they savage rage against the land that has kept faith with thee.
The land is innocent; against its will it opened for that rape.
While beneath the earth I glided in my Stygian stream,
I saw, myself with my own eyes, your Proserpina.
Her looks were sad, and fear still in her eyes; and yet a queen,
and yet of that dark land Empress, and yet with power and majesty
the consort of the Tyrannus Infernus (Sovereign Lord of Hell) [Haides].’[33]4
Unknown, Illustration of the Crane Wife in “Tsururo no Ongaeshi,” date unknown
Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as June and Ward Beaver in Leave It To Beaver, 1957 - 1960
After the drought killed many, they finally conceded, and Persephone is said to spend half a year in the underworld with her husband, and the other half outside of it with her mother. Demeter is identified, therefore, by her existence as a mother - unlike other Goddesses in the pantheon, she is exulted not for her wisdom, battle acumen or matchmaking, but for her dedication to motherhood. In other cultures, The Good Wife can be seen in Hinduism’s Sita, Vishnu’s consort and the Goddess of Beauty and Devotion.4 Devotion to her husband is quite literally the power wherein she resides in Hindu mythology, showcasing how, similar to Demeter, how important the role of a devoted wife is in the society where she is worshipped and why such a sub-archetype therefore exists.
India, Tamil Nadu, Sita as Goddess, c. 1100, Sculpture Granulite
Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife, 2009 - 2016
Throughout the 21st century, the sitcom wives and the ‘ideal’ wife
in media has become further developed and nuanced, in accordance to
the increase in conversations about women’s and civil rights,
especially in the west.4
Dark comedy series released in 2021 named Kevin Can F**k Himself
specifically flips the idea of the sitcom wife on its head.
Protagonist Allison Roberts (played by Annie Murphy)
is unhappily married to her husband, Kevin, who is an “insensitive.
unambitious manchild.”5 She is so frusturated with Kevin she wants
to kill him (however she ends up faking her own death and starting anew,
leaving her husband to fend for himself instead in the finale)6
The show utilises unique camerawork and filming methods to highlight her
dissatisfaction - when Allison is with Kevin, the series utilises multi-cam
and saturated colours, along with easy jokes and canned laughter -
all characteristics of a typical sitcom, whereas when she is ‘off-camera’
(ie out of the sitcom scenario and on her own), the colours become gritty,
darker and harsher to reflect the reality she lives in, as well as her misery.7
Through its characters and camera work, the series explores the grim
realities of the life of a typical sitcom wife, illuminating that behind the
lighthearted jokes this archetype was built upon decades of misogyny in the
media, and in the finale avenging the sitcom wife as she is set free from her
marital shackles.
noun [im-pur-fikt muhth-er]
Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, Ceres, c. 1660, Oil on canvas
Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy, 1951 - 1957
Almost the antithesis to The Good Wife, The Imperfect Mother is a sub-archetype of the Mother whose characteristics do not typically align with patriarchal standards of what the ideal wife and mother should be like. The Imperfect Mother is therefore perhaps not the most nurturing mother in the world, or the kindest. She is typically rough around the edges and unsympathetic, and in the following historical examples almost always powerful, respected and authoritarian. Historical examples are also less subtle and much more cruel than their contemporary counterparts, however they provide a foundation of the ideas this sub-archetype originated from.
Mårtin Eskil Winge, Kraka, 1872, depicting giantess Jarnsaxa
Laurie Metcalf and Sairoise Ronan as LadyBird and Marion McPherson in Lady Bird, 2017
The Imperfect Mother archetype is definitely a figure of interest in a lot of literature and media, especially in the 20th and 21st century. Instead of being harsh, cruel and malevolent like her historical counterparts, the modern Imperfect Mother is a figure that is grappling with her own inner demons, struggling with the pressures of parenting and the expectations of perfection when it comes to motherhood. These traits all however tie into the fact that this mother tends to hurt their children because of their own issues, whether intentionally or not.1 Movies such as 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby2 or 1962’s Mamma Roma3 explores these themes, portraying troubled women who have complicated relationships with their identities as mothers - their personal struggles, aspects of their personalities and societal pressures leading them to unintentionally hurt their children, although the love they have for them is undeniable. These movies show that even if someone is a mother, it doesn’t mean they are perfect or angelic by any means, and all mothers will make mistakes even out of love for their child.
Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse in Rosemary’s Baby, 1968
Hera, the greek goddess of women, marriage and childbirth1 is a possible example of this archetype, and this can be seen in the way she treats Hephaestus, her son, in comparison to her other children, Ares and Hebe.2 She favours Ares and Hebe, however because Hephaestus was born a cripple and what she deemed uglier than the other children that her husband Zeus fathered with other women, she throws him off of Olympus and casts him out to the sea,3 portraying her as a mother who is capable of cruelty toward her children because of materialistic and petty reasons:
“Hera was angry and spoke thus among the assembled gods : ‘. . . See now, apart from me he [Zeus] has given birth to bright-eyed Athene who is foremost among all the blessed gods. But my son Hephaistos whom I bare was weakly among all the blessed gods and shrivelled of foot, a shame and a disgrace to me in heaven, whom I myself took in my hands and cast out so that he fell in the great sea. But silver-shod Thetis the daughter of Nereus took and cared for him with her sisters: would that she had done other service to the blessed gods!’4
Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, 2000 - 2007.
Examples of ruthless and cruel mothers can be seen in other cultures and folklore outside of Greece. The first and only female empress of China, Wu Zeitan, who ruled between 624-705 A.D, was rumoured to have suffocated her daughter to death to achieve her rise to power. As a concubine, her sons fathered by the Emperor did not have any claims to the throne. Wu then accused Empress Wang, the Emperor’s wife, that she murdered Wu’s newborn daughter, and Wang was shortly removed as empress following complications surrounding this accusation. Of course, there were many theories as to what actually happened, such as lack of ventilation was what killed the baby, or Wang really did kill Wu’s daughter because she was childless and politically vulnerable, however it is widely believed that Wu killed her own daughter to gain more power.4 This callousness and cruelty toward her children motivated by self-interest therefore defines, The Imperfect Mother in history.
Caroline Young, Empress Wu Matted Print, Date Unknown
Movie Poster for Umma, featuring Sandra Oh, directed by Sam Raimi, 2022
Generational trauma as a theme has also been prevalent surrounding the exploration and characteristics of the Imperfect Mother as an archetype in recent media. The popular show Gilmore Girls that ran from 2000 - 2007 explores. through three generations of women from Gilmore family (Emily, the crone, Lorelai, the mother and Rory, the maiden) how generational trauma affects parenting and motherhood, and how certain aspects of trauma will be passed down and can negatively affect your child.4 Two movies released in 2021 and 2017 - Everything Everywhere All At Once and Ladybird further explores this idea of generational trauma and its consequences more seriously, portraying two mothers with very difficult and strained relationships with their daughters as both sides struggle to communicate to one another. The love for their children is clear, however the mothers struggle to express it due to conflicting personalties, lack of communication, a past riddled in hurt and own personal traumas and regrets they are grappling with.5
“It’s a metaphor for parental abuse that isn’t even a metaphor. Turning your child into a science experiment to further your own ambitions is a deeply, horrifically abusive thing to do, and Jobu’s spreading of that pain outward from herself is an evocative depiction of how cycles of abuse perpetuate themselves. She isn’t abusive to her Joy, but she isn’t a good mom by any means. She’s way too critical, and she’s deeply uncomfortable with Joy’s long-term relationship with another woman. Yet these are offenses, the film argues, that could be overcome with a sincere apology and attempt to do better. Maybe. As such, Jobu meeting protagonist Evelyn will hopefully allow both to find some way to move forward together and forget the past. Maybe.”6
noun [mey-tree-ahrk]
Anselm Feuerbach, Gaea, 1875
Vivien Leigh as Queen Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Old Vic Theatre in London, 1937
The Matriarch sub-archetype is the side that defines the powerful and queen-like aspects of the Mother archetype - a figure who is competent, experienced, ambitious and/or ruthless, and act as the sovereign or governing power of their community (albeit usually after the patriarchal power). Many historical / mythological figures of this archetype have had different ambitions and motivations, however what links them is their position of power over their family or community. Examples of religious deities that fit this sub-archetype include Hera1 and Gaia2 from the Greek pantheon, Macha3 from the Celtic, Amaterasu4 from Japan’s Shintoism, Kali5 from Hinduism and the goddess Isis6 from Ancient Egypt.
Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther, 2018
The Matriarch as a sub-archetype in more modern examples have maintained their positions of authority and power, and although less obviously blood-thirsty, some - if not most - have kept an element of the same ruthlessness as their historical / folkloric counterparts. In literature, Shakespeare’s Queen Titania (in A Midsummer’s Nightdream) although not a biological mother, commands the faerie realm and has the respect of the other characters of the play (even when she is tricked by her husband).1 From his writing, we can tell that she is someone who is feared - even by her husband, Oberon - and acts as the sovereign power to her followers. Alice In Wonderland’s White Queen and Queen of Hearts are other examples of matriarchal figures in contemporary literature, as they are figures of authority - and although represent different moral sides, still are Queens of their respective domains.2
Stephen Reid, Macha Curses the Men of Ulster, illustration from Eleanor Hull’s The Boys’ Cuchulainn, 1904
Anne Hathaway as The White Queen in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, 2010
An example of a folkloric matriarchal figure displaying ruthlessness and her position of power
and authority can be seen by the sovereign and Celtic goddess of war, Macha. Although married,
she curses her husband Crunden and his fighting-men for nine generations after she is forced
to compete to the death in a race forced upon her by her husband while she is pregnant.
The curse would take away their strength when they need it the most, and they would feel the
pains of childbirth in its place.7 By displaying her ruthlessness and power, her place in
Celtic mythology is a sovereign and matriarchal one above that of any male deity, making her
the key figure in the folklore.
Kali from the Hindu pantheon is another example of the same powerful, sovereign figure, as she is
the goddess of ultimate power, time, and considered to be the manifestation of primordial cosmic
energy and the mother of all living beings,8 making her a matriarchal figure not only to other
Hindu deities, but to all beings on earth as well.
Unknown, Poster featuring the Hindu goddess Kali standing on top of Shiva, c. 1980
Janet Louise Hubert as Vivian Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-air, 1990-1993
“Kali’s role in the mythology vehicles a concept of femininity very different from the demure, graceful ideals that are mainstream the world around—including in India, the land that gave birth to this fierce goddess and yet prescribes the ideal woman as dutiful, submissive, obedient. Kali is none of that: Her power and ferociousness are greater than Shiva’s, whom she nearly kills by stomping upon him, an image so upsetting to the patriarchy that, explains mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik in Seven Secrets of the Goddess, it was long kept secret.”9
The Matriarch can also be seen in other modern media such as sitcom’s and Japanese animated
films. Vivian Banks from the sitcom Fresh Prince of Belair, that ran from 1990 - 1997, is
the matriarchal figure of the main family of the show, acting as a sometimes mentor with
a strict hand and no-nonsense attitude for the protagonist Will, who respects her despite
his disdain for authority figures.3 She is interestingly also far more human than her other
counterparts. In the episode the Big Four-Oh, her flaws as well as her tenacity are displayed,
making her more relatable than other matriarchal and queen-like characters in media, however
her level of competence and the respect she gains from the other characters are clear.4
Lady Eboshi from Studio Ghibili’s 1997’s Princess Mononoke is another example of a matriarchal
figure in modern media. Eboshi acts as the antagonist Ashitaka, the protagonist, waging war on
the nature gods for her own purposes, ruthlessly harming them in the process (she shoots the
head of the god of the forest, causing chaos). However, despite her flaws, she is still the
main figure of authority and leadership of the her village, and is loved and respected by her
community.5 We can see that her immoral actions have been for the sake of her people and they
love and respect her in turn (they never go against her even when the ‘morally correct’ protagonist
does.) Eboshi is therefore a character that embodies the ruthlessness of her historical ancestors,
while also being multi-faceted and relatable like her modern counterparts.
Lady Eboshi from Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, 1997
"Eboshi works hard to empower the women of Irontown to achieve independence, even within their marriages. These women are shown standing up to their husbands and soldiers while also working at the forge and wielding weapons when the town is under attack. In the era of Japan in which this film is set — the 14th century — this is a rare sight. Some of the older villagers comment on how the women are too outspoken, saying that Lady Eboshi has given them too much freedom. But that is her goal. These women, who were seen as outcasts for selling sex, deserve better treatment. Eboshi provides that...important roles within the community to make them integral to Irontown’s."6
noun [step-muhth-er]
Unknown, Cinderella helping her Sisters to Dress for the Royal Ball, for the third tale in the 1865 anthology for George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library
Lady Tremaine from Disney’s animated Cinderella, 1950
Once of the first instances of The Stepmother in literature can be seen in the Bible, when Sarah, who birthed Abraham’s son, cast out his other children to die so as to not “dilute the inheritance pool.”1 The most well-known examples of this sub-archetypes however are perhaps the characters from the The Brothers Grimm’s stories, such as The Evil Queen in Snow White and The Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella.2 is crucial to note that The Stepmother as a sub-archetype is known as a villainous one, acting as a cruel antagonist for the protagonist (who is most likely are pure and sweet maiden), and eventually meeting an unfortunate end as karmic justice for the abuse they inflicted on their step-children.
Julia Roberts as Queen Clementine in Mirror Mirror, 2012
Despite the passage of time, the connotation of evil tied to The Stepmother is still very prevalent. The most well known characters from modern and more contemporary times are perhaps the Lady Tremaine1 and The Evil Queen2 from Disney’s animated adaptations of Cinderella and Snow White. These two fairytales are still beloved in the present day, with many adaptations released with different twists to the classic stories (Mirror Mirror,3 the 2012 adaptation of Snow White, is an example of this) However the evil stepmother trope is a key component that remains in each retelling, meaning this stereotype has lived on to the present day. A classic film outside of folktale adaptation that utilises this archetype is 1998’s The Parent Trap,4 wherein the gold-digging stepmother, attempts to thwart the protagonist’s plan to get their parents back together, hindering the reunification of the original family.
A rich man’s wife became sick, and when she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said,
“Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you.”
With this she closed her eyes and died.
The girl went out to her mother’s grave every day and wept, and she remained pious and good.
When winter came the snow spread a white cloth over the grave, and when the spring sun had
removed it again, the man took himself another wife. This wife brought two daughters into
the house with her. They were beautiful, with fair faces, but evil and dark hearts.
Times soon grew very bad for the poor stepchild.
“You, Cinderella?” she said. “You, all covered with dust and dirt, and you want to go to the
festival?. You have neither clothes nor shoes, and yet you want to dance!”
But the stepmother said, “No, Cinderella, you have no clothes, and you don’t know how to dance.
Everyone would only laugh at you.”3
Unknown, Illustration from Sneewittchen, Scholz’ Künstler-Bilderbücher, Mainz, depicting the Evil Queen from Snow White, 1905 - 1910
Susan Sarandon (left) and Julia Roberts (right) as Jackie Harrison and Isabel Kelly in Stepmom, 1998
The Stepmothers in both Cinderella and Snow White do reflect some truth of the society they were created in. During the 18th / 19th century, it was extremely common for women to die in childbirth, and the mortality rate was already very low, and many children were left solely in the care of their father - unless he remarried. This sub-archetype acts as a cautionary tale for both the father and the step-mother - to do right by the children, or else something horrible may happen to you.4 Interestingly, studies have shown that “stepparents do harm children at higher rates per capita than genetic parents.” however all instances of violence are committed by the stepfather, not the stepmother.5 The stories therefore do not reflect reality and it is important to ask the questions of why have the stepmothers been villanised, and why is the abuse in these stories almost always targeted toward the stepdaughter, and never the sons.
The fear of The Stepmother can also be seen in folklore outside of the west. Janghwa Hongryeon Jeon (or A Tale of Two Sisters) is a folktale from South Korea that depicts a cruel stepmother’s abuse that results in the death of two daughters - Janghwa and Hongryeon - however the stepmother and her sons are sentenced to death for their misdeed against the girls and are put to death6 (significantly, the father although also complicit in the abuse, is judged as innocent as he wasn’t aware of his wife’s crimes).
Allison Janney (top right) and Elliot Page as Brenda ‘Bren’ and Juno MacGuff in Juno, 2007
Unknown, illustration for ‘The Evil Stepmother,’ a folktale from the Arsi Zone from Eithopia, date unknown
As with most sub-archetypes however, there has been a backlash seen in modern media against the
evil stepmother trope. The 1998 movie Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon sees
the stepmother, Isabel, attempting to do her best to connect with her new husband’s family
who are fiercely loyal to their mother, Jackie.5 The Stepmother is the protagonist and the
sympathetic figure in the narrative, while the original mother is the antagonist, however the
film gives nuanced reasons as to why the two women act this way, and ends not with one woman
‘winning’ over the other, but them coming to a mutual understanding and even becoming friends
to make the transition easier for the rest of the family, as well as themselves. Although
dramatised, this dynamic may be a far more accurate representation of modern families today,
and how step-families cope with changing family dynamics.
Brenda MacGuff from 2007’s Juno is another character that turns the evil stepmother trope on
its head, as she is and incredibly supportive stepmother to her step-daughter and protagonist,
Juno.6 Like Isabel, she reflects a more nuaunced reality of stepmothers and modern family
dynamics, and challenges the evil stepmother trope.
Unknown, painting depicting a disguised Putana attempting to poison a baby Krishna, date unknown
Kim Basinger as Celeste Martin in My Stepmom is An Alien, 1988