Orphans, at least in the world of fiction, get a reasonably good press. Everyone from Jane Eyre to Anne of Green Gables to Batman to Harry Potter overcomes this advantage, often facing much hindering by grotesque relatives, to eventually triumph and prosper.
The obvious reason for this, at least from an authorial perspective, is that the lack of parents allows for more interesting and different lives, as well as introducing sympathy for the orphaned protagonist.
Despite this I think single parent families are underused in fiction (I blame Dan Quayle for that). Here are some of my favourites:-
- Atticus Finch – widowed, raised two children. Great stuff.
- Dionsyus. His father killed his mother by turning into a bolt of lightning. No wonder he took to drink.
- Dr Beverly Crusher off of the Star Trek. Gave birth to one of the most annoying characters ever: Wesley Crusher.
Who is your favourite?
I’m with you about Atticus Finch. I know this isn’t in the same league, but what are your thoughts about only children? Now that is another can of worms entirely.
Under Orphans you forgot the Baudelaire Orphans and their unfortunate events!
Never quite sure whether God counts as a single parent or not.
Rapunzel – I once made a disparaging remark about only children in the company of 3 only children. Oops/
Llewtrah – I didn’t forget them, I just didn’t put them in.
Tim – Complicated, after all He is also His own son.
Favourite singlge parent so far is the mum in the Spiderwick Chronicles. Maybe because that’s the only single parent I can think of who isn’t some kind of evil step parent….
I like any story where the young boy, orphaned as he enters puberty, is raised by his hot yet inexplicably unmarried aunt. In such tales, the sexual tension builds to a predictable, yet fully satisfying, climax. And if the main character uses terms like “dirtbox” and “I’m going in dry this time!”…well…I’ll say only that it elevates the thing into the realm of ‘literature’.
I feel I might have missed the point of this post in my comment. Apologies for that, but really, I feel quite a bit better now.
Macy – I haven’t read Spiderwick but I love the title, just saying it is pleasing.
Tosserini – I think I’ve read that.