45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt Read Free Book Online Page B

the time.
    Flaws:
Finds her sole identity is wrapped up in helping or saving others.
Worries constantly about her children.
Is self-sacrificing and takes on too many projects at one time because she can't say no.
Takes things her family says personally.
Needs someone to care for.
The Villainous Side of the Nurturer: The Overcontrolling Mother
    As a villain the Nurturer would probably kidnap someone else's baby just to have someone to take care of. She would steal someone else's creative project to be looked upon as helpful to society.
    She would manipulate another person into letting her help them by taking over their life, like Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) does in Misery .
    She's the mother who poisons her child so she can bring her to the hospital and receives attention for all the hard work she's doing to care for her child. She's the mother who projects her own disappointments onto her daughter so she won't leave home and be independent. She's the master of inflicting guilt upon others.
    She does everything with the thought that people need her. She thinks others can't live without her, but in reality she can't live without them. She believes she's helping people but what she's actually doing is occupying herself with other people's lives in an effort to avoid her own.
    She's a very dependent person who can't function without someone else around to keep her company and provide direction.
    She feels devastated or helpless when relationships end and is preoccupied with fears of being abandoned. Her lack of self-confidence makes it impossible for her to do things on her own. She cares for others in an effort to make sure others will be there to care for her. She feels helpless when left alone.
    She feels she has given up her entire life to raise her children. She sacrificed everything for them. She wants respect and obedience.
THE OVERCONTROLLING MOTHER
Feels like others are trying to toss her aside and abandon her.
Thinks others can't survive without her when she's the one who can't survive without them.
Will hurt others for their own good.
Butts in when not wanted.
Uses guilt to control others.
Exaggerates when hurt or in need.
Does things not asked of her to seem helpful.
Seems genuinely nice once in a while to throw others off balance.
Lacks self-confidence.
Can't do anything alone.
    Demeter in Action

Nurturer/Overcontrolling Mother TV Heroes
    Carol Ann Brady (Florence Henderson) in The Brady Bunch
    Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) in Frasier
    Marie Barone (Doris Roberts) in Everybody Loves Raymond
    Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs) in Charmed
    June Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley) in Leave It to Beaver
Nurturer/Overcontrolling Mother Film Heroes
    Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt) in As Good As It Gets
    Stella Dallas (Barbara Stanwyck) in Stella Dallas
    M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field) in Steel Magnolias
    Dorothy Boyd (Rene´e Zellweger) in Jerry Maguire
    There are a number of classic films where the female character is relegated to the house, caring for the men. These characters are prevalent in Westerns. You can see them waiting in doorways, watching over the men and taking care of their wounds.
Nurturer/Overcontrolling Mother Literary and Historical Heroes
    Florence Nightingale
    Mother Teresa
    Beauty in Beauty and the Beast
    Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers
    Widow Douglas in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    Meg March in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
    Nurse in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
    Miss Emma and Tante Lou in A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
    Francesca Johnson in The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
    Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
    Grandmother in 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garci´a Ma´rquez
    Ruth in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
    Sethe in Beloved by Toni Morrison
    Annie Wilkes in Misery by Stephen King
    Sally Owens in Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Chapter 7
Hera
The Matriarch and the Scorned