The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
The identity of the Mothers [CD spoilers]
FirstSelector:
This may have been kicked around before, but I haven't been able to find a similar theory. My apologies if so.
We meet the Mothers for the second time in Cold Days, but in a rather unique way. Harry attempts to summon Mother Winter... and it works. His summoning reveals, I think, a very important gap in our knowledge.
Premise:
The Mothers, along with a heretofore unknown entity, are the Fates.
Background:
The Fates are three women that appear in various mythologies who control the destinies of mortals. I will use the Greek names for concreteness. There is Clotho, the spinner of the thread of life, Lachesis, who measured the length, and Atropos, who cut it with her shears.
Another rather prevalent mythos surrounding thee women goddesses is the idea of the Mother, the Maiden, and the Crone. One can map the three Fates onto the three goddesses easily.
In most of these mythos, the Fates are absurdly powerful, up to deciding on the fates of the Gods themselves.
Claim:
Mother Winter is the Atropos, the Crone; Mother Summer is Lachesis, the Mother; we have yet to identify the Maiden, Clotho.
Supporting evidence:
Perhaps the most obvious evidence is that Harry attempts to summon Mother Winter using the Greek and Norse names for Atropos.
--- Quote from: Cold Days Ch 31 ---“I am Harry Dresden, the Winter Knight, and I needs must speak with thee! Athropos! Skuld! Mother Winter, I summon thee!
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Cold Days Ch 32 ---Mother Winter’s rocker creaked, though it didn’t really seem to move. “He knew certain names. He was not wholly stupid in choosing them, or wholly wrong in using them.”
--- End quote ---
While on the subject of names, it is implied twice that there is a name that references both Mother Summer and Winter together. I suggest that it would be the name of the Fates, which is Moirai in Greek.
--- Quote from: Cold Days Ch 32 ---Mother Summer’s bright green eyes narrowed. “Did he . . . ?”
“No,” croaked Mother Winter. “Not that one."
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Cold Days Ch 33 ---Mother Summer’s smile appeared for a moment, dazzling me, and then was gone again. “It was not an imbecilic guess,” she said. “And, yes, she has been known by such names before. But you’ve only guessed the name of one of her masks—not our most powerful name.”
--- End quote ---
Additional evidence is provided by looking at the personalities of Mother Summer and Mother Winter. Mother Winter is old (so old she can barely walk), does not suffer fools, and is generally not the nicest Fae around. She is perpetually shrouded in her cloak and has an absolutely evil cackle. She also has the requisite shears:
--- Quote from: Summer Knight Ch 26 ---Mother Winter reached down with her withered hands, and took up a pair of rusted shears. She cut the trailing threads and passed me the cloth.
--- End quote ---
Mother Summer, on the other hand, is much more matronly and kind. She bustles around their cottage and tends the house. She actually tries to put Harry at ease and is generally pleasant.
Speculation:
If we accept that Mothers Winter and Summer have a corresponding Maiden, then we must speculate on who that would be. My best guess at the moment is that the role of the Maiden is played by the Summer Lady. It is not known what true purpose the Ladies' power fulfills, or at least it hasn't been revealed.
--- Quote from: Cold Days Ch 53 ---“And her duties?” I asked. “What is the purpose of the Winter Lady?”
“That is for her to know,” Mab said.
--- End quote ---
Given that Clotho is associated with life and giving birth, it seems more reasonable that the Summer Lady would serve in this role rather than the Winter Lady. It would also fit with the "youngness" of the Summer Lady, and it is not unreasonable to draw the connection between the Lady and Mother.
Conclusion:
I think that Mother Summer and Winter are two of the three Fates, which necessitates identifying the third Fate, the Maiden.
Aminar:
I don't think that's their oldest name though. (On another note I would guess they might be The Norns too.) I think They were once Lillith or Some of her children.
Silkki:
I think fates is bit too easy.
Didn't Momma Sunshine say that "Our name" making it so that they have been a singular entity at some point. Or some god / being that has had duality in it's nature. It's possible Momma Snow and Momma Sunshine were fates at some point, but I don't think it's their oldest identity.
Also Momma snow is _OLD_ so norse/ greek stuff is way too modern.
alwyn:
Jim stated that the mantle of Mother summer has changed once and that Mother Winter never has.
Also Mother Summer asking "Did he... ?" could be construed as fear to an extent, Harry might have the power to unmake beings no matter how powerful if he knew their true name.
This might also explain Uriel's outburst and how Lasciel's shadow changed into Lash.
Hopefire:
The Mothers are the Crones.
The Queens are the Mothers.
The Ladies are the Maidens.
Maiden, Mother and Crone is one of the oldest mythical tropes out there, and sees countless expressions in real world religion and in fiction.
(On a side note, my favorite expression of the three is with Eve in Sandman - she's all three personally.)
I think that when you look at the Queen Mothers are being the Crone, the fun part lies in thinking of who they are individually. My current wild guess is that Mother Winter was Eve (yes, THAT Eve).
Or maybe Frau Totenkinder. :p
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