# Mother Mary — Poetry character guide

> Mother Mary in Poetry by George MacDonald.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mary, The Mother Mary, Mary mild, St. Eligius Queen Mary, Eligius

**First appearance:** 0057-i-the-mother-mary

## Snapshot

The Virgin Mary, invoked as Mary mild and St. Eligius Queen, a refuge of tenderness for a soul that finds the gospel's harder words too rough to bear.

## Who they are

Mother Mary appears in the gospel poems as the gentle counterweight to a Christ whose 'rough hard speech' to women the speaker cannot reconcile with a saviour's part. She is the one to whom the wounded soul would rather take refuge, dear and approachable where the worn man on the frightful path seems half-swathed in ancient night. Her presence matters because she embodies the maternal face of divine love, the 'large woman' who cares for her child without needing to know why she should love him so.

## In the story

### [An Old Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/an-old-story)

The mother whose lap becomes the throne for the infant Jesus, one of the 'four stars of parents' eyes' watching over him.

### [The Child-Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/the-child-mother)

The mother who takes the baby back at home, prompting the Child-Mother to finally cry from exhaustion.

### [The Gospel Women](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/the-gospel-women)

Portrayed as the lowly queen and mother of Jesus, experiencing grief, joy, and a deepening spiritual understanding of her son's divine mission.

### [I: The Mother Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/i-the-mother-mary)

Central figure; her heart, grief, and spiritual journey from Jesus' birth to the cross are explored.

### [A Meditation of St. Eligius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/a-meditation-of-st-eligius)

Queen Mary sends Jesus to fetch water, initiating the legendary event.

### [A Christmas Carol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/a-christmas-carol)

Sings a prophetic lullaby to Jesus, seeing his future crown and kingship.

### [Christmas Day, 1850](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/christmas-day-1850)

Referenced as Mary, the mother of the child Jesus, in the closing line.

### [Death: Mourn Not, My Friends, That We Are Growing Old](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/death-mourn-not-my-friends-that-we-are-growing-old)

Implied as the woman-angel in long white gown, the mother of youth who makes speed toward the speaker.

### [From North Wales: To the Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/from-north-wales-to-the-mother)

The poem is addressed 'To the Mother,' likely a maternal figure, possibly the Virgin Mary, as the speaker recalls a summer ramble away from her.

### [That Holy Thing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/that-holy-thing)

Implied as the woman who cried at the sight of the baby.

### [Christmas Meditation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/christmas-meditation)

Referenced as the mother through whose love Christ made the wandering world his own.

### [Christmas Day and Every Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/christmas-day-and-every-day)

Implied presence as the mother of the baby.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/characters/mother_mary
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_8_se/characters