Fatherhood is a challenge. And when it comes to books, some fathers are just plain terrible. This week’s Top 5 Wednesday post focuses on my Favourite Literary Fathers in order to celebrate Father’s Day this coming weekend. While I want to talk about some superb examples of fatherhood in books, it’s equally as fun to talk about the terrible fathers, so I’m going to do a little mix of both.
I admit it was a bit of a challenge to think of my top 5 favourite fathers since it’s so much easier to think of examples of mothers in literature that I love. I wonder why that is? Underrepresentation of the struggle of fatherhood? Who knows. But despite this, I’m pretty pleased with this list as I believe all of these characters deserve to be celebrated for many different reasons and not just for the role they played in their children’s lives (for better or worse).
So without further ado, here are my Top 5 Favourite Literary Fathers!
This post is a part of the Top 5 Wednesday series from the Goodreads group of the same name. Check it out for weekly #T5W post prompts and to see how other book bloggers have answered this week’s theme!
1. Tywin Lannister, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Easily one of my favourite literary villains (played brilliantly by Charles Dance in the television series), Tywin is a great place to start because he isn’t necessarily a good father. At all. Celebrating fatherhood in literature isn’t much fun if we ignore all bad and only focus on the good. Saying he was abusive and cruel to his youngest son Tyrion would be the understatement of the century. And even though he favoured Cersei and Jaime, he wasn’t really that nice to them either. While his main focus was keeping his family both rich and powerful, he fell short in the role of ‘positive father figure’ quite dramatically. Not that he cared much anyways.
2. Sirius Black, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sirius Black (though not a father himself) played a tremendously positive role in the life of his godson Harry. Sirius and Harry’s relationship, while short, not only helped give Harry the feeling of ‘family’ he has been craving but also brought him closer to his biological father through his relationship with his father’s best friend. Sirius had so much to offer Harry in terms of a stable household and a loving family and his death was one of the most devastating moments in the books.
3. The Man, The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I haven’t seen the movie because I only need to have my soul crushed once, thanks. But the father in McCarthy’s The Road was so human and his relationship and emotional connection with his son was beautiful. Not only is living in a post-apocalyptic hell horrendous enough but the thought of something happening to his son gives him the strength to push through the wasteland. Dad of the Year Award material. Seriously, don’t even consider reading this book unless you want to have a lovely feeling of dread for the next few days. Unless you’re into that, of course.
4. Jack Torrence, The Shining by Stephen King
Jack Torrence is one of Stephen King’s most fascinating characters. While Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the character in Kubrick’s 1980 film is second to none, King’s original imagining of the character has a significant amount of depth that the film doesn’t get the chance to explore.
Jack can easily be described as a bad father. He’s abusive to not only his son but his wife as well, even if there is something supernatural happening to influence his actions. But it’s his very real addiction to alcohol that taints Jack’s character and haunts him throughout the novel. Watching someone struggle with the love of their family and their own demons is heartbreaking. Despite the sad (and frightening) nature of Jack’s character, he’s definitely one of my favourite literary fathers.
5. Jean Valjean, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The final character on my list, like Sirius Black, is not actually a father. I’m reading Les Mis right now and while I’m not finished the book, I’ve seen the musical enough times to know how this all goes down. Jean Valjean’s character development in the musical is obviously not as in-depth as the novel and doesn’t quite highlight one of my favourite aspects of the characters life. He’s not only a father figure to Cossette later on in the story but to the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer which saw an economic boom due to his overwhelming influence. His charitable nature and humanity to all that came into contact with him, especially Fantine, gives him a fairy godfather quality despite his many flaws.
So that’s my mixed bag of literary fathers! I’ve love to hear any father characters in books that you’ve grown attached to for either their good or bad qualities. Let me know in the comments! And Happy Father’s Day to all the dads. 🙂
1000 times YES to Sirius Black!
It’s impossible to make a father/father figure list without him! 🙂
I 100% agree with you on Sirius! I was devastated when he died! It was so cruel for Harry to loose his family again.
And yes to Tywin. He was a great character (and a terrible father).
Absolutely one of the worst fathers ever. But so entertaining!
Oooh love your choices of Sirius and Jean. Haven’t read Les MIs as yet but I cry every time I watch anything production especially during his last scene with Cosette and Fantine.
I agree! It’s such a powerful moment in the story. The first time I saw the movie I cried at that part, and it was done so beautifully when I saw it in on stage in London. I’m excited to now read it in the book so I can cry all over again!
You are making me want to read it. Lol. Maybe I can devote next year’s classic reads to Les Mis alone. All year… should be able to do it! 😉
Sounds like a good plan! It’s definitely a book that takes a lot of time. I’ll be lucky if I manage to finish it by the end of the summer haha 😋
Lol. Good luck.
I said Sirius too, and Arthur!! I didn’t even think of Jean Valjean, wow! He was an excellent, human dad.
Arthur is Dad of the Year material. He’s such an amazing character!
Great list! I had the Road on mine as well. 😊
Tywin and Jack are fathers I am quite fascinated about as well, 😊
Thank you! The dad in The Road broke my heart so many times. It’s one of those books that I’m happy I read but I’ll never ever read again. Glad you’re also a fan of the not-so-great fathers! They’re almost more interesting to read 🙂
I love Sirius, his death is one of the most devastating moment in the series! I still think Tywin is better than Balon Greyjoy *shudders*
So true! Tywin seems like an angel compared to some of the other characters in those books. 😛
I saw Jack Torrance in the post and I was so shocked that you wanted to included this terrible example of father. Now, you are right with the alcoholism part and well at the end he was not that terrible xD The hotel was the worse!!
Haha the bad guys are always more fun! He was an absolutely awful father but he certainly went out with a bang! 😉
hahaha I giggled for a few minutes with that pun XD
Jack Torrence, haha. That’s great! Loved the movie; actually have never read the book. This is a fun list. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your comment! If you loved the movie you should definitely check the book out 🙂 It’s my favourite Stephen King novel — very creepy! I’m glad you enjoyed this post!
I have actually never read Stephen King! I should start w that one for sure!