History Main / ApronMatron

Expect her to be motherly, caring, strict, and kind. Also, probably [[BoobsOfSteel "plump" yet strong]]. If married, she's likely to have a HenpeckedHusband, though she's usually single either from outliving her husband or never marrying.

* [[GreenLantern John Stewart's]] landlady in an episode of ''JusticeLeague'', who ''attacks TheFlash with her broom'' after mistaking him for a supervillain when he comes looking for the missing GL.

** Lady Sybil, also from ''Discworld'', who has had several [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments of Awesome]] in recent appearances, and was pretty formidable to start with -- all you need to know about her is that she's ''happily'' married to ''[[BadassNormal Sam]] [[LawfulGood frigging]] [[CowboyCop Vimes]]''.

* Mama Thames in ''RiversOfLondon'', [[{{Understatement}} do not]] get on her bad side.

the alawites will cursh the brotherhood in syria
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[[quoteright:185:[[LastOfTheSummerWine http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/STAFF_449029a_4591.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:185:The Matriarch of this trope]]

->''"But don't forget that as long as God gives you life we will still be mothers and no matter how revolutionary you may be, we have the right to pull down your pants and give you a whipping at the first sign of disrespect."''
-->--'''Úrsula''', ''OneHundredYearsOfSolitude''


Not all [[EvilMatriarch Matriarchs are Malicious]], and not all {{Mama Bear}}s are young. These [[CoolOldLady grand dames]] are the grandmothers, aunts, and headmistresses who care for their children, students, or even employees with an iron discipline the army would envy. The ApronMatron has a [[LargeHam larger than life,]] imposing presence and leads with a personality more forceful than a wrecking ball.

If there's combat to be had, she can take on a brigade on her own, even chasing out ninjas armed with naught but a broom. (Sadly, she'll often be captured and bound).

Expect her to be motherly, caring, strict, and kind. Also, probably [[BoobsOfSteel "plump" yet strong]]. If married, she's likely to have a HenpeckedHusband, though she's usually single either from outliving her husband or never marrying.

Can overlap with MamaBear, and must be written carefully to avoid {{Flanderization}} into MyBelovedSmother. Compare ThePatriarch, whom she may be married to.

If an ApronMatron has enough prestige, she will likely become a GrandeDame.

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!!Examples

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]
* Dola the SkyPirate captain from ''CastleInTheSky''. Very [[BoobsOfSteel plump]], very matronly, very very iron-willed.
* Chizuru Naba in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' is basically an ApronMatron in self-training. Given that she's only 14/15 now, she'll have the part ''nailed'' by the next twenty or thirty years.
** And from the Magic World, we have Mama, who takes the MamaBear trope literally, [[EverythingsWorseWithBears being a giant teddy bear]] of a woman who will beat up anyone who abuses the slave girls under her care.
* Sis from [[NowAndThenHereAndThere Now and Then, Here and There]].
* Helga from ''DinosaurKing'' is one who works for the bad guys, she's their housekeeper. She's superhumanly strong and resilient... [[spoiler:because she's a robot.]]
* Izumi Curtis from FullmetalAlchemist will proudly proclaim herself a housewife while simultaneously [[MamaBear kicking the ass of every single person/chimera/immortal who dares to hurt her surrogate kids.]]
** Then she beats said surrogate kids up herself! And when your surrogate kids are two of the most brilliant combat alchemists in the world, that's saying something.
* Ishizaki's mother in CaptainTsubasa.
* Miyabi Kagurazaka from AiYoriAoshi is a somewhat younger version.
* Martha from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. She has such an overbearing ''MamaBear'' that the two main characters, Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas, are reduced to trouble-making ten year olds in her presence. And only she's got the guts to pinch Yusei by the ear.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* [[DCComics Granny Goodness]]. [[CompleteMonster A real doting sort, this one]]. A [[ShadowArchetype villainous version]] of this trope. [[LarynxDissonance voiced by Ed Asner]] (in an homage to old Boris Karloff movies) in the DCAU, [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Granny is quite literally child abuse incarnate.]] Her specialty is warping the minds of chidren with [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and brainwashing to become {{Tyke Bomb}}s, while saying and ''genuinely'' believing that she's actually being kind to them by doing so.
* Abigail "Ma" "the Red Tornado" Hunkel in the JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, which back in the 40s was combined with SweetPollyOliver.
* Monstress from the Postboot {{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}. She wasn't any older than the others, but she was a ''lot'' bigger, and had a motherly attitude towards her teammates, often calling them "dear."
* Thorn's grandmother, Gran'ma Ben, from ''{{Bone}}''. Of course, [[spoiler:she ''is'' a Queen.]]
* Maw Broon, from the [[BritishNewspapers Sunday Post]] comic strip ''The Broons'', is probably the example that every Scot will recognise immediately. She has eight kids and her own [[{{Defictionalization}} published]] [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maw-Broons-Cookbook-Every-Special/dp/1902407458 cookbook]].

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Ma Bell in ''[[ImGonnaGitYouSucka I'm Gonna Git You Sucka]]'', who is also a MamaBear. On two occasions she singlehandedly takes on several evil henchman at once.
* Martha Mc Candle in '''BigJake''' .
* Julia Moore in ''We Were Soldiers''. She was a magnificient TeamMom to all the other [[MyGirlBackHome Girls Back Home]] during the battle.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* The archetype of The Virtuous Woman in [[TheBible Proverbs]]
* As quoted above, Ursula Iguaran-Buendia from OneHundredYearsOfSolitude. At least until she was confined to her bed due to old age.
* Marya Akhrosimova in ''WarAndPeace''. She's the sort who speaks her mind, and to hell with [[BlueBlood aristocratic]] pleasantries.
* [[TheGrapesOfWrath Ma Joad]].
* In ''Suite Française'', Charlotte Péricand. She runs her household with great efficiency, and when fleeing from enemy bombing she acts to save her children with ruthless decisiveness (as long as the family's alive, nothing else matters). However, she usually fails to match the "caring" and "kind" part of the trope description by her lack of real empathy, even though she conscientiously tries to carry out the ''duty'' of being good-hearted and generous.
* AmeliaPeabody Emerson. Her parasol is a weapon feared throughout Egypt (''before'' her husband gave her a sword-cane version), and senior British officials cringe at the thought of her tongue-lashings.
* Rachel of ''[[MemorySorrowAndThorn Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn]]''. Her strictness earns her the nickname "the Dragon".
* Molly Weasley from ''HarryPotter'', [[MamaBear stern, happy homemaker]] or [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Ass kicking witch?]]. How about both!
** [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome NOT MY DAUGHTER,]] [[MemeticMutation YOU BITCH!]]
** Augusta Longbottom is another ''HarryPotter'' character who also qualifies, although she's less kindly and there's no way anyone could capture her.
** Minerva [=McGonagall=] also exemplifies this trope. Combines nicely with SternTeacher
* The Badger Mothers in ''{{Redwall}}'' generally fit this, with Bella of Brocktree probably the most so.
* Gytha "Nanny" Ogg from the ''{{Discworld}}'' novels. Her daughters-in-law might have [[EvilMatriarch a wholly different view of her]], though.
** Lady Sybil, also from ''Discworld'', who has had several [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments of Awesome]] in recent appearances, and was pretty formidable to start with -- all you need to know about her is that she's ''happily'' married to ''[[BadassNormal Sam]] [[LawfulGood frigging]] [[CowboyCop Vimes]]''.
*** It runs in the family. Her Great Aunt once sent a bandit who tried to rob her coach ''crying for his mother.''
* Mother Superior Mary Francis in James Byron Huggins' novel ''Cain''. Frail, aged nun vs. demon-possessed assassin/cyborg/vampire?
-->'''Cain''': "Holy water, Mother?"
-->'''MSMF''': "No. Gasoline."
** Somewhat later, she goes out with a literal bang, taking out an army of minions with a bandolier of grenades. (No, she's not the protagonist.)
* Razo and Rin's mother in Shannon Hale's ''Bayern'' series, the matriarch of a large and unruly family. Five of her seven children are bigger than she is, but guess who's unquestionably in charge?
* Mama Thames in ''RiversOfLondon'', [[{{Understatement}} do not]] get on her bad side.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Nora Walker in ''BrothersAndSisters''.
* Marie from ''EverybodyLovesRaymond''.
* Madea from the Tyler Perry plays/films/television shows etc.
* [[JeevesAndWooster Bertie Wooster's]] Aunt Dahlia. His Aunt Agatha, on the other hand, is more of an EvilMatriarch.
* ''LastOfTheSummerWine'' is just crawling with 'em, although Nora Batty is probably the chief harridan among them. Many of them had a HenpeckedHusband earlier in the series but are by now widowed.
** Glenda was introduced as a contrast. A mid-30s newlywed with different attitudes. After more than twenty years in the show she was clearly being assimilated by the others.
* On ''NoReservations'', they are a frequent and reliable source of a good meal in Bourdain's travels.
* Michael Westen's mother in BurnNotice. Even Michael is slightly afraid of her.
* Mam Boswell of ''{{Bread}}''
* Thelma Harper in skits on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' and the sitcom ''Mama's Family''.
* Many of the "Pepperpots" in ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''
* T'Pau, a ferocious old Vulcan tribal elder in StarTrek ''Amok Time''.
* Ruth from SixFeetUnder.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Plum Kitaki from ''Apollo Justice: AceAttorney'' fits most of the details in the original post to a T. Especially the bit about being armed with a broom[[spoiler: that is, in fact, a katana]].
* Mitsuko the Boar of ''Bloody Roar''.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Despite having appeared in a grand total of ''[[OneSceneWonder three]]'' strips, {{Fanon}} has ascribed these traits to [[http://www.misfile.com/?page=1255 Doris]] in ''{{Misfile}}''. She's also something of a MemeticBadAss too.
* Aunt Nina of LackadaisyCats.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Mrs. Slaghoople, Wilma Flintstone's mother.
* A waitress who helps the gang out in the ''[[BenTen Ben10]]'' episode "Ben 4 Good Buddy".
* "Sugah Mama" from TheProudFamily.
* [[GreenLantern John Stewart's]] landlady in an episode of ''JusticeLeague'', who ''attacks TheFlash with her broom'' after mistaking him for a supervillain when he comes looking for the missing GL.
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<<|StockCharacters|>>
<<|SublimeRhyme|>>

[[LastOfTheSummerWine http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/STAFF_449029a_4591.jpg]]
[[caption-width:185:The Matriarch of this trope]]

->''What thee are about to see comes down from the time of the beginning, without change.''
-->''This is the Vulcan heart, this is the Vulcan soul. This is our way.''
-->T'Pau, StarTrek ''Amok Time''

* Mrs. Molly Prewett-Weasley from ''HarryPotter'', [[MamaBear stern, happy homemaker]] or [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Ass kicking witch?]]. How about both!

* In ''[=~Suite Française~=]'', Charlotte Péricand. She runs her household with great efficiency, and when fleeing from enemy bombing she acts to save her children with ruthless decisiveness (as long as the family's alive, nothing else matters). However, she usually fails to match the "caring" and "kind" part of the trope description by her lack of real empathy, even though she conscientiously tries to carry out the ''duty'' of being good-hearted and generous.

* Martha Mc Candle in '''Big Jake''' .

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/STAFF_449029a_4591.jpg

* Ma Bell in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'', who is also a MamaBear. On two occasions she singlehandedly takes on several evil henchman at once.

** Then she beats said surrogate kids up herself!

* Monstress from the Postboot LegionOfSuperHeroes. She wasn't any older than the others, but she was a ''lot'' bigger, and had a motherly attitude towards her teammates, often calling them "dear."

-->''What thee are about to see comes down from the time of the beginning, without change.''

-->''What thee are about to see comes down from the time of the beginning, without change.'' -->''This is the Vulcan heart, this is the Vulcan soul. This is our way.''

-->What thee are about to see comes down from the time of the beginning, without change. This -->is the Vulcan heart, this is the Vulcan soul. This is our way.

* Mother Superior Mary Francis in James Byron Huggins' novel ''Cain''. Frail, aged nun vs. demon-possessed assassin/cyborg/vampire??
-->'''Cain''': "Holy water, Mother?" '''MSMF''': "No. Gasoline."

* Razo and Rin's mother in Shannon Hale's Bayern series, the matriarch of a large and unruly family. Five of her seven children are bigger than she is, but guess who's unquestionably in charge?

** Lady Sybil, also from ''Discworld'', who has had several [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments of Awesome]] in recent appearances, and was pretty formidable to start with.

* [[DCComics Granny Goodness]]. [[CompleteMonster A real doting sort, this one]]. A [[ShadowArchetype villainous version]] of this trope. [[Larynx Dissonance Voiced by Ed Asner]] (in an homage to old Boris Karloff movies) in the DCAU, [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Granny is quite literally child abuse incarnate.]] Her specialty is warping the minds of chidren with [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and brainwashing to become {{Tyke Bomb}}s, while saying and ''genuinely'' believing that she's actually being kind to them by doing so.

* [[DCComics Granny Goodness]]. [[A real doting sort, this one CompleteMonster]]. A [[ShadowArchetype villainous version]] of this trope. [[Larynx Dissonance Voiced by Ed Asner]] (in an homage to old Boris Karloff movies) in the DCAU, [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Granny is quite literally child abuse incarnate.]] Her specialty is warping the minds of chidren with [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and brainwashing to become {{Tyke Bomb}}s, while saying and ''genuinely'' believing that she's actually being kind to them by doing so.

* AHHHH [[DCComics Granny Goodness!!]] Mommy save me from the NightmareFuel!
** [=*Ahem*=], sorry. She's a [[ShadowArchetype villainous version]] of this and her ''JusticeLeague'' version, with that creepy manly voice (She's voiced by ''Ed Asner'') and ThirdPersonPerson talk, is TONED DOWN from her comic version. This troper once read that The New Gods and Apokolips residents are supposed to be [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personifications]] of certain concepts, Granny Goodness is the personification of ''child abuse''. Her specialty is warping the minds of chidren with [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and brainwashing to become {{Tyke Bomb}}s, while saying and ''genuinely'' believing that she's actually being kind to them by doing so.
*** JLU Goodness's voice is inspired by Jonathan Winters's "Gran'ma Frickert" character, an example of the archetype he's done for radio and on stage for many decades. In one of the ''New ScoobyDoo Movies'' episodes he appears voicing himself, and Gran'ma Frickert in the same episode.
*** [[FridgeBrilliance Of COURSE]] she believes she's being kind or helpful! That's EXACTLY the kind of thing people who abuse children, be it sexually or otherwise, frequently tell themselves so as to divert their minds from the fact that each one of them is a CompleteMonster.