Describing family members in 3rd person

First time I've ever thought about something like this. Straight off the bat I would say "John's/his mother", but now that you mention it.... I think you could actually get away with just "Mother" in certain circumstances. For instance, if John's reflecting; say he was walking to the shop to buy his mother some bread it could go something like "John had to remember not to buy the wrong sort of bread. Mother didn't like loaves with sesame seeds or whole grains". I have no idea what the technical name for this technique is, but in completely lay terms I'd say 3rd person narration of 1st person perspective (??). HTH!

llamafarmer said:

I have no idea what the technical name for this technique is, but in completely lay terms I'd say 3rd person narration of 1st person perspective (??). HTH!

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I think you mean third limited - in that we are limited to what the 3rd person character knows/sees etc in the same way as first. In which case, calling her Mother is fine - if it is what the character calls her.

In a less limited viewpoint (omni or objective etc) then the call is up to you, but 'John's mother' would work well enough.


It really depends - how close to the character's head are we? if we are IN it, then call her what he calls her. If not, then perhaps 'John's mother', or her given name. Or even, depending on context, mother would still work.

In my last manuscript, I constantly referred to the main character's father as "his father". Sometimes it got awkward, but it was the only wording that fit.

"Dad" was too informal, and "father" sounds like a genteel southern gentleman from the 19th century, as in, "Father would just delight to be privy to such an occasion!"

I usually say "his/her mother" unless I'm doing the statement like a thought(or it is a thought) then I suggest using Mom, Mother, etc.

As TankGirl said, it depends if you want 3rd person limited or 3rd person omnipotent POV. Either will work as long as you are consistant.

In third person, I use "his father" but in first person "father".

Johnny was a pig. His mother couldn't get him to clean his room!

I was a pig. Mother would beg me to clean my room, but I wasn't having it.

As others said, I'm assuming we're talking third person limited rather than third person omniscient. If that's the case, calling her "John's mother" (mother would not be capitalized in this case since it is not being used as a proper noun) or "his mother" gets awfully clunky after a while. If John calls her "Mother" then it's fine to refer to her as simply that, as if it were her proper name (also, Mom, Mum, Mummy, etc.). Think about it in terms of other characters. Say he has a girlfriend named Sandy. You wouldn't refer to her as "his Sandy," you would just use "Sandy."

This is a good question, and I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.

think i would depends on who the narrator is.
If John is the narrator, then he would refer to her as "my mother" or Mother.

Also if the writer wants to develop her character then she needs a name. However if everyone refers to her as Mother then that is her name.