| Mrs Monsoon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Name | Mrs Monsoon |
| Gender | Female |
| Actor | June Whitfield |
| Time on show | 1992-2012 |
| Spouses | Mr Monsoon (deceased) |
| Relatives | * Edina Monsoon (daughter)
|
| Nickname | Mrs. M, Gran |
Mother, or "Gran" is a secondary character in Absolutely Fabulous. She is introduced as Edina's bumbling old but good-natured mother, who often hovers around the Monsoon home honing in on everyone's business other than her own.
Gran is portrayed by the late actress June Whitfield.
Synopsis[]
Mother, as she is always credited, is treated with a mixture of indifference and contempt by her daughter Edina, but is much loved by her granddaughter. She has an ambiguous relationship with Edina, giving all her motherly devotion to Saffy. In the earlier series, she is a valuable ally for Saffy in her struggle for domestic control, often mentioning embarrassing facts from Eddy's and Patsy's childhood.
The character’s first name is never revealed. Edina addresses her, usually indirectly, as "Old Woman", and only very rarely as "Mother" or “Mum”. She is addressed by Saffron as “Gran” and Patsy as “Mrs M.”Edina's insults never seem to affect her; in fact, she usually manages to retaliate with a few hard-hitting but humorous insults of her own. Sometimes she recognises the eccentricities of Edina, Patsy, and visitors to the house. At times she even seems to see the dysfunctional qualities in Saffy.
In the first episode, she appears only in Edina's flashback to her teenage years, not appearing in the present day timeline until the second episode, "Fat", when she visits Edina's home to see Saffy. In the third episode, "France", she meets Patsy there, and it seems the two have not seen each other in some years ("Still blonde then?", remarks Mother). Patsy seems uncomfortable around her; perhaps unwilling to be reminded of her difficult childhood. However, in later episodes Patsy appears to be fond, or at least tolerant, of Mother, and the two seem to basically like one another, despite the odd snide comment.
Some episodes reveal that Mother had been a sort of surrogate mother to Patsy, whose own mother neglected her. Patsy shows her some respect, even helping her at times. Mother sometimes makes condescending remarks about Patsy, even in her presence, once telling Edina that "poor dear sad old Patsy" is not a suitable or reliable friend, and referring to Patsy’s affair with an MP as “another pig-ugly MP making a fool of himself with some scrawny old hooker”. Mother even once confused a drag queen for Patsy.
When Mother's husband dies in the episode "Death", Saffy tries to comfort her. However, like Edina, Mother doesn't seem to care much, realising that she'll have a bit more room at her house. In this episode, Mother states that she was married for "nearly forty years", which suggests they may have married just before or after Eddy's birth, as Eddy turns 40 in series 1, episode 5.
Mother displays a kleptomaniacal streak at times, taking random items from Edina's household (mugs, ashtrays, clothing) and donating them to the charity shop she volunteers at. In series 4, episode 5, "Small Opening", she is seen to be stealing larger pieces of furniture and asks for Patsy's help to remove a wardrobe that has become "stuck on the stairs" that she is donating to Sheltered Housing.
In only one scene throughout the entire run of the show are she and Edina alone together, and it's an awkward experience for both of them. After series 3, her mental faculties begin to decline and she increasingly inhabits a strange world of her own.
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