What Makes a Mother Goose a Mother Goose?

Bird Goddess

Twentieth century images of Mother Goose often contain visual references to the speculation of her possible origins as a bird goddess. She may be pictured as an actual, but personified, goose, or in various transformations from a hybrid goose-woman to an actual human woman pictured with or riding on a goose.

In whatever guise she appears, Mother Goose ordinarily exudes a warm welcome from the cover or opening pages of the books of rhymes that bear her name. It is interesting to note that, although the rhymes and tales are collectively named for her, Mother Goose herself has no voice in their telling; instead she serves as a symbol of the many voices that have kept these stories alive over the years. Thus, Mother Goose retains ties to the oral traditions of pre-literate cultures and to the bird goddesses of mythology. The two images of Mother Goose as goose show contrasting views of her as very old-fashioned and as a modern abstract figure. The hybrid images present both different degrees of the merger of woman and goose and very different moods. The human images of Mother Goose show a gentle old crone with small birds perched on her hat and shoulders and a more realistic and contemporary looking matronly figure who just happens to be flying on a goose.