Link's Mother: Where is She?

[rnddim]

Something I have noticed, is that we never see Link's mother. We may have a grandpa, grandma, or uncle, but never a mom (forgive me if I'm wrong but I could swear one Legend of Zelda game had dad in it).
Of course, I've only seen LoZ, AoL, ALttP, OoT, MM, WW, TMC, and PH. There could be his mom in one of the games I haven't seen.

 

[linktothefuture]

I don't think there is a reason to show any of links relitives unless it adds to the story. When did link have an uncle?

 

[Dark Iz Here]

I don't think there is a reason to show any of links relitives unless it adds to the story. When did link have an uncle?

In ALTTP =P... He dies in Hyrule Castle and gives you the shield and sword.

 

[Ikana]

I think in OOT they talk about her.I think its when link finds out hes a hylian not a kokiri.

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

Warning! Spoiler alert!

I think in OOT they talk about her.I think its when link finds out hes a hylian not a kokiri.

They do. In OoT after you beat the Forest Temple the Deku Tree Sprout tells you that you're a hylian and that his mother came into the Kokiri Forest to escape the war and she asked the Deku Tree to look after Link.

Question answered.

 

[GMO]

They did make reference to her and showed a couple scenes of link's mother in the "Hero of Time" Movie

 

[Shadsie]

Link's parents...

Link is an orphan in all games that address his family.

In OoT the Great Deku Tree explains to him that he is not a Kokiri, but a Hylian - that his father was killed in battle and his mother, while wounded, fled to the forest to save him as a last act.

In LoZ/AoL... the games do not address Link's family, but he has parents in the NON-CANON North American comics - they're winemakers in the neighboring country of Calatia. He visits them in a couple of the comics and they look to be very honorable people. Still, the games, the actual canon does not address this - in them, Link is just a wanderer who found Impa, learned the legend of the Triforce and of Zelda and so starts the 8-bit adventure.

In A Link to the Past - he has an uncle who (in the mangas is killed in the castle), but in the game, I believe he lives, he just gets wounded and you can find him under a bridge later in the game where he gives you a bottle and falls into a deep sickness-sleep. When you beat the game, your Triforce wishes bring him back along with healing the land.

In Twilight Princess... Link's parents are nonexistant. We just don't see him having *any* family, just a mentor and his family whom he's close with. You can say he has a family-of-sorts with Ordon Village, but he's the only pointy-eared Hylian there with no sign of blood relations. I wrote my own tragic fanfiction on the subject, but since we're speaking of canon - no we don't know what happened to them.

In Wind Waker, Link has a grandmother and a sister. No parents. I just assumed they'd died at some point, as I do with all the parents of the Links.

I think it's become a tradition with Nintendo to make Link an orphan. When you think about it, it makes him more free. Do you know what used to be on old west Pony Express posters when they sought young men to ride over dangerous country to deliver mail? "Orphans Preferred." (Because they knew many of these young men wouldn't come back and they didn't want to cause grieving family). The quest of every Link is dangerous (at least judging by how many times they've died when I've played them!). Parents would be fussy and wouldn't want to let him go upon the quest. The wisdom of a grandmother might say "He must go - he has to do what's right" while a mother would be inclined to be very protective "My baby's not going out there!" So, to me, it makes sense that Link has limited family and never any living parents by the time he must face his destiny.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Shadsie's post raised some interesting points. Taking it seriously and from a storyteller's perspective, she's probably on to something.

Another side of it though is the fact that at least in the beginning, Link wasn't intended to be a character. He was a "vessel" of sorts for the player. He was the proxy, the form the player was to take in the world. (Literally a "Link" between the player and the game world.) This has become less so in recent games, but there's still elements of that with Link never speaking, having somewhat of a blank personality, and of course, no parents. Having parents would increase the importance of Link as a character, and less so as the player, so I think a lot of the time that's the main reason.

Of course, with both the lack or parents and the "proxy for the player" stuff, it can also just boil down to tradition. There might not be a reason so much anymore, just they've always had it be that way and they keep doing it because it's still Link.

Something I have noticed, is that we never see Link's mother. We may have a grandpa, grandma, or uncle, but never a mom (forgive me if I'm wrong but I could swear one Legend of Zelda game had dad in it).
Of course, I've only seen LoZ, AoL, ALttP, OoT, MM, WW, TMC, and PH. There could be his mom in one of the games I haven't seen.

Link has never had a father in any of the games. They've mentioned his mother, but they've never even done that with his father. Although some theorize that the Hero's Shade is Link's father in Twilight Princess, there's no conclusive proof of that.

I don't think there is a reason to show any of links relitives unless it adds to the story. When did link have an uncle?

A Link to the Past and Minish Cap have both shown Link's uncle.

They did make reference to her and showed a couple scenes of link's mother in the "Hero of Time" Movie

Hero of Time is not canonical in any way. It wasn't even made by or vaguely endorsed by Nintendo, so it doesn't count.

 

[Kotake]

Many Orphans have been used in various adventures throughout the years. It makes them, as aforementioned by Shadsie, more free. But it also makes them more of a tragic sort of hero. It's a classic storytelling device.

It's so much more interesting for an Orphan to go on a grand adventure. Because no matter how many great things they do, it comes back to it being sad. When Link returns from saving the world, he hasn't a family to return to. Who knows? maybe that's why Link is so solitary? He didn't get much love growing up. And thus he has to collect hearts!

(Nah. that went completely off.)

but anyway. the point is it's used quite often. Nintendo was just going with the trend.


an example in popular culture of orphans making a more tragic adventure character: Harry Potter

 

[Ninten*]

In ALTTP =P... He dies in Hyrule Castle and gives you the shield and sword.

Link's uncle doesn't die. He appears after you beat Ganon.

 

[vatti]

oh yeah! i read the anime book, but I haven't played the game. I remember the deku tree saying that.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Link's uncle doesn't die. He appears after you beat Ganon.

Actually, that's debatable. Some people think that he did indeed die and that Link's wish when he touched the Triforce was to bring him back. Other people theorize that his wish was to return everything to normal, but there's no proof of that happened, since the Dark World would probably have reverted back to the Sacred Realm anyway, and even if it didn't the people of normal Hyrule would never see it. And with Ganon defeated, there would no longer be any issues. So I think the former theory is most plausible.

 

[lilwilly]

... I did want to see what they had Link's mom to look like

 

[miku]

Dead.


And to make this enough characters, Shadsie, I don't think the dude under the bridge is Link's uncle. It looks nothing like him, and why would he be living under a bridge when he's got a perfectly good house? I always just thought it was some bum.

 

[athenian200]

I think Link not having a mother is symbolic.

There's just something about having a mother that makes a person... softer, less willing to take chances. When you grow up without that kind of concern and close relationship to take for granted, it makes you much more daring. Soft and hesitant just wouldn't work for Link.

I think that if Link had had a mother, he would have been more like Colin... wanting to be brave, yet somehow sensitive and lacking in strength.