Query

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone

I have an idea for a fic but before I run with it I just wanted to double check something with the hive mind!  As far as I can remember, there is no canon explanation for what happened to Listers adoptive mother - we know his dad died at 6 and between 11-13 he was living with his gran and after that ended up in an orphanage school but  I don't think we're ever told exactly why?  Have I missed something or is there a generally accepted fanon explanation?  Answers on a postcard please...

Comments

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

I always imagined the crucial difference to be that the people who looked after Lister loved him. Of course there may be other factors such as personality - he just seems naturally optimistic.

In an AU fic by Diminua, Rimmer (who's considerably different to our Rimmer; his Lister is basically the same) thinks to himself that it's not surprising Lister was adopted quickly as he was probably a smiley, instantly lovable child. This Rimmer, on the other hand, was taken away from his parents when their abuse was discovered and has grown up in care. He believes that his carers only looked after him because it was their job. He's reserved and wary of others, but has accepted his homosexuality and is more at peace with himself than our Rimmer. Especially when he and Lister get together. :)

EDIT: Here's the relevant chapter of the fic in question: http://diminua.livejournal.com/26540.html

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you just know that Lister was the kind of little kid who beamed up at the world from his pushchair and made little old ladies squeal. The fic I'm working on is basically about trying to pin down why Lister has (in many ways) such low self-esteem and to me the whole 'never spoken of' mother could be a key part of that. I'm thinking along the lines of what if she was actually worse than Rimmers mother, but Lister just handled it differently?

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, interesting. I've never thought of Lister as having low self-esteem, I must say. Except possibly about his weight in "Bodyswap".

The "Kryten" quote, which is all we have to go on, does suggest a woman with a martyr complex. You might also want to think about the references in "Duct Soup" to Lister being overweight for a couple of years in his teens.

[felineranger.livejournal.com]

I think Lister's issues are often overshadowed by Rimmer's more obvious neuroses but they are there. I think BTE kind of highlighted it for me, but it's there in older episodes too like Bodyswap and Inquisitor (remember Lister essentially judges himself as worthless). Certainly Doug talks in the commentary for BTE about it being fundamentally about Lister confronting those feelings of inadequacy and that he was never good enough for Kochanski.

[fantasysci5.livejournal.com]

Wow. I never thought of Lister's issues, since Rimmer's were always more "in your face". But now that you mention it, I can see it! Thanks for the eye opener! :P

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Boy, I hope nobody pounds me for this, but remember, it's just trying to help, and I'm not saying this applies to all children given up ... There is thought in some psych circles that children abandoned by birth parents face an identity crisis at a particular stage, like young teen years. The thought process behind this being "why didn't my mother want me?" (much like some kids blame themselves for a divorce). This could impact one's self-esteem, I suppose. I'm not adopted, so I can't say. But I did know one girl who just wrecked her teen and adult life with such an identity crisis based on being given up and despite being adopted by caring parents.

But again, take it as a guide for fic, that someone could have that kind of issue (as the young woman I know does), not my expert opinion on psychology. Because I'm so not.