| Mrs. McGregor | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Unknown |
|
First Appearance |
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) |
|
Original Publisher |
Frederick Warne & Co. |
|
Created by |
Beatrix Potter |
Origin[]
Mrs. McGregor is an older woman who is married to Mr. McGregor and baked Mr. Rabbit into a pie.
Just like her husband, Mrs. McGregor owns a vegetable garden and dislikes pests trying to steal her vegetables, particularly rabbits. In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, it was revealed that Mrs. McGregor put Peter's father into a pie after the latter was caught trying to steal from the garden. Peter disobeys his mother and trespasses into Mr. McGregor's garden. Peter is nearly captured by Mr. McGregor, but manages to escape, leaving behind his blue jacket and slippers which were made into a scarecrow.
In the Tale of Benjamin Bunny, Mrs. McGregor plays a very minor role. She’s seen only a few times sitting on her horse and cart to town with her husband. Due to their absence, this allowed Peter and his cousin Benjamin to sneak back into the garden and reclaim Peter's clothes, though they end up being trapped in a basket by the McGregors' pet cat. Fortunately, Benjamin's father arrived to the rescue by locking the cat in the greenhouse and returns home with Peter and Benjamin, leaving a returning Mr. McGregor to wonder what happened to his scarecrow and how the cat got locked up in the greenhouse.
In The Flopsy Bunnies, Mrs. McGregor sent her husband out to bring several rabbits over to her so she can use their skins to make a cloak, though Mr. McGregor intends to sell the rabbits for tobacco. Though Mr. McGregor manage to find and capture six rabbits in a sack, they were later freed by Mrs. Tittlemouse before putting heaps of rotten vegetables inside the sack. When Mrs. McGregor finds out that the sack only carries rotten vegetables, she gets angry at her husband, who storms off to find the rabbits (to no avail) after having a nasty argument.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Mrs. McGregor from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter (1902)
- The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, by Beatrix Potter (1904)
- The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, by Beatrix Potter (1909)
Notes[]
- Mrs. McGregor's illustration is modeled after Beatrix Potter herself.