- "We always wait to trade with him when his witch of a wife isn't around because he is so much nicer."
- —Katniss Everdeen about Mrs Mellark[src]
Mrs. Mellark was a baker who lived in District 12 who was the mother of three sons, including tribute and victor Peeta Mellark. She does not play a major role in The Hunger Games, and appears very rarely in any of the books. Mrs. Mellark is never given a name, she is only referred to as Peeta's mother or Mrs. Mellark throughout the whole series. Few things are known about her but one of the most prominent details is that she runs the family bakery with her husband Mr. Mellark and has an unkind spirit.
Boy With The Bread
Mrs. Mellark with Peeta outside the family bakery.
Early on in the book, Katniss recounts a memory of Peeta's mother scolding and beating Peeta after he burnt two loaves of bread. She is not supportive of Peeta when his name is drawn to compete the 74th Hunger Games. Her appearance is never described, however she is assumed to have blonde hair and blue eyes because it is a common trait in the merchant area of District 12. All that is known about her death is that she dies along with all the other Mellarks, not including Peeta, during the bombings of District 12. She was widely known as a "Witch" throughout the district.
Family
Mrs. Mellark is married to Mr. Mellark who is a baker and has three sons, two of which are unnamed and the third is one of the main characters: Peeta, who goes on to compete in the games. Her husband mentions to Peeta as a five-year-old that he wanted to marry Katniss' mother, but she was in love with someone else, Mr. Everdeen. Mr. Mellark is said in the book to have a habit of buying Katniss' squirrels, but usually when his wife is not with him. He is much kinder without the influence of his wife.
Biography
Mrs. Mellark does not have much said about her in the series because she is not a vital part of the story. She is known to be the mother of three boys. The elder sons are unnamed, then Peeta is the youngest. She and her family own the bakery in District 12 and they all work there. The series mentions that she has quite a temper and often turned to beating her children when they had done something that had made her angry in their younger years. One example is when Peeta was young and burnt some of the bread she was baking, she smited him, saying that no decent person would buy burnt bread. If she had known that he had given it to Katniss, a girl from the Seam, it would have ensured a terrible beating. She is proven to be cold and not very kind. She has very little faith in Peeta's ability to win the Games; later into the book when Peeta is talking to Katniss, he tells her that his mother said, "Maybe District 12 will have a victor this year. She's a fighter, that one", insinuating that she didn't think Peeta would come home, but that Katniss had a good shot.
Death
Mrs Mellark, along with Mr. Mellark, and her other sons except Peeta, were killed in the bombing of District 12.