If we look back at the disjointed time line of the Island, we find that a mother figure is prominent. First, we have the Tawawet statue which was probably created more than 4,500 years ago. It was probably created for an Egyptian goddess who was the Island guardian. Second, we have Crazy Mother from the Roman era. She is the one who was alone on the island until she kidnapped Jacob and his brother. Jumping to near the end of the linear time line before the Flight 815 crash, there was another motherly presence, and Other named Amelia.
During the book club meeting, Amelia seemed amused with Juliet's argument against Adam, regarding her book choice, Carrie. The meeting was interrupted by the commotion of Flight 815 crashing on the Island, an event that Amelia was present to witness.
Why should any importance be given to such a minor background character.
There are several clues which fans have stitched together to form a theory.
Amelia is of German origin, and its meaning is "work of the lord." For those who tend to believe the purgatory premise to the show, she could represent an authoritative or guiding presence for any island visitor, such as Juliet.
She shares a first name with famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, whose plane vanished over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937. In 1937 she engaged in an attempt to fly across the world, but on July 2 of that year, she and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in the Pacific. Her remains have never been officially confirmed to have been found, but she was officially declared dead on January 5 of 1939.
There is another connection to the LOST story line and this event. As with the 815 wreckage being discovered, in 1937 a pilot searching for Earhart was lost near the Sunda Trench off coast of Sumatra.
Further, he name of the airport that is shown to be used by Mittelos Bioscience in "One of Us" was Herarat Aviation; "Herarat" is an anagram of "Earhart."
Theorists speculate that Amelia could be Annie's mother. On the very last page in the book Carrie that they are reading in the book-club, there is an excerpt from a letter sent by a woman named Amelia to her sister. She explains that her daughter, Annie, seems to have telekinetic powers. However, it is more likely that Annie could have been her granddaughter. The person from the island past and present with the most "knowledge" of the Island and other people's thoughts or actions was Eloise Hawking. Young Eloise in the 1950s flash would have been in her late teens if she was born on the island in 1940.
It is possible that Amelia was Amelia Earhart, who was lost over the Pacific just like the survivors of Flight 815. It is possible that Amelia herself, could have been the cause of the Oceanic plane crash. If Earhart crashed on the Island, she and her co-pilot could have been the second Adam and Eve. Earnhart would have 107 years old in 2004. The Island's healing powers and alternative time dynamics would make her age irrelevant.
So if Amelia was Amelia Earhart, the lost aviator, what does that mean to the LOST universe?
The balance of the island needs to have a motherly temperament in order to balance out the mood swings of children. The one thing that Jacob truly regretted was the death of Crazy Mother. Ever since that moment, the Island was put into a long, grueling pitched battle of "corrupt" humans trying to fill that void. There was a long stretch of peace during the Amelia time frame, such that the Dharma Institute built huge improvements and stations. But that all changed when Ben, who had no mother, possessed the anger to purge the Dharma members and put the Island back into a state of chaos.
At that point, change may only come through the magic box. If one had strong enough feelings and experience to create their wish to materialize, who else could know about and survive a plane crash than Amelia Earhart. She could tell from the book club that Juliet had terrible news (the Island was no longer healing people) and that the Others themselves were turning on each other with their arguments over trivial matters like books. At that moment, Amelia thought of drastic change - - - and her subconscious experience brought down Flight 815 to set off a chain reaction toward a new island peace with the removal of Jacob and his game of human pawns with MIB.
Until that happened, Amelia's motherly feeling that children should not be born on an island in turmoil led to the infertility problems. We do not see her again in the series. We do not see her perish. We do not see her at the Temple. We do not see her as a Flocke follower. This means that she may have been more independent and above the politics of the island groups which shows that she is older, wiser and more cunning than those who believed they were in charge. If so, she would have been the power behind the curtain, not Jacob.
There is nothing more powerful than a mother's love; she will fight for, defend or give up her own life to save her children. The maternal instinct is strong. It is a calming influence for those who are scared, upset, hurt or lost.
