When Connie Cometh, So the Reprint Comes Also
Based on this strip also reprinted in October from 1979, young Elly Patterson must have had a real problem with being mocked by salespersons and bank tellers. I actually suspect the theme of those strips had more to do with popular comedy routines where a salesperson would inadvertently mock someone for their purchase by asking in a loud voice for someone to check the price on the item of embarrassment, as opposed to actual experience.
Ironically, this strip from the very beginning of For Better or For Worse shows that Elly has never been satisfied with her appearance, even in the days when she should have been satisfied. One of my wife’s favourite stories is how when she ran track in her junior high school days she thought she was a fat cow, when in reality she was in the best shape of her life. Apparently, Elly Patterson is the same way.
This is a problem which is common to a lot of women. I found a lot of times, women do have an opinion of their own appearance which shapes how they treat other people. My wife’s roommate in university was a tall, tan blonde woman, whom my wife referred to as “The Goddess”. Naturally, she had her complaints about her appearance and had surgeries to enhance them; but she did also realize that men found her attractive. For example, she was proud of the fact she could go into a bar and never have to pay for a drink. Or as another example, she restricted her dates to men who had 6-figure salaries, and still got plenty of dates. She liked my wife because they had similar tastes in music; but my personal appearance fell well below the point of her civility, which is to say, she wouldn’t talk to me when my wife and I got together with her. Later on in life she gained a lot of weight, and was quite a bit more pleasant to be around, which is to say, she would talk to me when my wife and I got together with her.
When I see today’s For Better or For Worse, I wonder where it is that Lynn Johnston really thought or thinks she is. Young Elly Patterson has a slender figure and a fashion sense which was appropriate for the time period. Even when she buys the aging cream, you have a sense that she really doesn’t need it.
Modern Elly Patterson does not dress fashionably, and looks pretty bad at times, especially with yesterday’s Ben Franklin imitation. In contrast, Lynn Johnston in her website pictures, looks pretty good. I can’t tell if Elly Patterson still reflects Lynn own opinion of herself, or if Lynn draws Elly much worse as a way of relating to the way a lot of 60-year-old women look or simply for comic effect. After all, as a dentist’s wife, Elly should have the money to look and dress a lot better.
Ironically, this strip from the very beginning of For Better or For Worse shows that Elly has never been satisfied with her appearance, even in the days when she should have been satisfied. One of my wife’s favourite stories is how when she ran track in her junior high school days she thought she was a fat cow, when in reality she was in the best shape of her life. Apparently, Elly Patterson is the same way.
This is a problem which is common to a lot of women. I found a lot of times, women do have an opinion of their own appearance which shapes how they treat other people. My wife’s roommate in university was a tall, tan blonde woman, whom my wife referred to as “The Goddess”. Naturally, she had her complaints about her appearance and had surgeries to enhance them; but she did also realize that men found her attractive. For example, she was proud of the fact she could go into a bar and never have to pay for a drink. Or as another example, she restricted her dates to men who had 6-figure salaries, and still got plenty of dates. She liked my wife because they had similar tastes in music; but my personal appearance fell well below the point of her civility, which is to say, she wouldn’t talk to me when my wife and I got together with her. Later on in life she gained a lot of weight, and was quite a bit more pleasant to be around, which is to say, she would talk to me when my wife and I got together with her.
When I see today’s For Better or For Worse, I wonder where it is that Lynn Johnston really thought or thinks she is. Young Elly Patterson has a slender figure and a fashion sense which was appropriate for the time period. Even when she buys the aging cream, you have a sense that she really doesn’t need it.
Modern Elly Patterson does not dress fashionably, and looks pretty bad at times, especially with yesterday’s Ben Franklin imitation. In contrast, Lynn Johnston in her website pictures, looks pretty good. I can’t tell if Elly Patterson still reflects Lynn own opinion of herself, or if Lynn draws Elly much worse as a way of relating to the way a lot of 60-year-old women look or simply for comic effect. After all, as a dentist’s wife, Elly should have the money to look and dress a lot better.
posted by howard at 10:38 PM
4 Comments:
For comic effect, I'd say. Lynn has said on many occasions that she draws Elly as being uglier and dowdier than she is on purpose as a way of making herself laugh off her own concerns about her looks. Her thinking is that "I may not be as young as I used to be but at least I don't look this bad."
dreadedcandiru2,
Well, if that is true, then based on the way Elly has been looking lately (i.e. Ben Franklin or Gramma Marian-like over Christmas), Lynn must be going through a personal rough patch WRT her appearance.
Which is readily explained as a reaction to Rod's antics. Despite her protests to the contrary, she still takes his behavior personally and can't help but wonder if her looks, instead of his roving eye, may have been what caused him to stray.
DreadedCandiru2
I have seen that happen before. I dated a woman for awhile, whose first marriage was to a philanderer, and she told me it took her a long time to go from blaming herself to blaming the women who slept with her ex, until she finally got around to blaming her ex. There have certainly been enough strips in the past with John Patterson ogling beautiful women or hiring beautiful (less qualified) women for his dental practise, where I can believe this has been a concern for Lynn Johnston. In contrast, it’s interesting that when Elizabeth Patterson found guys cheating on her, she never thought it was because of her looks.
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