One of John’s Smarter Moments
1979 was the year Blake Edwards’ movie 10 came out and breathed life into the time-honoured tradition of rating women on a number scale. Prior to that point, I believe it was common to refer to a woman as a “brick house (from the Commodores song)” or not. In what is an unusually timely recognition of pop culture trends for For Better or For Worse, Elly asks John to rate her on the infamous 1 to 10 scale. John wisely refuses. Perhaps he senses that the attractive, but somewhat insane woman in his bed might be a 10 now, but in 28 more years, she would become the potato-nosed Elly we know today, and he didn’t want to be held to a number he gave out during the days when his wife was not so actively trying to look bad.
Or perhaps John knows the pitfalls of giving the answer. If he answers too high, she doesn’t believe him. If he answers too low, she gets angry with him. If he answers with the same number she is thinking about herself, she will question why she asked him the question in the first place. There is no way to come out ahead with this question, and John wisely dodges it. Back in 1979, the question was on the list of “trap” questions, which includes questions like “Does this dress make me look fat?” that any sensible man will avoid answering, if at all possible.
Or perhaps John knows the pitfalls of giving the answer. If he answers too high, she doesn’t believe him. If he answers too low, she gets angry with him. If he answers with the same number she is thinking about herself, she will question why she asked him the question in the first place. There is no way to come out ahead with this question, and John wisely dodges it. Back in 1979, the question was on the list of “trap” questions, which includes questions like “Does this dress make me look fat?” that any sensible man will avoid answering, if at all possible.
posted by howard at 11:11 PM
15 Comments:
This was the smartest possible answer under the circumstances, but you know Elly will resent his refusal to answer. John really can't win here.
Reminds me of the time Becky rated April on (I think) intelligence, looks, and fashion. Becky gave April fair to generous scores, but she still had a tantrum. Truly her mother's daughter.
qnjones:
John was not meant to win. John was supposed to be forced to agree that he was a callous boob who didn't care that housework had aged her before her time. Elly, having the brains of a reality-show contestant, spent the first years of their marriage expecting John to say "You know what? I am a bad person and I deserve this flogging! Can I have another?" She also expects her children to admit that their needs were an unfair burden that they hatefully inflicted on her.
The answer is 10, John. Today. Tomorrow. Yesterday.
I’m going to ask my husband the same question.
Me: Hon, on a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate me?
He: Rate you on what?
Me: On looks
He: Mmmm… I’d say an 8
Me: After all these years you haven’t learned that the answer is 10?
He: You know I’m a slow learner. I meant to say 10. I wouldn’t have married you otherwise.
Me: Will you remember that next time?
He: Probably not
Me: WHAT?
He: You don’t have to yell. Just keep reminding me.
Me: So how would you rate me?
He: Rate what?
Me: My intelligence
He: 10
Me: That’s better
He: Are you typing everything I’m saying again?
Me: No
He: Let me see what you’re typing
Me: It’s a quiz. I’m giving a quiz on molarity.
He: You’re lying
Me: On a scale of 1 to 10 how honest do you think I am?
He: Zero
Me: What?
He: Sorry. Ten. It’s always ten.
Me: OK, now you’re lying
He: See, we’re perfect for each other
Anon NYC
My husband is constantly telling me I am beautiful. I. Am. Not. Beautiful. He is being a wonderful husband. I on the other hand have never asked him to rate me from 1-10. Maybe I get the beautiful comments because I never asked; don't know. Has John ever said anything nice to Elly unprompted?
Hahaha, Anon NYC. That is a great conversation.
I had a boyfriend who had learned from the TV show Friends that when the woman asks, "How do I look?" the man must never actually look before he answers; I guess because it implies she might look terrible so he should check before he answers. I argued that he must always look before he answers, or else the woman will know he is lying. The poor guy was very discombobulated.
qnjones,
Reminds me of the time Becky rated April on (I think) intelligence, looks, and fashion. Becky gave April fair to generous scores, but she still had a tantrum. Truly her mother's daughter.
I remember that sequence. As I recollect the point of it was supposed to be, "Despite the fact she gets lost in card stores, Shannon Lake is a much better friend than Becky, because she doesn't judge people." I was convinced then that Shannon was going to be April's new best friend, but that didn't happen. Ironically, someone writing the strip must have rated Shannon as April best friend material and found her wanting, or Eva Abuya would never have come into existence.
dreadedcandiru2,
John was not meant to win. John was supposed to be forced to agree that he was a callous boob who didn't care that housework had aged her before her time.
Although there are a lot of strips like this, I got the feeling that this strip was very much one of the "Lynn Johnston imitates Cathy Guisewhite" strips.
Anon NYC,
I love it when you do dialogues between you and your husband. They are always very funny. I would give them a Ten. Today. Tomorrow. Yesterday.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous,
My husband is constantly telling me I am beautiful. I. Am. Not. Beautiful. He is being a wonderful husband.
My wife does the same thing. She never believes me when I compliment her appearance. If your husband is like I am; then I have some news for you---you are beautiful.
Has John ever said anything nice to Elly unprompted?
Although not a verbal declaration, John came pretty close in this strip.
Ellie
I argued that he must always look before he answers, or else the woman will know he is lying. The poor guy was very discombobulated.
I agree with your answer to look first. As for your boyfriend, a man who takes romance advice from the TV show Friends, a series that had some of the worst advice ever given to men about women and romance on TV, deserves to be discombobulated.
howtheduck:
He did make a nice gesture at the end but most of that strip was loaded with ignorance and confused thinking. It seems quite clear that these people aren't willing to face the truth about Anthony or admit that they were the ones who caused the 'inexplicable' change.
DreadedCandiru2,
It seems quite clear that these people aren't willing to face the truth about Anthony or admit that they were the ones who caused the 'inexplicable' change.
The actual inexplicable change to me, in the Anthony and Thérèse storyline came from the author and her inability to settle on what exactly is the reason why Anthony and Thérèse’s marriage will fail. Initially, Thérèse was presented as an overly-jealous wife. At some point in the writing, Lynn Johnston must have realized this was not working. Perhaps she acknowledged that constantly having Anthony and Elizabeth meeting each other on the side in order to show that Anthony and Elizabeth were still interested in each other, also showed that Thérèse was justified in her thinking. So in addition to this characteristic she made Thérèse into an uninvolved mother more in love with her career than her child. This also did not work, because one of Elly Patterson’s most basic tenets since 1979, was the idea that a mother needs something in her life outside of taking care of the kids. Then in contrast to the overly-jealous woman, Thérèse was turned into the standard For Better or For Worse cheater with John Patterson played as the sympathetic listener and Anthony Caine praiser. If he and his family acknowledged their culpability in trying to put Liz with Anthony even when he was married, then his homecoming hug to Elly could be interpreted as a “Thank goodness I married the woman I was supposed to marry.”
When Lynn Johnston worked her way back to the Thérèse retcon of last fall, Thérèse was no longer the same woman from when she first appeared. A jealous Thérèse would have lashed out at Elizabeth with claims she was trying to steal her daughter, just as she stole her husband. A cheating Thérèse would have been in the mall with another man. A career-oriented Thérèse would have been constantly interrupted with work-related phone calls. What we have left is the Thérèse who is the uninvolved mother, a far cry from the attentive mother shown during her baby shower.
howtheduck, tomorrow morning, I will have to leave for the same three-day work trip I went on in April of last year. I know now that I will probably be able to do a quick post in the morning, but will probably be MIA the rest of the time. I will probably give April a reason to have intermittent access during that time.
aprilp_katje,
It's good to know these things, so I won't worry. I will gone starting Friday night until Sunday afternoon on a Boy Scout Camporee, so I will have no entries during that period.
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