John and Patience (Patients) Part III
Remarkably, this For Better or For Worse flashback reprint sequence was to be about John showing patience with his patients and we are the 3rd strip into it, and the theme is sticking. Now, it is not exactly about John’s wish to have had more patience, which is the way we were led into it. It seems to be mainly how John showed patience. Still, compared to other flashbacks we have seen, I would have to rate this one the best one so far for sticking to a theme. It is as if someone has read the complaints about the flashbacks meandering all over the landscape and has decided to react to counter the complaints.
Today’s strip follows 2 themes which were common to the early strip.
1. Elly and John go to a cocktail party, where the people are well-dressed and even Elly appears well-dressed; while John spends his time involved with the other guests’ teeth.
2. People think it is OK to ask for doctor consultations of John when he is in public.
The part I like the best about this strip sequence is this phrase, “And what about that dentist husband of yours---Does he like parties?” There are many things I have heard as rumours about dentists over the years, but I can tell you that, “anti-partying” is not one of the adjectives that I have heard commonly used. The professions which I think are typically considered to be staffed by anti-partying people are like engineers, physicists, etc. Considering this was written during the Lynn Lake period, it makes wonder about what the people there thought about Lynn Johnston and her dentist husband.
Today’s strip follows 2 themes which were common to the early strip.
1. Elly and John go to a cocktail party, where the people are well-dressed and even Elly appears well-dressed; while John spends his time involved with the other guests’ teeth.
2. People think it is OK to ask for doctor consultations of John when he is in public.
The part I like the best about this strip sequence is this phrase, “And what about that dentist husband of yours---Does he like parties?” There are many things I have heard as rumours about dentists over the years, but I can tell you that, “anti-partying” is not one of the adjectives that I have heard commonly used. The professions which I think are typically considered to be staffed by anti-partying people are like engineers, physicists, etc. Considering this was written during the Lynn Lake period, it makes wonder about what the people there thought about Lynn Johnston and her dentist husband.
posted by howard at 10:02 PM
10 Comments:
It makes me wonder that if a more social Rod was being held back by an angry spouse who thought she was too good to associate with the locals. Lynn may be "terrifyingly perky" but, as we read in the interview with Jan Wong, her friendliness is most likely an act.
The part I like the best about this strip sequence is this phrase, “And what about that dentist husband of yours---Does he like parties?”
And who talks like that? Did she circulate amongst the other women and ask, "What about that letter carrier husband of yours?" "What about that associate professor in physiology husband of yours?" "What about that constable husband of yours?" "What about that OB/GYN husband of yours?"
Engineers: Just heard a joke about engineers. How do you know if an engineer is an extrovert? He stares at your shoes when you talk to him.
dreadedcandiru2,
It makes me wonder that if a more social Rod was being held back by an angry spouse who thought she was too good to associate with the locals.
That Rod is sociable, there is no doubt. I don't think someone who is not sociable would be able to perform the role of the flying dentist. Considering Lynn's publicly-stated dislike of Lynn Lake, she would have had to disguise those feelings during social parties, and she might not have done a very good job of that. However, I think "angry" is too strong a word for Lynn.
Lynn may be "terrifyingly perky" but, as we read in the interview with Jan Wong, her friendliness is most likely an act.
I think you pointed out to me some months back that Jan Wong is notorious for finding fault in her interviewees, and ever since then I have taken that interview with a grain of salt. When you get right down to it, all Lynn Johnston really did in that interview was take a waitress to task for what Lynn thought was poor service. In interviews we have gotten to see live by video, Lynn comes off as friendly, but a little self-absorbed, even in the old ones where she was in Lynn Lake at the time.
aprilp_katje,
And who talks like that?
It is a strange sentence. The "John and Elly at cocktail parties" strips which occurred from time-to-time in the early strips oftentimes seem to feature them with people they don't know, and focus on John's dentist behaviour in these events. Perhaps in these early years, Lynn felt the need to point out via awkward dialogue to her new readers that John was a dentist, since you would not be able to tell from his environment or what is wearing. A more talented writer could do the same and not make it awkward, but as we know, dialogue is not Lynn's strong point.
Actually, I read the "dentist husband" thing as a much sexier, better-looking, better-dressed woman condescending to Elly the frumpy housewife. Compare their outfits and hairdos. Kind of like her saying, "Your rich husband is the only thing you've got going for you." But you're probably right, it's likely just more of Lynn's bad dialogue.
And actually, Lynn strikes me as a person with a lot of repressed anger.
This brings up my hatred of people who can only ever talk about work in social situations. OK, hatred is a strong word. But those people are dull as hell. It is especially bad if you socialize with people you work with. Which is why I never liked to socialize with people at my law firm. Professionals like lawyers, dentists, and doctors are the worst about it. Oh, and academics too. Where I work now, I hang out with the clerical staff and bookkeepers. Nobody likes to talk about faxing and photocopies, so it's all good. :)
It was too bad that the woman didn't go over to John and say "Does that homemaker wife of yours enjoy parties?"
For a small town, it appears Milbo must have its' share of high society. This comes across as a couple who were invited simply because a dentist is a "someone important" acquaintance.
I bet Lynn wasn't so much angry at Rod's sociability, but perhaps envious. It seems Lynn tries really hard to be likeable, but comes across as trying so hard that she seems fake. I bet Lynn is a real high-maintenance friend; that may be why her friends seem to always be on the payroll.
qnjones,
Actually, I read the "dentist husband" thing as a much sexier, better-looking, better-dressed woman condescending to Elly the frumpy housewife.
I have noticed since Lynn has been doing these reprints, in the cocktail party situations that Lynn often draws the women in the party better-looking and in more revealing outfits than Elly’s.
This brings up my hatred of people who can only ever talk about work in social situations.
I can’t tell from this strip if John is the kind of guy who constantly thinks about people’s teeth (as he has been shown to do in some people’s strips) or the guy who gets asked for free consultations at parties (as he has also been shown to do). Nevertheless, I will agree people who constantly talk shop are tiring. What’s really fun (not) is to go to one of my wife’s Homemade Gourmet conventions where I know little about the shop talk, and the ladies are excited about the convention and can talk about nothing else. At least with your lawyer friends, you have a chance to understand what they are talking about, even if it is dull.
This comment has been removed by the author.
debjyn
This comes across as a couple who were invited simply because a dentist is a "someone important" acquaintance.
The comic strip matches much of the life of Lynn and Rod, except that Rod, in addition to being a dentist, has apparently always been in a player in the life of his community. In Corbeil, he was known for contribution to the local college and being involved in the North Bay Riverfront restoration. I don’t know what he did in Lynn Lake, but if he was similarly civically involved, then he could get invited to the parties of the well-to-do, for reasons entirely unrelated to dentistry.
Sometimes when I see these old cocktail party strips, I get the impression that these are not taken from things happening in Lynn Lake. The other possibility is that Lynn is the reason for the invitation. Once For Better or For Worse achieved a wide enough circulation, she would be the celebrity invited to the fancy party and John would be her “dentist” husband. Imagine this as the Reuben awards party, and 1979 Cathy Guisewite says to Lynn, “And what about that dentist husband of yours. Does he like parties with cartoonists?”
I bet Lynn is a real high-maintenance friend; that may be why her friends seem to always be on the payroll.
Actually, my impression is that Elly’s friends were modeled after comic strip Cathy’s best friends, Andrea and Charlene. Early Elly had single, liberated Connie Poirier, who is like Cathy’s ultra-feminist, and formerly single friend Andrea. To balance out Connie was Elly’s more conservative friend, Anne Nichols, who approximates the relationship to Cathy has with her friend Charlene. Interestingly enough, like comic Cathy, friend favouritism appeared. Elly favours Connie much more than Anne Nichols; just as Cathy now favours Charlene much more than Andrea.
howard:
[Lynn] comes across as friendly but a little self-absorbed.
This tells me that what we all already knew: what we're seeing here is a comic distortion of what the Johnstons' real lives. I remember in the early interviews that Rod asked her to tone down John's assiness because people were confusing him with his fictional counterpart. She couldn't for the life of her see that that was a problem even though she knew it upset him.
Post a Comment
<< Home