Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Anthony Caine’s Biography

This is the link to the full thing, which is not short. I will only comment on the parts I find interesting:

The Story of Anthony Caine

"You ate all my organic flax bread!" Hanneke Caine wheeled from the counter to stare at her husband and son, tears gleaming in her eyes. "I bought it from Illo's Bakery especially for my new diet! It took me ages to find it. How could you?"

You just can’t start any better than this. Anthony’s birth mother Hanneke is a Dutch model, and obsesses over diet. Obviously Anthony gets his looks from his dad.

The early part of the strip deals with young Anthony Caine, math genius, and his 2 parents who alternatively fight or make love in public, like a bad romance novel. Aside from some hilariously-bad fight scenes, the main point is that Anthony Caine is a combination of his 2 parents. He likes math, like his dad; but he is sensitive like his mother.

He couldn't understand why his parents had married, when they were so very different. He did know the story of how they met. Hanneke Van Rijn had been a model, one of a number of international beauties hired for a fashion show in Montreal, when Gavin Caine met her. The tall, quiet man with the Oxford British accent had caught her interest right away. It hadn't bothered her then that he was an accountant, or that he was only at the show because he was performing an audit on one of the designers. His natural reserve merely heightened her interest, made him more worthy a challenge for her to conquer.

As we will see, this romance is a parallel for the story of Anthony and Thérèse later on. Thérèse thinks Anthony is something that he is not, and that is the basis for their romance.

One evening in December that Anthony came home full of music and high spirits from the elementary school Christmas Concert. For the first time, he had been given a small solo part. It had been scary, but he had done OK. Lots of people had praised him afterward.

This is the part we had been given in the preview and the jump from the Math Bee to the elementary school Christmas Concert is jarring. It has the appearance that Beth Cruikshank wrote the preview first and then filled in around it.

He stiffened as Anthony caught his breath. "No. Don't you dare cry for her. You start bawling now, Tony, I swear I'll pitch you out of this house. There's been enough dramatics around here to last me a lifetime."

“Tony” bugged me in the preview. It only appears one other time and also comes from his father. All other times he is “Anthony”, even from his father.

In the weeks that followed, his father never once mentioned his mother. Within days of her departure, every trace of her had vanished from the house. Her clothes and shoes, the remnants of her make-up and expensive scented shampoo in the bathroom, the picture that hung in the hall, even the Christmas presents under the tree with her name on them. It was as though Hanneke Caine had been vaporized from the face of the earth.

This part is a little creepy, especially when you consider this next part.

"I said, stop it!" His father's hands clenched white on the steering wheel. His teeth were clenched, too. He clipped off each word as though he were snipping it with scissors. "I have not seen your mother. She's in the Netherlands. Living with a man who is far richer than I am." He drew in an audible breath that shook a little. "My lawyer dealt with her lawyer. She never came back to Canada. I did ask about - about custody. Counselling. Things like that. She expressed no desire to see either of us again."

She disappears without a trace. The father removes evidence she existed. And she is never seen again. It has all the elements of a mother who has been murdered by the father. Then we bring in Clarice, which seems to be a marriage of convenience, i.e. “I don’t want to work and you need a mother for your boy with the nightmares about how his mother mysteriously disappeared."

The weird thing was, Clarice soon felt more like his mother than his real mother ever had. Everything he told her, she listened to with interest. She attended every concert and school play and came to cheer at his soccer and baseball games. She insisted his Dad relax more on weekends, and the three of them did really fun things like going to the circus or getting gloriously lost in an intricate maze that a farmer had carved out of his corn field outside of town and then buying enormous banana split sundaes afterward to celebrate the triumph of finding their way out.

Clarice has parallels to Elizabeth, at least the ice cream part. That is a clear imitation of Elizabeth’s first date with Anthony, after the Shawna-Marie Verano wedding.

He especially liked his new Uncle Max. His Mom's brother was a round, balding, talkative little man who owned a men's clothing store. We have the tie-in to Anthony’s wedding with Uncle Max. Perhaps Max is the man in the first panel of this strip.

She dropped onto the swing and wiped away her tears. "Oh Anthony, don't look at me like that. It's nothing serious. At least - " A sob shook her again. "It's just that - I'd hoped that I could tell you there would be a new little brother or sister for you soon. But it hasn't happened. Now the doctors are telling me that it probably won't." She leaned back and closed her eyes. "And I want, so much, to have a child of my own. It just doesn't seem fair."Anthony felt like he'd been slugged hard in the gut. "You have me."

Clarice wants a chid and seems to prefer the child she will have to the one she has gotten by marriage, which would probably be another Elizabeth / Anthony parallel, if the strip were to continue. On the plus side, this does mean that Beth Cruikshank was paying attention to an early strip where Anthony said he had a sibling.

This also begins the second theme of “Anthony trying to find a woman for whom he can be worthy. His mom is too good for him. Clarice prefers the baby. High school Liz is always looking at other guys. Thérèse is too good for him. Then finally, we are back to Elizabeth, making it appear that Elizabeth has finally sunk to Anthony’s level.

As he settled into the new school and started to make friends, he became more and more aware of the girl who sat in front of him in English class. Elizabeth Patterson was perky, blonde and smart.

My recollection was that Elizabeth Patterson was an average student, who had to work for her grades. This comparison is probably due to not wanting Elizabeth to look poorly compared to over-achiever Thérèse later on.

Anthony went back to school in January eager for distractions. He found all he needed in his relationship with Elizabeth, which seemed to be repeatedly teetering on the brink of being something real and exciting, then fading into limbo again. It wasn't until February, just before Valentine's Day, that things finally fell suddenly and gloriously into place. He and Elizabeth weren't just friends any more, they were boyfriend and girlfriend! The wonder of it had him floating in a golden haze of happiness.

I am a little disappointed that Beth chose not to retell the whole school courtship saga between Anthony and Elizabeth. There were a lot of little cute stories and it would be fun to get the Anthony perspective.

It couldn't last, of course. He knew from the start that Elizabeth would tire of him. It took just six weeks. Hypersensitive as he was to rejection, he saw it coming every painful inch of the way. For the sake of his dignity, he broke up with her first.

This ends up being the recurring theme for Elizabeth and Anthony in their junior high and high school days and does not work well with this biography. The biography tries to show Anthony as a guy with no friends, but the strip during this point showed that Anthony did have friends and he liked to do things with them, and that girls like Candace Halloran found him attractive, at least temporarily. He was not that pitiful.

Although he spent a lot of time at the Pattersons, Anthony didn't invite Elizabeth to his house in return. Clarice was seeing a psychiatrist, and she and his dad were taking some kind of counselling. They didn't tell him much, but he knew that their marriage was in trouble.

This doesn’t really work with the history. In the monthly letters, Liz talked about having met Anthony’s parents, back when they dated in high school.

During that tumultuous fall and winter, Liz became the fixed centre of Anthony's world, the one person he could count on. Even though he was getting taller and skinnier and more geeky and beaky, despite the humiliation of being hassled by some of the jocks at school as a nerd and a loser, even if he felt like an outsider in his own home, Liz seemed to like him anyway. He came to rely on her so much that it scared him.

This was also pulled out for the preview, where the presumption was it had to do with Anthony’s mom leaving. We really did not see this level of dependence on Liz with Anthony in the strip. Again, trying to make him seem pitiful.

Abigail Susan Caine was born May 9, 1995, hale, hearty and hollering.

That puts her at 13 years old in 2008 and raises a very obvious question about why she is not in the bridal party. This is a definite weakness in the biography, when you consider that Anthony is still in Milborough, why there is not more of a relationship between him and Abby.

There was one completely positive outcome of having a new baby sister. His step-grandparents came to visit. Clarice's mother and father lived on Vancouver Island.

This ends up developing into a serious relationship and is another Elizabeth and Anthony parallel. The step-grandparents ultimately will invest in Gordon Mayes, just like John Patterson does. Note that Hanneke Caine’s parents express no interest in Anthony after the divorce, just as Thérèse’s parents seem to be uninterested in Françoise after the divorce. But step-mom Clarice’s parents do like Anthony, just as Elly and John have taken somewhat of an interest in Françoise.

The incident ended with Candace asking him to go to the Halloween Dance with her. He thought she did it only because she was disconcerted by his silence, but he was quick to accept. Candace was one of the hot girls in school, the kind who did good things for a guy's reputation. Besides, it was a great way to pay Liz back.

The business with Anthony saying he really wanted to be with Candace never really worked in the strip after showing strip after strip of Anthony hanging around Elizabeth, so I approve of this retcon.

"Seems only fair." His father smiled over the top of his newspaper. "If I'm paying you wages, you should be paying me room and board. You've had a free ride long enough." It upset Liz, he knew, when he avoided going out on dates with her. But he just couldn't afford to take her out. It was cheaper hanging out with the guys. Mostly, they checked out cars. It didn't cost anything, was kind of fun even if it was pointless, and it saved Anthony from having to admit the humiliation of his newly impoverished situation.

I did not like this retcon. It seemed perfectly fine that Anthony might like to do with things with the guys instead of Elizabeth. However, the biography has to make it seem like the reason is Anthony can’t afford to date Elizabeth, so he chooses the less expensive guys. If you are going to go with that, then it makes the relationship between Liz and Anthony seem even shallower, if Anthony believed he had to spend money on Liz and couldn’t just hang out with her.

"No problem. We'll train you. Dr. Patterson recommended you as a steady, honest worker and that's good enough for me. When could you start?"

I loved this part. Anthony gets handed a job, and owes Dr. John Patterson for it.

Anthony didn't believe it for a minute, but the praise warmed him for days. He wondered if Dr. P's real motive had been to keep his daughter happy. If so, it worked. Anthony had the money now to take Liz out on real dates, at least once in a while. It did a lot to smooth out the strain that had been building in their relationship.

This part I did find amusing. John and Elly have pushed Elizabeth to Anthony for so long, it’s an interesting perspective that John would actually suggest a job for Anthony so he could accomplish that, even as early as high school. It’s hard to believe these are the same parents in the strip who watched Anthony and Elizabeth like hawks to prevent anything from happening.

It was a kick to see the results of his efforts. Gordon adjusted his inventory on Anthony's suggestions and found his profits increasing while costs held steady. More and more customers mentioned that they had come to Gordon's Garage to check out a car they had seen on the website, or to pick up some specialty part that they wouldn't have known he carried if it hadn't been advertised online.

Now we begin to see that Anthony is pulling his weight with Gordon. Instead of just doing his accounting, he is also managing his website, which is another change from the strip. But Beth is not going to stop with just that. Soon, she will make Gordon appear impotent compared to the mighty Anthony.

Anthony agreed with him. For two wonderful years, Liz had been crazy about him. Warm, teasing, affectionate. No guy ever had a more fantastic or supportive girlfriend. He had been looking forward to being with her at university, exploring adult life together without the restrictions of family around. Then out of the blue - bam. She had dropped the bad news.

It’s right here in the strip and the biography ignores it. This is the beginning of the period where Liz expects her men to travel for her. An hour by plane or 3 CDs by car. The fact is that Anthony never makes the trip and Liz never stays with a man who won’t travel for her.

His roommate Glenn, a high school friend and fellow nerd, unexpectedly emerged from his geek shell in the encouraging atmosphere of university life. In his enthusiasm, Glenn became entangled with three women at once. That made for some interesting moments. And then there were the eccentricities of their landlady.Mrs. Dingle had leased Mike and Weed's former apartment in her house to Anthony, on Mike's recommendation.

I was happy to see Beth Cruikshank found the strip where we see Anthony with his roommate Glenn Dennis moving in with Mrs. Dingle. For some reason, Beth never refers to him as anything but Glenn in this bio. And she also does not show anything with Mrs. Dingle and her impression of Anthony’s engagement to Thérèse, which I frankly, think is a great loss. I would love to have seen a Mrs. Dingle comment on the matter.

He became friends, as well, with a number of his classmates. One of them, a blonde named Jeannette, he dated once or twice. But he found himself constantly comparing her to Liz. She didn't take long to tire of his lukewarm attentions and break it off.

Jeannette is an interesting mention, because in the strip that followed, Anthony tells Liz he hasn’t dated anybody, which is now changed to be a lie.

Rescue came from an unexpected quarter. He had secretly admired Thérèse Arsenault from the first day of classes. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, slim and always perfectly groomed, she had a classic beauty and cool self-confidence that made him feel like his feet and hands were six sizes too large every time he was near her. She was brilliant, too, always top of the class, and intensely competitive in a quiet way.

Arsenault. Can’t help thinking Arse no, but a quick internet search shows it is a real name and common to Quebec. Anthony approaches her to join the dance club, which seems very aggressive for Anthony. However, it is interesting that unlike Elizabeth, Thérèse is portrayed as being academically excellent in university.

Anthony told her. She stared at him, her dark eyes lustrous in the gloom of the car. "Your father is Gavin Caine? Really?" She laughed. "Talk about small worlds! My father knows yours well. It was his idea that I apply to Caine Accounting for a summer job this year. It's one of the best companies in the area, and that's what I want." Her smile warmed. "How nice. You'll be able to put in a good word for me with your dad."

I was quite excited that the little side note about Thérèse working for Anthony’s dad had not been missed. I had hoped Anthony’s dad would have money and there it is. I had hoped we would get an explanation as to why Anthony does not work for his dad, and this biography is all over it.

"I know Roger Arsenault. He's a smart man, and a successful one. There's quite a string of businesses in southern Ontario under the Arsenault banner. And I understand Thérèse is his only child." He smiled. "Quite a catch for you, Anthony! Of course I'll give her a summer job."

As for me, I am in heaven. I had hoped Anthony’s dad would love Thérèse, and he does. Of course, my hope was born in the idea that Anthony’s dad would have not approved of Anthony and Thérèse’s divorce, and that is not touched on at all. Anthony’s dad disappears from the picture after he thinks Anthony has slept with Thérèse.

The idea had caught fire in his mind. As soon as he had the numbers crunched and a business plan roughed out, he ran it by his grandfather, then his father and finally Dr. Patterson. All of them were impressed enough to invest, and agreed to defer any repayment until the cash flow was solid. The city business development coordinator was equally interested. He assured him that Gordon would qualify for business incentive loan programs that would reduce the interest on the rest of the financing.
When he presented the whole package to Gordon and Tracey, their reaction was swift and exultant. "Let's do it!"


The whole expansion idea is now Anthony’s and he is the one who gathers investors, which include his father and his step grandfather, and it all happens in summer of 2001. The timing of that is seriously off with the strips, where Gordon does not expand the property to create Mayes Midtown Motors until after summer, 2004, where Gordon is still seen operating out of Gordon’s Garage.

This narrative really sucks the life out of Gordon Mayes, in order to build up Anthony Caine. No more of this, “Gordon is great, and I am the one with the degree.” Gordon should stop praising John Patterson for his success and kiss up to Anthony.

"Dr. P dropped by this morning." Gordon jammed his hands in his pockets. "He tells me that Liz has moved in with her boyfriend. He and Mrs. P aren't real happy about it."

Gordon Mayes is an ass. This is the kind of thing you say to a girl’s ex-boyfriend? However, this plays with the strip very well. Anthony practically says in the strip he proposed to Thérèse because Liz moved in with Eric and in this biography the same thing is implied. He goes from claiming Thérèse is only his dance partner to a romantic moment in the Quebec village of the ancient Arsenaults. The fun part is the everyone thinks Anthony and Thérèse did something, because they were seen together, and for some reason, when Anthony does the same thing with Liz at New Years’ Eve 2002, he still has not figured out why people were upset with him.

Towards the end of the meal, to his alarm, their attention turned fully to Anthony. "You stayed at the Auberge St-Julien too? It's very popular. I'm surprised you could get a room on such short notice." Mr. Arsenault's smile turned sly. "Or did you share Thérèse's?"Thérèse's head came up sharply.

Mr. Arsenault chuckled. "Oh, don't worry, son. I won't be getting the shotgun out just yet. There are other men we wouldn't want to see getting too cozy with our daughter. But Gavin Caine's boy - " he smiled expansively, "- we know you wouldn't be courting Thérèse unless you were serious."He didn't hear from Thérèse for some time after that mortifying evening and made no effort to contact her. She was good company and a great dance partner, but somehow they had given her parents some alarming ideas about their relationship.

And of course after that romantic moment with Thérèse, the first thing Anthony does is to decide to ignore her. Since he did the same thing with Elizabeth later, we know this is in character for him.

Stunned, Anthony protested. "The Arsenaults got it wrong. Thérèse and I aren't dating. We're just friends."His father's brows lifted. "Oh? Then the manager at the Auberge St-Julien just imagined he saw you out in the garden, stuck together closer than the plaster on the wall? Or perhaps you have a different idea of friendship than we or her parents do?"

This is a very interesting parallel to what happens with Anthony and Elizabeth over and over again. But the next section is the best.

His father shook his head. "She's lovely, bright, and well-to-do. What more do you want? "Liz. He wanted Liz. He had to clench his teeth to keep from shouting it in his father's face. Not that there would have been much point. Liz didn't want him. He was stupid to keep pining after her.

He wants Liz, but in a romantic moment, he’ll take Thérèse.

"I know Thérèse is amazing. But she isn't interested in me." He shoved away from the table. "That night in Quebec - it didn't mean anything. You'll see on Saturday. There's nothing between us."

This brings up our theme. Anthony believes he is not good enough for Thérèse, when his family, Thérèse’s family and Thérèse believe differently. He’s got some serious self-esteem issues when it comes to women.

"I don't know." He had never thought about inheritance. That was years and years away. It was doubtful his father had ever thought in terms of a Caine dynasty, anyway. "Abby is a sharp kid. She could grow up to be CEO material. More likely Dad will sell the company when he retires."

Thérèse laughed and shook her head. "Anthony, you amaze me. You say that as though it doesn't matter to you. Have you no ambition at all?" "Of course." He smiled at her. "I want a career I enjoy, enough income to live comfortably, and a home and family of my own. That's ambitious enough, isn't it?"

Beth hits the nail right on the head here. Anthony Caine does have no ambition. Moreover, it’s even worse in this biography, because at age 21, he comes up with an idea which revolutionizes Gordon Mayes’ business. In the strip, he is just an accountant and then a manager, and Gordon is the business genius. By building Anthony up, Beth makes Anthony seem more like an idiot for not using his talents.

Thérèse sang as she played, her eyes dreamy as she gazed out into the moonlight. Watching her, Anthony felt a surge of happiness so piercing it ached. When she was done, he went to her, rapt and shaken as he took her into his arms.Just like that, they were a couple.

Just like that, Anthony forgets Liz, at least for a little while.

"They haven't always approved of your boyfriends?" Anthony smiled sleepily up at her."No. The last one -."

Lesson number one in dating. Don’t bring up ex-boyfriends.

Anthony hesitated before deciding he owed her the truth. "I know how you feel. There's a girl in my past, too. One I've never quite gotten over. I guess there's a sweet sadness in thinking about lost loves. Maybe a little masochism, too." He grinned at her.Thérèse didn't smile back.

Lesson number two in dating. Don’t ever say you are not over your old girlfriend. No matter how many men your girlfriend says she still likes, you never say that about an old girlfriend.

"Anthony! I'm so sorry. My stupid jealousy! I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me." Her outburst had shaken him, but he was glad to make up again. Thérèse assured him that it would never happen again, and he believed her. It was so out of character for her to lose her habitual cool, he worried that he'd said something really stupid to set her off. He was grateful that she was so sweet and reasonable afterward.

I think Beth was going for a little hypocrisy with Thérèse, because she talks about her old boyfriend and then gets upset when Anthony talks about Liz. However, since we later find out about her father cheating on her mother, the jealousy makes a lot more sense. She doesn’t want a man like her father with the women, but as we know, Anthony will not give her any secure feelings when it comes to Elizabeth.

At the end of the evening, he blurted out his feelings in an incoherent jumble of broken sentences. Thérèse laughed and caught both his hands in hers. "Oh, Anthony. It's sweet that you're so nervous. Of course I'll marry you!"

Anthony sucks at proposing. Just like with Liz he can’t speak coherently and he doesn’t have a ring.

Thérèse seemed a little taken aback when he told her his budget for it, but was tactful about admiring only the smaller, less expensive stones afterward. In the end they found a small, perfect diamond in a lovely sculpted setting at an antique store. Anthony was doubtful it was good enough for Roger Arsenault's daughter, but Thérèse assured him that she loved it.

Anthony is really not thinking now. He knows that Roger Arsenault is thinking of a business merger with him and Thérèse as the linchpin, so a very small engagement ring is an insult, and according to this bio, he knows it, and still goes cheap anyway.

Sometimes he caught her looking at him with an oddly speculative expression. When she snapped at him one day, saying his appearance was childish and he should at least try to look mature, he humbly agreed to her suggestion that he grow a moustache.

The start of Thérèse criticizing Anthony and Beth has framed it with a discussion about Anthony’s cheap engagement ring. The ring is a sign that Anthony really cannot or chooses not to tap into his father’s fortune, even for something as important as an engagement. If I were Thérèse, I would start to question my future husband’s lack of social graces.

Now that the additional land was available for expansion, it seemed worthwhile to crunch some numbers on adding a new car dealership to the garage as well as expanding the used car lot.

Now Anthony is getting credit for having Gordon add a new car dealership, another event which we do not see in the strip until summer, 2004; while this action occurs in December, 2001.

When Liz mentioned that she didn't have New Year's Eve plans, he suggested that she come with him as a friend to the party his father was giving for his business associates. They had a lot to say to one another, but the party was noisy and it was hard to talk. Before midnight came, they slipped away for a long walk together.

This is the famous moveable moustache strip. But in the bio, it now has a moustache in every panel. I wonder if Lynn drew it in, or if Beth had to add it herself. When I first read this strip, the set up was beautiful. Anthony and Liz in front of his dad’s business associates, when his fiancée works for his dad. But Beth one-ups me by putting Thérèse’s dad there too. The best part is that Anthony protests his innocence at the same time he is all over Liz and thinking how he wishes he was with her. One of Anthony’s worst moments.

It was after five when he arrived home, to find his father waiting up for him in a cold rage. He told Anthony with a voice chipped from ice that Roger Arsenault had arrived late at the party, just in time to see Anthony walk out the door with his arm around Liz.
Thérèse was furious."I can't believe you invited Elizabeth to the party. And then to leave with her, in front of all those guests! Were you deliberately trying to humiliate me?"

This is the moment when Thérèse should have broken the engagement.

From her perspective. Anthony Caine asks her to join him in a university dance club. It turns out he is very good and she loves dancing with him. She finds out he comes from a respectable family and takes him to meet her parents. Her parents approve. Everything lines up for Thérèse.

Then Anthony mentions Liz and after protesting that there is nothing between them, takes her on a date where people Thérèse knows will see it. That is flagrant. Even if Anthony truly believes that there was nothing wrong with what he did, then does Thérèse want a man who is that stupid?

"Oh yes, any man as wealthy as my father is always the target of predatory women. Being a man, he couldn't always resist. It was usually the dewy-eyed blondes that were his downfall, too." She glowered at Anthony. "So don't tell me I can't recognize trouble when I see it."

The part of Thérèse’s personality that allows her to continue with Anthony is her belief that if she is vigilant, she can do what her mother did not. Thérèse believes that all men are weak when it comes to women, even her father, whom she respects in all other ways. This becomes the means by which Thérèse develops her jealousy of Elizabeth. Beth Cruikshank hit all the marks with the hints in the strip about this one, all but one.

She has missed out on Liz’s first meeting with Thérèse. In the bio version, their first meeting was Anthony’s wedding. In the strip, Liz talks about (but we do not see) a meeting before the wedding and it is a crucial one; because after that meeting Liz decides to fight back. It is that meeting which causes Liz to think that she wants to go to Thérèse’s wedding and show off in front of her by dancing with Dennis North, a man far more physically attractive and a better dancer than Anthony Caine. Beth also skips over the part where Anthony Caine intentionally made sure Liz was invited to his wedding which, given this bio, we know is the last thing Thérèse would ever do.

The venom in her voice chilled him. In the face of such bitterness, there was nothing to say. "By the way," Thérèse turned away with a cold smile, "I'm exchanging my engagement ring for one I like better. I'm sure you won't object."

This does fall in line with the strip where Anthony talks about paying the bill for the ring.

Despite the occasional rocky moments they had encountered, he was warmed by the knowledge of how much they had in common. She was good for him, gave him a confidence he knew he lacked. He thought he helped her, too, with a warmer and less conditional support than her parents provided. It seemed like a solid foundation on which to build a strong marriage.

I have to agree with this assessment. Aside from conversations about Liz, Thérèse and Anthony come off as very honest with each other, and they do have a lot in common. In many respects, it is a shame Anthony was so obsessed with Liz.

He sometimes worried that Thérèse might be having second thoughts about their engagement. Once, he tried to ask her. She went into a cold fury and accused him of being interested in some other woman. He didn't ask again.

I can just see this one, “Thérèse. Are you having second thoughts about our engagement?” “If you want to break our engagement and chase after some blonde bimbo, then just do it!”

A little puzzled, Anthony glanced at his fiancée. "To back Thérèse, you mean? Of course. And if it's a bright young graduate you want," he grinned, "you could hardly do better. She's definitely the brightest in our class."

When it comes to Mr. Arsenault's offer to take over his business, Anthony Caine pushes the stupidity factor. He knows Arsenault is obsessed with having a man take over his company and he will never accept his daughter. And yet Anthony is pushing Thérèse even though she has told him that she wants her own career.

It hadn't been hard to find ways to fill his time. The day after he graduated, Gordon made him the business manager for Mayes Midland Motors. In the first week of July, the greatly expanded new and used car dealership held its grand opening.

Again, Mayes Midtown Motors did not appear until summer, 2005. In summer, 2003, when Anthony graduated, Gordon was still running around in a mechanics outfit.

Still, she managed to hide her nerves well until Liz and her date came through the receiving line. He did his best to smooth Thérèse's flare of jealous temper, but she was cool to him for the rest of the reception.

Thérèse would never have invited Elizabeth, and yet she shows up.

For the first year of their marriage, they lived in an apartment in London, Ontario. It was a long commute for Anthony to Mayes Motors in Milborough, but Thérèse was insistent they live close to her office so that she could be there as long and often as necessary.

Long commute? This is a ridiculous situation. London is 2 hours 12 minute drive west of Toronto, and Milborough is at least another hour after that to the east. Is she suggesting Anthony commutes over 3 hours every day? This is an error. Just because Thérèse and Anthony went to school in London, doesn’t mean her family lives in London, nor would it make sense for her to seek summer employment with Anthony’s dad all the way over in Milborough, because then she has to commute 3 hours there from her home. Beth wants to show that this is an unreasonable commute, but she takes it so far as to be stupid. If Thérèse wants fancy, she should go for Toronto as a halfway point, and which is much bigger than London. That would be a great compromise, but it raises the spectre of Michael Patterson who forced Deanna to commute to Milborough for her pharmacy job from 2002 – 2007, while he was close enough to work to take a bus.

Her painful bursts of jealousy became more frequent and irrational, as well.Anthony tried to be understanding, but her lack of trust hurt. She was always sorry afterward, and tried to be kinder to him.

Thérèse is starting to lose it, but her father wants her to make babies, so he fires her.

"In other words, you want me to stay home and have babies, too." Thérèse looked pale and miserable as she hunched over her morning coffee. Anthony hesitated. "Well, I would like to have a family someday. But there's no hurry. If you're not ready - ."

Notice that Anthony doesn’t exactly say, “No” to Thérèse’s question. He just says, “Whenever you’re ready.” In the narrative, we have jumped to the pregnancy part and skipped over the strips in January with Elizabeth and Dennise North showing off their dancing in front of Thérèse and Anthony, and then later with Anthony staking out Liz at the bus station. Reluctantly, Thérèse agreed to look at the house. It didn't impress her. Still, she agreed it was a good investment.

Lesson number three is: Don’t move into a house your wife hates, no matter how good the deal is. She will never feel at home there.

Anthony tried to reassure her, but only made her angry. Forgetting that it had been her decision to start a family, she accused him of pressuring her into it.

Her decision? That’s definitely a retcon, which answers one of the biggest accusations of Anthony, that he agrees to take care of the child, if she will give him a baby.

When she walked into Anthony's office at Mayes Motors and blew up in a fury because he and Tracey were sitting together over the year-end review of the accounts, Anthony made a decision he had been considering for some time.

Here is the reference to the strip which talked about Thérèse being jealous of Tracey, who is a big-eyed, blonde.

After the baby is born, if you want to go back to work, you can. I'll take care of our child. It doesn't have to tie you down. Not at all."Thérèse stared at him. "You're not serious. No man with a shred of ambition could say such a thing and mean it."

Ha! This dialogue!

When they took possession of the house in early spring, she was interested enough to help Anthony plan the renovations to the living room and home office, although she shied away from any discussion of the nursery. He painted and furnished the baby's room himself.

Possession in spring. I guess we are holding to the retcon of house first, baby birth second which appeared in the August, 2007 strips. I note there is no mention of the baby-shower, where the baby is passed about as Anthony tells Elly he is going to move into the house in the summer.
Françoise Marie Caine was born early in the morning of March 7, 2005.

Roger Arsenault wasn't as successful at hiding his disappointment."She is a pretty thing. Just like her mother." He gave Thérèse a wink. "Don't worry about it, sweetie. Lots of time yet. I bet the next one will be a boy." He may have meant well, but the remark plunged Thérèse deeper into depression.

He may have meant well?

Although he was on paternity leave, he couldn't afford to quit entirely. Still, no matter what the demands of work or his own needs for sleep and food, his daughter always came first.

Anthony still does not seem to understand this paternity leave thing. However, it does match what was in the strip, with Gordon bringing him work.

"Post-partum depression doesn't usually last long, but since Thérèse was depressed before the birth, she might suffer from it for months. Even years." Their family doctor looked at him sympathetically.

The real answer is that if the post-partum depression is untreated, then it can turn into full-blown depression which could last for the rest of the person’s life. Thank you, Beth Cruikshank, “veterinarian”.

After four months, her apathy vanished with startling suddenness.

4 months means that we are talking July, 2005. So career-minded, not depressed Thérèse only existed for 1 month before the “I have no home” speech.

"I start work at Global Investments on Monday. It's entry level, but they've promised me a promotion in three months if I do well. I've bought myself some new clothes to start with." Her gaze sharpened into challenge. "I assume you have no objection?""No." Anthony winced as he caught a glimpse of the labels on the bags. He was struggling to make ends meet as it was.

Here is a problem. He winces because she has bought expensive clothes for her job, but her job will help make ends meet. Obviously, working at Gordon’s has affected Anthony’s knowledge of proper business attire. And the fun part is that Thérèse got this from her therapist.

"Good." Thérèse relaxed, stretched, and let out a long sigh. "It feels like I'd just woken out of a nightmare. Walking into Global, seeing my new office - it felt like coming back to life again. I cannot wait to get out of this house."

What did I say about the house? You see?

He had hoped that when she came out of her depression, she would be ready to make theirs a real family. Those hopes were dying fast.

A real family. Back to this again. The subtext is that he doesn’t want Thérèse to work, despite his claims otherwise.

He tried to draw her out about her new job, but she brushed off his queries. "There's no point, Anthony. A man who is satisfied working for a gas station and playing Mr. Mom isn't going to understand the financial circles I'm dealing with now."

This is the beginning of a set of sentences where Thérèse essentially trashes her marriage in front of Anthony and blames him for not having any ambition, and also pointing out how he has been bullying and manipulating her. Beth is getting set to justify Anthony’s actions coming up with the Howard Bunt assault and aftermath.

"Poor babies, both of you. If you're wondering why I'm here, Thérèse came by the house." "When? She just left here an hour ago." Anthony watched with a sense of loss as Clarice settled the baby to weary contentment."She must have come straight to our place. She said you might need someone right now. Anthony, why didn't you tell us your marriage was in such trouble?"

And in an instant, the set up with Thérèse is destroyed. She sends Anthony’s mom over to him, showing that she still cares for and is concerned about Anthony. Beth wanted to find a reason for Clarice to take care of the baby without it being Anthony calling Clarice to take care of the baby while he goes over to beg Elizabeth to wait for him, as it was portrayed in the strip.

The other man was bigger and powerfully built, but rage gave Anthony a strength he didn't know he had. He flung the creep to the ground, hammered him into cringing submission and pinned him hard.

Hammered him? Pinned him? Is that what they call ear-tweaking in Milborough and asking for an apology?

As soon as it was out, he was appalled at himself. After what she'd been through, the last thing Liz needed was any more unwanted male attentions. He kept his mouth shut and kicked himself the rest of the way for being such a jerk. When they arrived at the Patterson's home, he apologized with miserable sincerity.

And here is the apology we have been waiting to see for 3 years now. Make us feel good about Anthony, Beth, just as the strip is about to end.

"No, don't." Liz caught his arm. "Anthony, I'm fine, thanks to you. I've never seen anything as brave as the way you tackled Howard. Did you know he's been in the army? He's so much bigger than you, too." She drew in a shaky breath. "I was so afraid you'd be hurt. But you were so fearless and strong and - wonderful."

Army? That’s a retcon. Different from the man protected by his parents who paid for high-prices lawyers to keep him out of trouble.

She laughed suddenly. "Gosh, I sound like one of those eyelash-fluttering damsels in the old movies. I believe your next line is 'Shucks, ma'am, that warn't nothin'." Ha! Exactly where this came from!

Beth reveals exactly where Lynn got the inspiration for the whole Howard Bunt attack. 1950s Westerns. I still can’t believe Lynn wrote that story thinking it would work because it worked in a 1950s Western.

"Anthony, for heavens sake! Even old-fashioned heroes can't keep their feelings bottled up forever. Obviously you're hurting so much, you need to talk. I didn't realize - . Come on. The park is right here. Let's walk a while."

Retcon again. Elizabeth takes Anthony to the park AFTER he dropped her at her house.

They talked a while longer, and parted with a hug that was sad and comforting at the same time.

Then Elizabeth went home and burnt the roast, asked her cat why love was so complicated and told her mother about all these things with almost complete indifference.

Tracey was delighted to see him. "I've been trying to do a new business case analysis, but it's taking me forever. The way this area is growing, Gordon and I think it could use a real restaurant, something with a full dinner menu. We thought it could go on the other side of the coffee shop, where the detailing stalls used to be. What do you think?"

Now the one idea which John had attributed to Anthony has been given to Tracey instead. Doesn’t Gordon get to come up with any ideas for his business?

At Gordon and Tracey's New Year's party, he heard through the grapevine that Liz had a new boyfriend, a policeman in the northern community where she was teaching. The news left him miserable, but not surprised. A woman like her wasn't going to be available forever. If he had ever had a chance with her, he had missed it long ago.

I love that grapevine. And once again we go to the theme that Anthony is not good enough for the woman. Notice Liz is not at this party, so now we see still don’t know where she went New Years Eve 2006, where she got hammered.

He did his best to talk to Thérèse. Now and then he thought there was a glimmer of hope for their marriage. She was rarely home during the long winter months, but seemed to be in a good mood when she was. Sometimes he caught her smiling for no reason at all. When he asked her, though, she never said what she was thinking.

Time for Thérèse cheating is after New Years’ Eve, and we will note that in chronological order:
1. Thérèse says the marriage is going nowhere.
2. Anthony asks Liz to wait for him.
3. Thérèse cheats.

It came as a jolt when he received a summons that fall to testify in the Howard Bunt assault case. He had almost forgotten the trial was coming up.He and Liz met in the courthouse when they went to give their depositions. It should have been an awkward meeting, but they fell into the comfortable rapport of old friends as easily as if they had never had that difficult, emotional conversation in the park.

Whoa! Beth completely skipped over the awkward car test drive situation in July, 2006.
He was surprised and pleased to see Liz at his office one day in the spring. It was even more of a surprise to find out why she had come.

Beth completely skips over the dialogue about how Anthony knew about her and Warren’s date, after she broke up with Paul. And please note, that Anthony, who was never worthy of any woman, is asked by Elizabeth to the wedding. At last Anthony is worthy.

On the morning of the wedding, he was in the middle of shaving when Francie wandered into the bathroom and stood solemnly watching him.
"Daddy. Are you a gwampa?" Surprised, he looked down at her.
"No, just a daddy. Why?"
"Zach says you look like his gwampa, 'cause you have a moustache."

Granthony affirmed! That explains the moustache disappearing. Now how about the new glasses?

Francie was intrigued with Liz at first, then a little jealous. Now his daughter has accepted her happily as her new best friend.

But not as her mother. Beth is not even going to cover the Christmastime meeting with Thérèse.

14 Comments:

Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

She disappears without a trace. The father removes evidence she existed. And she is never seen again. It has all the elements of a mother who has been murdered by the father.

It seems obvious that that analogy will sail right over Beth and Lynn's heads when people point that out to them.

This is the moment when Thérèse should have broken the engagement.

From her perspective. Anthony Caine asks her to join him in a university dance club. It turns out he is very good and she loves dancing with him. She finds out he comes from a respectable family and takes him to meet her parents. Her parents approve. Everything lines up for Thérèse.

Then Anthony mentions Liz and after protesting that there is nothing between them, takes her on a date where people Thérèse knows will see it. That is flagrant. Even if Anthony truly believes that there was nothing wrong with what he did, then does Thérèse want a man who is that stupid?


She does if she doesn't want to be cut out of Old Man Arsenault's will. [By the way, most people thought of the words "arsenal" and "arsenic" when they saw the name.]

She has missed out on Liz’s first meeting with Thérèse. In the bio version, their first meeting was Anthony’s wedding. In the strip, Liz talks about (but we do not see) a meeting before the wedding and it is a crucial one; because after that meeting Liz decides to fight back.

I can guess what went on. Therese dropped broad hints that she thought Liz had designs on Anthony and the Caine fortune and Liz's stuttering and sputtering denial, while the truth, only added fuel to the fire of jealousy. Liz, not knowing anything about her accuser's background, quickly decided that the lady yelling abuse at her was crazy and evil. It will take years for Anthony (who hates conflict enough to want to make the two of them friends) to convince her otherwise.

2:24 AM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2

It seems obvious that that analogy will sail right over Beth and Lynn's heads when people point that out to them.

I doubt there will be many. Only the staunchest of readers are going to launch into that biography, must less try to make sense of it. [BTW. Thanks for taking the time to read my overly-long take on the bio.]

She does if she doesn't want to be cut out of Old Man Arsenault's will. [By the way, most people thought of the words "arsenal" and "arsenic" when they saw the name.]

“Arsenal” and “arsenic” will work, but with Lynn Johnston, it is always safest to go for a butt joke. As for Thérèse wanting to stay in the old man’s will, that is motivation. When I look at poorly-dressed, stammering Anthony, I can’t imagine why her father would see anyone there who could run his business. However, I have to remember that biography Anthony is the business genius, who is masterminding Gordon Mayes’ success, and yet never manages to say, “With the financial backing of my father and step-grandfather, I could start a business of my own and truly be my own man.”

I can guess what went on. Therese dropped broad hints that she thought Liz had designs on Anthony and the Caine fortune and Liz's stuttering and sputtering denial, while the truth, only added fuel to the fire of jealousy. Liz, not knowing anything about her accuser's background, quickly decided that the lady yelling abuse at her was crazy and evil. It will take years for Anthony (who hates conflict enough to want to make the two of them friends) to convince her otherwise.

I will have to disagree with this one. It’s one thing for a Patterson to think someone is evil. They do that all the time. It’s a whole different thing for a Patterson to think someone is evil and take action over it, as Liz does with her Dennis North preparation. Think about how many times you have seen a Patterson actively seek revenge in this strip. It is a rare event. Plus I would love to see Elizabeth’s reaction to a “Caine fortune”. “But Anthony! We have to live as though we are poor. You can’t have an inheritance.”

7:06 AM  
Blogger DreadedCandiru2 said...

howard,

It’s a whole different thing for a Patterson to think someone is evil and take action over it, as Liz does with her Dennis North preparation. Think about how many times you have seen a Patterson actively seek revenge in this strip. It is a rare event.

This tells me that we'll have to wait for Thérèse's bio to see what it was that infuriated Liz so much. Knowing how sensitive Liz can be at times, any old thing could have set her off.

7:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“Arsenal” and “arsenic” will work, but with Lynn Johnston, it is always safest to go for a butt joke.

I doubt she was going for a joke at all when she chose Thérèse's surname. Arsenault is a very common name in Canada, even outside of Quebec. Kelpfroth was obviously intended to be a silly-sounding name for unlikeable people. Arsenault is just a name.

Actually, Anthony's bio aroused sympathy within me for Thérèse. While I don't advocate abandoning a child, I think her counsellor was right when he told her to live the life she wanted for a change. Her father saw her as a brood mare who could give him the son he never had instead of recognizing her considerable talents--that's some pretty miserable baggage to carry around with you all your life. Completely abandoning Francie wasn't very nice, but I can understand why she'd want to stop striving for her father's goals and start reaching for her own.

She disappears without a trace. The father removes evidence she existed. And she is never seen again. It has all the elements of a mother who has been murdered by the father.

Hee--you're right! Maybe Anthony will inherit his father's house, decide to do renovations, and find Hanneke mummified in a wall. :-)

10:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are the best!! Thanks so much for the synopsis. I would have never made it through the boring life of Anthony without your insightful and accurate analysis.

12:09 PM  
Blogger howard said...

DreadedCandiru2,

This tells me that we'll have to wait for Thérèse's bio to see what it was that infuriated Liz so much. Knowing how sensitive Liz can be at times, any old thing could have set her off.

The Anthony bio has a lot of Thérèse perspective in it as it is. What we need is Liz perspective. However, you bring up an interesting point. Once the modern story is done, and the Liz and Anthony marriage is no longer a question for debate, the question of what happened in the first meeting between Liz and Thérèse becomes a moot point. If Beth Cruikshank produces a Thérèse biography some months from now, I will probably not care.

3:47 PM  
Blogger howard said...

Kristina,

I doubt she was going for a joke at all when she chose Thérèse's surname. Arsenault is a very common name in Canada, even outside of Quebec.

When Lynn Johnston goes for common names, that usually means it is homage to someone she knows. There are 6 Arsenaults in North Bay, but none of them Roger.

Completely abandoning Francie wasn't very nice, but I can understand why she'd want to stop striving for her father's goals and start reaching for her own.

Post-partum depression or not, Thérèse is portrayed as a woman with no interest in taking care of or having a child. If her father had not cut her legs out from under her, she would have never considered it. She repeatedly told Anthony she wanted a career first, and for some reason, he never got that. He wants a mother for his child and when Thérèse magically drops out of her depression and doesn’t become one, then he is off begging Liz to wait for him.

Hee--you're right! Maybe Anthony will inherit his father's house, decide to do renovations, and find Hanneke mummified in a wall. :-)

That would be a fun story, but there’s no time left for it.

3:48 PM  
Blogger howard said...

Anonymous,

You are the best!! Thanks so much for the synopsis.

You’re welcome. This one took awhile to cover because the material is near and dear to my heart, since it involves Howard Bunt.

3:48 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

You know what else Beth messed up? The reason for Thérèse returning to London in December, 2001 was supposed to be that her father was ill. But then--her father showed up at the NYE party that Thérèse had to miss because of his illness.

Also, Beth makes it sound as though Anthony and Glenn moved into the Mrs. Dingle apartment right away. But that did not happen until January, 2000--beginning of their second semester.

I agree that placing Thérèse's family in Toronto would have made much more sense. That's what yank_abroad and I have done for the bios we are working on (her Thérèse and my Anthony).

My bio will not leave out the first meeting between Liz and Thérèse, the awkward test drive, and the meeting at the mall.

4:00 PM  
Blogger howard said...

aprilp_katje,

You know what else Beth messed up? The reason for Thérèse returning to London in December, 2001 was supposed to be that her father was ill. But then--her father showed up at the NYE party that Thérèse had to miss because of his illness.

Good catch. Although it could be explained by a mix-up of communication between Thérèse and her father.

Also, Beth makes it sound as though Anthony and Glenn moved into the Mrs. Dingle apartment right away. But that did not happen until January, 2000--beginning of their second semester.

Another good catch. There is no mention of any other housing for Glenn and Anthony before Mrs. Dingle.

My bio will not leave out the first meeting between Liz and Thérèse, the awkward test drive, and the meeting at the mall.

I can’t wait. Are you going to include any elements from the Cruikshank bio?

6:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love your analysis! Isn't there anyone up at Foob central with an inkling of sense that would have maybe tried to edit some of this? Off topic question, I just checked out Liz's official profile and found it interesting that Anthony is still listed as a "friend" who's recently separated even the link to the "Second Chance" page reads find out more about Liz and Anthony's friendship. We've seen main page pics of Liz prepping for the wedding, Liz and John going down the aisle, and now Kynn's self-congratulatory pic. So the question is why was Lynn so gung ho for this abomination of a wedding and now she and the site don't even acknowledge it? I'm probab;y reading to much into this but your opinion is still appreciated.

9:24 PM  
Blogger howard said...

ruth,

Love your analysis!
Thanks.

Isn't there anyone up at Foob central with an inkling of sense that would have maybe tried to edit some of this?

No. Foob central only exists of Lynn and Liuba, phone answerer, these days. She has disbanded her studio because of the coming new-runs, and everyone who wasn’t fired, works out of their home. The webmaster, Stephanie, could edit it, but I suspect she is not strongly motivated. She has not even corrected spelling errors in the material which could easily be found running a spell-checker. She probably just posts what she gets.

So the question is why was Lynn so gung ho for this abomination of a wedding and now she and the site don't even acknowledge it?

The short answer is that the webpage is maintained by Stephanie, who has her own business outside of For Better or For Worse, so she doesn’t keep everything up-to-date. Moreover, Lynn Johnston is known to be computer-illiterate and computer-phobic, so most likely she would not know the difference.

The “Friends and Influences” page of the website is the least-often updated. If you look through the other characters, you will find many that are hopelessly out-of-date.

The Who’s Who section of the website has recently updated Anthony Caine, as you know and that is the one the webmaster usually tries to keep up, since Beth Cruikshank is writing all these biographies of the characters.

I would not be surprised to eventually find an update to the Second Chances webpage adding in the wedding strips once those are finished.

9:58 PM  
Blogger April Patterson said...

Although it could be explained by a mix-up of communication between Thérèse and her father.

But even with a mix-up, if her father weren't ill and was going to the party, why wouldn't Thérèse put on a nice dress and go with him? I pointed out the error to Stephanie and suggested the mother could be ill instead. We'll see if the retcon gets retconned. :)

Are you going to include any elements from the Cruikshank bio?

Maybe I'll keep the name Max. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else I'd want to preserve.

4:38 AM  
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