Who Is This Woman, and What Have You Done With Elly Patterson?
Here’s the premise of the joke in today’s For Better or For Worse:
Dr. John Patterson comes home to find a mess on the floor and says, “What happened here?”
In order for this to be a realistic comment, this has to be a rare occasion.
Elly responds, “…it was a rainy day.”
If seeing a mess is a rare occasion, then this means that:
1. It doesn’t rain much in Milborough.
2. Elly’s personal involvement with her children on a rainy day is a rare occasion.
On the part of #2, I can completely agree. In fact, after so many strips where the mother ignores her children, it was refreshing to see one where that didn’t happen for a change..
Here is another area of deviation from the old strip. Elly used to be a mediocre housekeeper, and there were many strips where John would come home, find a huge mess, and wonder what Elly did all day. The new-run Elly is an obsessive house-cleaner to the point where she doesn’t have time to read a newspaper. Therefore, in the new-run, for John to come home to a mess, is an unusual occasion.
The other area of difference is Elly’s explanation of “…it was a rainy day.” Without any kids in sight, old-run Elly would be actively trying to clean up that mess, and might growl at John with his question. New-run Elly seems to be unconcerned, unemotional, and maybe even proud of the mess. She seems to be saying, “Look, John. I can act like a mother every once in awhile, and not go completely crazy over a mess.” While that is a very healthy attitude to have, it also seems very out-of-character with old-run Elly.
Dr. John Patterson comes home to find a mess on the floor and says, “What happened here?”
In order for this to be a realistic comment, this has to be a rare occasion.
Elly responds, “…it was a rainy day.”
If seeing a mess is a rare occasion, then this means that:
1. It doesn’t rain much in Milborough.
2. Elly’s personal involvement with her children on a rainy day is a rare occasion.
On the part of #2, I can completely agree. In fact, after so many strips where the mother ignores her children, it was refreshing to see one where that didn’t happen for a change..
Here is another area of deviation from the old strip. Elly used to be a mediocre housekeeper, and there were many strips where John would come home, find a huge mess, and wonder what Elly did all day. The new-run Elly is an obsessive house-cleaner to the point where she doesn’t have time to read a newspaper. Therefore, in the new-run, for John to come home to a mess, is an unusual occasion.
The other area of difference is Elly’s explanation of “…it was a rainy day.” Without any kids in sight, old-run Elly would be actively trying to clean up that mess, and might growl at John with his question. New-run Elly seems to be unconcerned, unemotional, and maybe even proud of the mess. She seems to be saying, “Look, John. I can act like a mother every once in awhile, and not go completely crazy over a mess.” While that is a very healthy attitude to have, it also seems very out-of-character with old-run Elly.
posted by howard at 12:00 AM
4 Comments:
howard,
New-run Elly seems to be unconcerned, unemotional, and maybe even proud of the mess. She seems to be saying, “Look, John. I can act like a mother every once in awhile, and not go completely crazy over a mess.” While that is a very healthy attitude to have, it also seems very out-of-character with old-run Elly.
That it does. It's refreshing to see an Elly that isn't totally downtrodden and crazed by the desire to clean things till they shine. Too bad we must spend next week watching John behave like a cad and harsh her mellow. Ah, well. Farely will arrive soon enough and we'll have lots of fun watching her nt understand dogs.
DreadedCandiru2,
Too bad we must spend next week watching John behave like a cad and harsh her mellow. Ah, well. Farely will arrive soon enough and we'll have lots of fun watching her nt understand dogs
We have been given a brief shining moment of an Elly who actually plays with her young children. Now that I think about it, we had a Sunday strip of John playing with Michael in the leaves last Sunday. 2 Sundays in a row of “For Better”. It’s like a breath of fresh air. Maybe the Pattersons will show us the happy next Sunday too. I wonder if I should become a Sunday-only reader.
Another interpretation: Maybe Elly does often play with her children, and make a mess, and John is just being a dick.
Howard, please don't become a Sunday-only reader! It's too much fun to read your blog entries about each daily strip as well!
muzition
Another interpretation: Maybe Elly does often play with her children, and make a mess, and John is just being a dick.
I was quite excited to see Elly play with her kids, and I wouldn't mind seeing it happen again. As for John Patterson, being a dick is a constant for him.
Howard, please don't become a Sunday-only reader! It's too much fun to read your blog entries about each daily strip as well!
Thanks. I wasn't really planning to become a Sunday-only reader. It is funny though how the world of For Better or For Worse is usually happier on Sundays.
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