Crouching Connie, Hidden Connie
I am going to examine this reprint of For Better or For Worse, panel by panel.
Panel 1: Michael is looking out the window through a drawn curtain and says, “Hey, Lawrence! – Your mom’s home!” This raises a few questions:
1. Why is the curtain drawn if they are expecting to see Connie coming?
2. Why did Connie go home first instead of to the Patterson house to get Lawrence?
3. Why is Michael sitting on the old green-striped chesterfield and not Lawrence with his bum leg?
Panel 2: Lawrence goes to the window and pulls back the curtain a whole different way than Mike did in the first panel. In order for Michael to see, he pulls the curtain to the right. In order for Lawrence to see, he pulls the curtain to the left. Symbolism? It's hard to say. Lawrence calls, “Mom! Mom!” Maybe his mom will hear him through the window over at her house and will come get (rescue) him.
Panel 3: Then ::Boom:: out from nowhere, Connie appears. Lawrence appears frightened and shocked as she reaches out to him and says, “Lawrence.” Is Lawrence's horrified look because:
a. Of her ghastly new hair style and her brown hair colour?
b. Connie is so much taller than Lawrence that he barely comes up above her knee?
c. Connie magically appeared when Lawrence said, “Mom! Mom!”
d. Lawrence has realized he hasn’t seen his mother’s neck with a neck scarf?
e. Connie’s left arm is significantly longer than her right?
Panel 4: As Connie’s wig seems to be falling back off her head, Lawrence appropriately asks, “Mom! Is that you in there?” I can only imagine the amount of makeup Connie has placed on her face to get that reaction from Lawrence.
Panel 1: Michael is looking out the window through a drawn curtain and says, “Hey, Lawrence! – Your mom’s home!” This raises a few questions:
1. Why is the curtain drawn if they are expecting to see Connie coming?
2. Why did Connie go home first instead of to the Patterson house to get Lawrence?
3. Why is Michael sitting on the old green-striped chesterfield and not Lawrence with his bum leg?
Panel 2: Lawrence goes to the window and pulls back the curtain a whole different way than Mike did in the first panel. In order for Michael to see, he pulls the curtain to the right. In order for Lawrence to see, he pulls the curtain to the left. Symbolism? It's hard to say. Lawrence calls, “Mom! Mom!” Maybe his mom will hear him through the window over at her house and will come get (rescue) him.
Panel 3: Then ::Boom:: out from nowhere, Connie appears. Lawrence appears frightened and shocked as she reaches out to him and says, “Lawrence.” Is Lawrence's horrified look because:
a. Of her ghastly new hair style and her brown hair colour?
b. Connie is so much taller than Lawrence that he barely comes up above her knee?
c. Connie magically appeared when Lawrence said, “Mom! Mom!”
d. Lawrence has realized he hasn’t seen his mother’s neck with a neck scarf?
e. Connie’s left arm is significantly longer than her right?
Panel 4: As Connie’s wig seems to be falling back off her head, Lawrence appropriately asks, “Mom! Is that you in there?” I can only imagine the amount of makeup Connie has placed on her face to get that reaction from Lawrence.
posted by howard at 9:59 AM
8 Comments:
Since she looks as stylish as Doctor Venture, it's no wonder he wonders if she's 'in there'; he might, for instance, be thinking "No wonder she didn't come home right away; she must have broken her brain. After all, she thinks that this is a good look."
Just yesterday Lawrence appeared to be commenting negatively on the state of, or interior decoration of, the Pattermanse, so it's not inconceivable that his mother's atrocious makeover has horrified him. He is asking if that is his mother in there because he really, really hopes the answer will be no, it's just John in drag (take a good look at Panel 3), and Lawrence will not have to endure the humiliation of being seen in public with the Orange Q-Tip of Desperation.
DreadedCandiru2,
Since she looks as stylish as Doctor Venture…
Oh, Dreadedcandiru2. I thought you liked Doctor Venture.
forworse,
He is asking if that is his mother in there because he really, really hopes the answer will be no, it's just John in drag (take a good look at Panel 3), and Lawrence will not have to endure the humiliation of being seen in public with the Orange Q-Tip of Desperation.
If it is John Patterson in drag, then it would explain how she instantaneously popped up inside. The missing panel 5 has Lawrence saying, “No really. Mr. Patterson, why are you wearing a clown wig and pretending to be my mom?”
Why did Connie go home first instead of to the Patterson house to get Lawrence?
I took "home" to mean "back from Montreal," not "at her own house." Based on this strip, I don't think that Mike and Lawrence can see the Poirier house from that window. I suspect that Lynn didn't decide they lived across the street until much later in the strip's run.
aprilp_katje,
I don't think that Mike and Lawrence can see the Poirier house from that window.
There was an earlier strip where Elly followed Mike to Connie's house, and it was a good distance away. And yet...Mike pulls the curtain one way to see Connie at home and Lawrence pulls the curtain the other way to see Connie approaching the house. So I am not necessarily convinced that in Lynn Johnston's mind, Mike couldn't see Connie going to her house first.
And yet...Mike pulls the curtain one way to see Connie at home and Lawrence pulls the curtain the other way to see Connie approaching the house. So I am not necessarily convinced that in Lynn Johnston's mind, Mike couldn't see Connie going to her house first.
I dunno--I wouldn't read too much into the opposing curtain-pulls. I think they are just observing her pulling into the world's longest driveway. If Connie really were visibly returning home to her own house, why would she get back into her car and drive across the street?
I do like Doctor Venture; his non-existent fashion sense is part of his charm. It's sort of reassuring that he's that loyal to the horrible styles and music he grew up with; he's saying "Look out, World! This is what I'm wearing for the rest of my life"; that's a lot easier to deal with than Connie and Elly's endless anxiety and stupidity.
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