Pretty Awful to Awful Pretty

Today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse is an interesting case study in the relationship between Connie and Lawrence. After flaunting her new hair style at Lawrence and thus showing him that her hair was more important than he was, Connie Poirier gives Lawrence an apology of sorts. “I’m sorry I was away when you were hurt!” Notice it isn’t “Lawrence, I’m sorry I didn’t rush home like I said I would, after you got hurt.” Connie addresses only the generic “I’m so sorry I was away when you were hurt.” It is an apology for something which Connie could not do anything about, as opposed to the thing which she could do something about. It is an apology specifically intended for denial, like Lawrence saying, “Oh mother. Don’t apologize. There was nothing you could about it being so far away.”

That’s not how Lawrence responds though. Not only does Lawrence give Connie complete forgiveness, but he compliments her appearance. Lawrence is pretty clever about this. He has indirectly forgiven Connie not only for the thing which needed no forgiveness (Connie being away), but for the actual slight, i.e. not coming home immediately and spending time getting a makeover instead.

Lawrence reverses the roles of Connie’s words. Pretty awful becomes awful pretty. Symbolically Lawrence also reverses the roles between him and Connie. He is treating her as if she was the child and he was the parent.

However, it is not quite as simple as that, for a parent has affection for a child. In the final panel, Lawrence words tell a different story. “Boy. Some grown-ups need a lot of understanding!” Lawrence’s thoughts are practically clinical. He doesn’t even refer to his mom as “Mom”, but “some grown-ups”. Moreover, it makes Lawrence’s actions appear not to be genuine, but a calculated means to give Connie the things he has deduced she needs.

Lawrence is no longer thinking of his mother in terms of a “mother who loves me”, but in terms of “a grown-up who needs understanding.” It is as if whatever affection he may have had for his mother is overshadowed by her overwhelming need. Honestly, I can’t blame him. He’s dropped off at the Pattersons by a woman who has shown fully that getting a man or getting a makeover is more important to her than responding to his own needs.

The astounding part is that 6-year-old boy would come to this conclusion. What must his home life be life for Lawrence to be forced to mature so fast? I have heard of children who had no childhood because of desperate situations with their parents, who develop extraordinary defensive techniques in order to survive. This strip shows us that Lawrence Poirier is one of these children.