There are two things about this bedroom scene that I've taken from how FOOB handled this couple. One can only be seen in the artwork.
Oh, and feel free to dissect all the implications of "last Christmas' meltdown about how she'd never have more grandkids because Liz wasn't married"
21 comments:
I couldn't help but think that it would be Christmas of 07 (even tho it would mess up the timeline), where Anthony ignored his own family to spend the day with the Pattersaints? And then awkwardly thought ballooned about how "everything was just getting started" or something? I could see Elly attemping to hint about how they should get married, and going about it all wrong.
Heh. Deanna has on one of those iron-curtain nightgowns that even my grandmother wouldn't have been caught dead in.
Poor Deanna. She looks as if she's about to break down herself; not only does she have to deal with Elly's ranting about how Merry and Robin aren't good enough now that they're no longer cute, she's still not getting adequate support from Mike. Would I be dropping a spoiler if I guessed that one of your top priorities is getting that ridiculous jerkwad to get over himself?
cedar We're in Dec 2009 - this is the unseen Dec 2008 that Deanna's remembering. I skipped over all of April's final year of High School (and Liz' job-hunt) in one post
So Deanna's musing about a meltdown Elly had a few months after the wedding-that- wasn't.
teresa caught one of the two bedtime things I lifted: Deanna wears unflattering nightgowns. There was one strip where she brought out the flannels for winter.
dc2 ... or maybe I'm just running with it for now. We'll see.
teresa caught one of the two bedtime things I lifted: Deanna wears unflattering nightgowns.
Is the other that she sleeps on the left or that Mike avoids night-time discussions by going to write and leaving Dee alone?
forworse it's that Mike avoids Dee by writing. There have been a few strips where she's found him writing at bedtime, including at least one where she has tried to take her husband to bed, only to be rebuffed as he wants to write.
Yes, I know we're in 09. I was just saying what my first impression was--I like the idea of Elly going nuts even on perfect Anthony, just because they weren't married yet. Plus, Elly had just started spending a lot of time thinking about Mike and Liz's childhood during that time, so it makes sense with her losing her grip on reality.
Poor Deanna, it's hard being a single mom with no support. At least Liz is around to help her now. I wish Mike would just move out, I bet Dee would be less stressed then.
I actually like Dee's nightgown. I have one like that, they're really useful in northern climates. And no real man would be phased by it; of course, if it keeps Mike away from her, that would be a plus.
If Dee really wants her nightgown to keep Mike away, she should have some Shakespeare embroidered on the front. Like oil and water, baby. Oil and water...
Anyway, I'd wager that Blandthony is about to use the Patterfoob family crisis to slip his big, boring foot in the door of Liz's life again, giving the more aware members of her family a chance to see his true face.
sour_kraut,
Anyway, I'd wager that Blandthony is about to use the Patterfoob family crisis to slip his big, boring foot in the door of Liz's life again, giving the more aware members of her family a chance to see his true face.
Not only them but John as well. Once he sees Assthony for what he is, he's going to regret pimping Liz out to him.
Dreadedcandiru2: I don't think it's just the fact that Merrie and Robin aren't as cute in her eyes anymore, I think that, in a couple of ways, they don't quite count as "real" grandchildren to her. Why? Because Deanna's not her daughter. I imagine that, in Elly's eyes, Liz's pregnancy would have led to a significantly stronger bond between them, and, therefore, between Elly and the grandchild, as well. (Let's face it, she never seemed a particularly involved grandmother to Merrie and Robin.) Though many normal mothers and daughters do develop stronger bonds during the daughter's pregnancy, I think that, to Elly, this would signify greater control over Elizabeth's pregnancy, which she calls "involvement." Since it was Mira and not Elly that got to exert the control over/be involved in Deanna's pregnancies, (or, at least, made the attempt), Deanna's pregnancies, and by extension, her two children, don't exactly "count" in Elly's eyes. Just as Connie will never get to be a Mother of the Bride, and, therefore, her son's wedding, if he ever has one, will never be "real" to her, Elly doesn't count herself as a "real" grandmother until she gets to inject herself into every single moment of the pregnancy and dictate what will occur as much as possible. Since she couldn't do that with Deanna, (and probably never would have that much interest in April's life), the bearing of "real" grandkids would fall to Elizabeth.
I'd say Merrie and Robin count to Elly, even if she isn't very involved with them - Elly did say more grandkids.
But she definitely completely ignored April's existence.
And made some assumptions about Mike & Dee.
Mana G,
In hindsight, that makes a lot of sense. It isn't a very nice of looking at the world but nothing the Pattersons do is all that pleasant.
First off, how much of Michael's "writing to avoid his fatherly duties" is writing because he has to. I remember visiting a friend when he was writing a book (quite a few times, may I add), and there was a lot of late nights where I heard the tapping of the keys well into the early morning hours. If he can't do it during the day, when else is he going to do it? (or is he supposed to give up on writing and get a real job? Especially after the "miracle 25K" to help buy the patterdump?)
Another thing to consider: Michael may have gotten a massive advance, but he now has to deliver. And the suits at the publishing company WILL sue to get their money if he doesn't deliver. Ask Meatloaf...
I wonder how much of the Patterson's disdain for Michael is inability to understand the writing life. Yes, he seems to write purple prose (look who drew him before...) and yes he's probably skimping on his household responsibilities, but it wouldn't surprise me if the responsibilities of writing more novels is weighing on him more than he lets Deanne know. Everyone only sees an ugly boy selfishly chasing an impossible dream; maybe he's in over his head in responsibilities to others?
godozo,
I wonder how much of the Patterson's disdain for Michael is inability to understand the writing life. Yes, he seems to write purple prose (look who drew him before...) and yes he's probably skimping on his household responsibilities, but it wouldn't surprise me if the responsibilities of writing more novels is weighing on him more than he lets Deanne know.
True enough; a man under the gun is going to do a lot of regrettable things out of necessity. He may wish from time to time that he had a less hectic life that didn't force him to fo stuff like this but he can't get out; he'd get sued and lose everything. If he were to remind someone of this, he'd be a lot easier to take.
it's that Mike avoids Dee by writing
I've got a strip to post where he's called out by Dee for doing just that (I think -- I haven't settled on the dialogue yet).
Interesting comments godozo, dreadedcandiru2. Suffice it to say that Mike & Dee are not perfect, but they do have reasons why they act the way they do. Some of this is starting to come out.
There will be more about this later, but first we need to document the pressure cooker of 24 Dec 2009. First strip of that should be posted tomorrow.
BTW, in Foob's Paradise, I decided that Mike does write purple prose in his novels; it's not just a deficiency of the original run's writing. The "remainder bin" and "Bulwer-Lytton" comments were well-earned.
Just because Mike writes purple prose doesn't mean he can't make a living at it. There is a market for purple prose. Maybe with practice his writing will improve until it reaches the level of trashy pulp fiction. There's certainly a market for that. Louisa May Alcott got her start that way. Mike doesn't seem to have the sensitivity to his family to go beyond it, but at least trash fiction sells.
I see Mike as suffering from (1)ordinary human selfishness compounded by having been his parents' darling, (2) old-fashioned husbandly disregard of how much work goes into making his home life comfortable, and (3) the very real creative and financial pressures of living as a freelance writer.
The obsessed artist (including a bad artist) who takes for granted the wife who makes it all possible is a cliche for a reason. Sure, Mike's selfish and Dee's letting him get away with it, but the situation is a real one. It's not just a matter of a narcissist and a doormat. Once he gets a formula down pat Mike might be able to make a regular living cranking out cheap romances without too much stress. With less pressure-- and a trial separation to make his realize how much Dee does for him-- he might become slightly less self-absorbed. Or he might not.
Jana C.H.
Seattle
Saith WSG: Nothing is so conductive to toleration as the knowledge that one’s bread depends upon it.
The man who takes his wife and family for granted is a cliche. That doesn't make it okay. It's also a lot more rare these days than it was in 1950.
You don't have to be an artist to be a workaholic. Most writers treat their writing like a job -- a job that allows them time for the things that matter more, like their children. Shakespeare got away with deserting his wife and kid (sort of), but I'm sure as heck not giving Mike a pass on it.
Graham Greene would get up in the morning, write a certain amount of words, and by the time noon had rolled around, be done. He was prolific and skilled. I am a writer and it never makes me ignore the people around me. Being a writer doesn't give one some kind of right to be an asshole. Mike gets less than no sympathy from me. He is simply a selfish, spoiled brat.
Mike doesn't even have any financial pressure. Publishers shower him with huge advances and his wife is a head pharmacist who makes a very good living. Mike's "pressure" is all of his own making, and exists because his head is wedged up his ass. Someone needs to give him an enema.
But she definitely completely ignored April's existence.
And made some assumptions about Mike & Dee.
This is a point I wanted to make (but Blogger and OpenID don't seem to be getting along well, so it took me a bit).
This is the first time we have a confirmed date for when Elly's insanity started to rear its head in ways even the Foobs would've found hard to ignore. After all, it's rather hard to just forget about someone going off on a tirade about never getting to have any more grandchildren because her eldest daughter won't marry.
And yes, Elly is either making some large assumptions, or she knows something about Mike and Dee that hasn't been told on-screen yet.
It could be that Dee had a miscarriage, or that she's back on the pills (or even had her tubes tied), or maybe they decided that two kids are enough and Dee had a hysterectomy. Or possibly, they just aren't having sex (gee - between the cast-iron nightgowns and Mike's near-constant worship of his co--er, muse, I wonder why that could be). Maybe they decided that two kids are enough, in today's economy.
Whatever the case - and whatever the difference might be between what Elly believes and the reality - the fact is that Elly doesn't see any more grandkids coming from Dee and Mike's side.
And Echo, I think you're overlooking something: while in the comic, yes, Mike got a large advance from the publisher and his book was (we're told) a best-seller...in Foob's Paradise, what happened in the comics seems to be largely all in Elly's head.
So Elly would certainly like to believe that her son is the next Great Canadian Novelist, about to be nominated any day now, for some award - maybe the Governor General's Award. But that doesn't make it so, any more than her telling the psychiatrist about how lovely Liz's wedding was makes Liz married to Bland-thony.
In the world of Foob's Paradise, Blood Cargo seems to have been a flop - or at least, not nearly as successful as we were told it was, in the comic; April speaks of Mike's works being found in the remainder bins, and I don't think she's saying that just to be mean - if I'm remembering right, she says it before she sees the article, after all, at a point when she has no particular desire to be unusually nasty to Mike.
So Blood Cargo was published - but it's not a successful book. So the advance is probably there - but I doubt it was anywhere near as large as we were told. Plus, there's the possibility that Mike's locked into a contract with his publisher (or even that he self-published - which would certainly explain why his "Great Manuscript" is mostly found in remainder bins) and that the only real source of income he's bringing in is his column-writing - which makes Deanna the real breadwinner in the family. Which probably rankles Mike no small amount - which would certainly explain the cold shoulder he's giving her.
So if Mike isn't the Great Author we were told in the comic, it stands to reason that Dee might not be the head pharmacist either, although she probably does work at the pharmacy. That synchs neatly with the odd shifts she seems to be working - either she's pulling extra shifts, to earn more money, or she's scheduled for odd hours, or both. In either case, the head pharmacist would be making a lot (as we know) and she'd most likely be the one making the schedule...and would be more than capable of scheduling herself for a time that would let her get home to make sure dinner was ready.
It does strike me as a bit odd, though, that despite Deanna's complaints that dinner is never ready (or even started) before she gets home, she hasn't invested in a crock-pot or anything similar. Surely Mike could be trusted to keep an eye on something that simple?
Also, would it be spoiling overly to say that I suspect Dee may end up leaving Mike - at least for a time - at some point and taking the kids with her? Probably due to one of the kids getting hurt while trying to make themselves a snack. I think that's the only thing that'd get his head out of his rear, anyways - if even that would work.
anodyne I'm taking the in-strip stuff as given, until July 2008. Head pharmacist - never was said to my knowledge. But Mike has a publisher, and Stone Season went over well. Blood Cargo's success had not been established, so I had it flop :-)
As for Elly, I think it more likely that she was making unwarranted assumptions about her son's family than that she had extra information.
I intend that it was a really bizarre meltdown (I assume that "James Alan" was part of it - Liz had heard that little bit about not providing a grandson before), but not a frightening break with reality, and everybody was willing to let it go.
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