dreadedcandiru2 (dreadedcandiru2) wrote in binky_betsy,
dreadedcandiru2
dreadedcandiru2
binky_betsy

Friday, 13 July 2018

We encapsulate the kindergarten years by having Lynn contradict herself and talk about how Lizzie took the longest time getting over envying toddlers.

(Strip Number 1625, Original Publication Date, 14 July 1989)

Panel 1: We come to the home stretch with Elly saying that sending Liz off to kindergarten meant she wasn't a baby any more. This is accompanied by a visual that never appeared in the real past: Elly waving a teary-but-happy goodbye as Lizzie got on the bus. In reality, Elly stood around feeling like they were just going to toss her into a hole in the ground and kick dirt on her because having both kids in school meant she was too old to llive.

Panel 2: Elly talks about how she discovered that Lizzie could read and write; this is accompanied by a visual of her blanching because Lizzie called Mike something that starts with the letter "D" accompanied by a stick figure with what a four year old thinks a boy's penis looks like.

Panel 3: As we witness Lizzie-of-three-years-ago in the supermarket with Elly pointing at a woman who's carrying her baby and probably telling her that she wants to be carried too, the Elly that is narrating explains that it didn't take them long to discover something.

Panel 4: As Elly explains to the Liz of the here-and-now that the Lizzie of five years ago was too big to carry, we see Lizzie smile because Overburdened And Put-Upon Elly looks like she's about to stroke out from having to carry her.

Summary: It always baffled me that the Patterson children envied those younger than themselves until I realized that the point of it was to depict them as monsters who hated Elly's freedom and happiness.
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