Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Mary Worth 1,566

Now we know what Tom Harpman will read at his future mother-in-law's funeral.

To My Mother
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

Because I feel that, in the Heavens above,

The angels, whispering to one another,

Can find, among their burning terms of love,

None so devotional as that of “Mother,”

Therefore by that dear name I long have called you—

You who are more than mother unto me,

And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you

In setting my Virginia's spirit free.

My mother—my own mother, who died early,

Was but the mother of myself; but you

Are mother to the one I loved so dearly,

And thus are dearer than the mother I knew

By that infinity with which my wife

Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life.

Today's Full Strip

21 comments:

fauxprof said...

"The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe"?

It's official. Uncle Joe is messing with us.

(I propose a contest--which story is Elinor reading? My guess is "Masque of the Red Death".)

KitKat said...

Kudos to Wanders for zeroing in on just the right Poe poem.

A habitual wrong-number caller? Really, Beth? I sense a tendency to suspicion and, perhaps, paranoia. And look at all those pill bottles! Dare we hope for a matricide plot when Beth discovers that Elinor has quashed her romance?

Anonymous said...

Santa Royale, the land that time forgot. Where email, cell phones and, apparently, even Caller ID are still exotic extravagances.

Nance said...

@fauxprof--"Premature Burial"

I feel like Elinor's response to Beth in Panel Two is...dumb. More awkward and ill-suited dialogue from the feebleminded Moy.

We all know that Tom Harpman will don his superhero cape and come charging in because he is Super Helpful. The real plotline here is Mary Meddling With Elinor, the latter of whom will become beautiful once Kindness touches her heart.

Now, will Kindness come in the form of cake, pie, or a casserole?

Dave in Parma said...

With Elinor's attitude, I see her as more of a reader of the 'Incomplete Works of Edgar Allen Poe' so she'd have one more thing to complain about.

In the vein of NonyMous' comment yesterday, it appears that Beth is channeling her inner Velma from Scooby Doo today.

Typically people don't make a habit of dialing wrong numbers--those would be prank calls, although there is a church (in Parma Heights) that keeps putting our phone number (one digit off theirs apparently) in their directory each year. They probably wonder what is going on with all the noisy kids at church when they call.

Dave in Parma said...

@Nance--you're on to something. We've established that Tom Harpman is a 'nice guy' and that he can 'carry things.' This smells of Elinor having an accidental overdose on pills, or those butane lighters, and Tom Harpman coming to the rescue to carry her to the hospital, winning Elinor's gratitude and blessing.

A better ending would be Tom reviving Elinor with mouth to mouth, and they run off and elope, leaving Beth in her misery to take sad clown painting lessons for the next few years at Charterstone until Tom Harpman becomes widowed and available again.

(Should have put something in my coffee this morning).

KitKat said...

@Nance at 9:21 AM, Kindness will come in the form of Kelk.

The Kelk of Human Kindness said...

@KitKat, So true. Nothing compares to Kelk when it comes to comfort food. Kelk combines the soothing properties of warm milk and sea kelp in each tasty bite.

Chin Napkin Groupie said...

Considering that Beth and Tom's condos are a stones throw away from each other, do suppose there might be a chance that they will run into each other in the neighborhood? "Hi Beth, did the old crone give you the message that I called?

Thorpnotized said...

I wonder where Beth gets those wrap-around eyeglasses she's wearing (as seen in panel 2).

LouiseF said...

A suddent premonition: In tommorrow's strip, Beth picks up the phone and scrolls back through the recent calls to see that Tom Harpman has called but left no message.(Image of a haloed, golden-haired man springs to her mind.) This gives Mr.Giella the opportunity to draw Beth with a fetching "?!" thought bubble that will carry us through sometime next week before an explanation emerges.

JustSayin' said...

ACK!! This plot is so unimaginative, so cliche! So truly consistent with the rest of the drivel Moy churns out.

It really takes something (I don't know what) to be in a creative field yet have no desire to create original ideas.

Or, could her genius be in that she intentionally is giving us something to carp about? Bringing a certain perverse joy into our lives that is kindheartedly intended?

Nah...

Nance said...

@Chin Napkin Groupie and @Louise F--That's what I mean. The Major Plot won't be with Beth and SuperTom. They will take out their (literal) garbage and see each other and marvel woefully over the fact that Evil Elinor didn't relay the message.

The True Plot will be Mary's Meddling to put Sunshine up Elinor's orthopaedic skirt.

And if it takes Kelk, then so be it.

meg said...

Public Service Message: the elderly frequently take too many drugs; a personality change may be a sign of dangerous pharmaceutical interaction.

Get Elinor to the Betty Ford clinic immediately.

meg said...

fauxprof: The Casque of Amontillado.

I sense a solution for the Elinor problem, and Toby, with her tile-laying experience, can help with the bricklaying.

jennahrationex said...

Wow, Meg! My vote was for the Cask of Amontillado, too! - although I was thinking about Elinor somehow trapping Tom in the Charterstone basement and revealing that she's a lot stronger than she lets on.

Beth's comment about the "habitual wrong number caller" might signal a pattern of Elinor's having neglected to leave messages from Beth's potential swains, starting with the junior prom.

Chester the Dog said...

I used to have a telephone number that was vary close to the city pool, and would get calls late at night asking if the pool was open. I told them yes.

heydave said...

Quoth Elinor, nevermore.

Vicki said...

Remember that giant broom Tom had in his kitchen? Perhaps he could offer it to Elinor to ride around on. That should win her over!

Stuart said...

Wow that explains a lot about her.

I bet she is reading "The Cask of Amontillado"

After all she may of walled her husband up in a wall when Beth was a girl. Which would explain a lot.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.