Friday, September 7, 2012

Watchmen: Chapter IX - page 7



PAGE 7

Panel 1:  It will become obvious by the end of the chapter, but the remarks from Laurie’s mother in this memory – “…shouted at him, he looked surprised, couldn’t imagine why I’d bear a grudge…” – refer to Eddie Blake (the “him” in her dialogue).

Panel 3: And, as we can surmise from Sally’s remark of how her husband – Larry Schexnayder, whom we discover in the back-matter was Sally’s agent before they married – might dramatize Sally’s encounter with Blake – “…my wife described how his rough hands slowly squeezed…” – she and Eddie have had at least one intimate encounter.

Panel 4:  The objects in this room – dedicated to Sally’s adventuring as the original Silk Spectre and which include her costume, pictures of Sally in her heroic identity, and the Minutemen picture in the far background – when juxtaposed against Sally’s dialogue, “…he was there…plus, he was gentle.  You know what gentleness means in a guy like that…” are more subtle indications that the man in question is Edward Blake.

Panel 6: Sally’s comment that Laurie is “[her] child” and not “[their] child,” as Schexnayder remarked in the previous panel is important, as Laurie is not the daughter of Schexnayder.

Also note that Sally’s assertion that “[Laurie’s] future [is] taken care of…” is juxtaposed with a young Laurie fondling the Silk Spectre costume, symbolizing that Laurie’s future involves carrying on the legacy of her mother’s costumed identity.

Panel 9:  Laurie’s description of the snowglobe seeming to have “some different sort of time.  Slow time…” is a remark on the structure of this chapter, and, more importantly, a reflection on the recurring image of the tumbling Nostalgia bottle.

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