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9chickweedlane2022-11-15 11:39 am
brigid) wrote in 9chickweedlane2022-11-15 11:39 am
A Twin by Any Other Name: Mary and... Lolita?
Thanks to rhyming slang "Polly" is a nickname derived from "Molly," a nickname for Mary or Margaret. "Molly" is extremely Irish- at one point "Molly" and "Brigid" were the names that non-Irish people called any random Irish woman regardless of her actual given name.
It's possible that Edda wanted to honor her grandfather (the man who married her grandmother and raised both of Edie's children even though one was not biologically his and was, in fact, the offspring of a Nazi officer) Bill O'Malley with an Irish name for her daughter. And just... look. "William O'Malley" is a man who dutifully attends Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, eats fish on Friday, has not discussed an emotion with anyone in his entire life except possibly anger, and has a mother who prays the rosary every night. Whoever Edda's dad is, he was Catholic or pretended to be or converted. Edie wasn't Catholic in her youth but boy she is now. William O'Malley's primary weapon in life is guilt and the fact that he's extremely disappointed in you.
Given what a massively terrible husband and father he apparently was, however, it's also possible that it's just a coincidence and Edda named her child "Polly" because she has terrible taste in names, doesn't realize that it's a nickname, and rejected "Pearl, "Mabel," "Ruby," "Edna," "Mildred," and "Gladys" because none of them have a rhyming name to accompany them.
So what about "Lolly" as a name? It's possible that it's a nickname for Laura or Lauren or another name starting with "L" but lets face it: most of us hear "Lolly" and immediately think "Lolita." It doesn't matter what age the person named "Lolly" is, adult or child, the association is "Lolita." And "Lolita" itself is a nickname for "Lola"! So we've possibly got here two kids whose names are nicknames based on nicknames. Recursive names!
It would also make sense for Lolly to be named after her biological grandfather, the Austrian Nazi officer and retired opera singer. Lorena, Lotte, Louise, something like that.
Amos is apparently Dutch and Lolly could have a Dutch name but Amos... is more a side kick than a protagonist in this strip. His past and parentage has never really been explored other than a week long gag of his mother making him PBBP (peanut butter and bell pepper) sandwiches for school lunch and Juliet having to threaten his parents (?? mother, at least) to come to one of his recitals. He'd never had family at his recitals.
Mary Margaret and Lotte, Polly and Lolly, would be cute names with an interesting story line.
Edda and Amos discussing their names and why they picked those names (Edda is the one who picked them) would be an interesting story. Instead she burst into the panel, announced their names, and they were never really discussed again.
And that's part of the frustration with this strip. There's all these hooks an interesting story could be hung on and instead we get humping on a table in a diner. Frequently. For weeks on end.
It's possible that Edda wanted to honor her grandfather (the man who married her grandmother and raised both of Edie's children even though one was not biologically his and was, in fact, the offspring of a Nazi officer) Bill O'Malley with an Irish name for her daughter. And just... look. "William O'Malley" is a man who dutifully attends Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, eats fish on Friday, has not discussed an emotion with anyone in his entire life except possibly anger, and has a mother who prays the rosary every night. Whoever Edda's dad is, he was Catholic or pretended to be or converted. Edie wasn't Catholic in her youth but boy she is now. William O'Malley's primary weapon in life is guilt and the fact that he's extremely disappointed in you.
Given what a massively terrible husband and father he apparently was, however, it's also possible that it's just a coincidence and Edda named her child "Polly" because she has terrible taste in names, doesn't realize that it's a nickname, and rejected "Pearl, "Mabel," "Ruby," "Edna," "Mildred," and "Gladys" because none of them have a rhyming name to accompany them.
So what about "Lolly" as a name? It's possible that it's a nickname for Laura or Lauren or another name starting with "L" but lets face it: most of us hear "Lolly" and immediately think "Lolita." It doesn't matter what age the person named "Lolly" is, adult or child, the association is "Lolita." And "Lolita" itself is a nickname for "Lola"! So we've possibly got here two kids whose names are nicknames based on nicknames. Recursive names!
It would also make sense for Lolly to be named after her biological grandfather, the Austrian Nazi officer and retired opera singer. Lorena, Lotte, Louise, something like that.
Amos is apparently Dutch and Lolly could have a Dutch name but Amos... is more a side kick than a protagonist in this strip. His past and parentage has never really been explored other than a week long gag of his mother making him PBBP (peanut butter and bell pepper) sandwiches for school lunch and Juliet having to threaten his parents (?? mother, at least) to come to one of his recitals. He'd never had family at his recitals.
Mary Margaret and Lotte, Polly and Lolly, would be cute names with an interesting story line.
Edda and Amos discussing their names and why they picked those names (Edda is the one who picked them) would be an interesting story. Instead she burst into the panel, announced their names, and they were never really discussed again.
And that's part of the frustration with this strip. There's all these hooks an interesting story could be hung on and instead we get humping on a table in a diner. Frequently. For weeks on end.