"In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" dated May 03, 1914:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (AUGUST 11, 2021):
Well, after another month+ break between strips, Little Nemo and the gang return with a pretty interesting offering about the starting of a circus! - 1/21
The strip offers a standard spatial organization and not much formal intrigue to speak of, but there are some narrative elements that I think are worth mentioning. - 2/21
First, Flip goes through pretty official channels to try and set up his circus, which is a bit different. Rather than simply taking a horse from the stable, he sends a letter and requests one. - 3/21
The fact that the Princess agrees so easily also surprised me a little, but I do think that it had more to do with Splinters than Flip to be honest. - 4/21
Panel 3, in particular, is worth some specific attention. It would seem to me as though the discussion is meant to illuminate the potential of those who are less well-off than the Princess (and possibly Nemo). - 5/21
We've established previously that Splinters belongs to the working class of (Dre)America/Slumberland, but we've also established just how incredibly talented of an individual he is. - 6/21
By acknowledging this openly, McCay (through Nemo) seems to be advocating on behalf of poorer Americans. The suggestion that "if he only had a chance, he could do anything!" reads to me as social criticism about the potential of America's working class and the societal restrictions they faced. - 7/21
But, and this is really important, I can't help but wonder if this potential reading of social criticism is undercut by McCay's handling of Splinters' alter-ego, Madame Gazookie. - 8/21
Both Nemo and the Princess are surprised to see Splinters dressed as a woman at the circus in panels 5 & 6… though they both seem to have a positive reaction to it. The Princess says, "he looks grand!" and Nemo says "he can do anything". - 9/21
Admittedly, children playing dress-up is an incredibly normal element of child play, so I personally don't see anything too strange happening here. That said, I can't help but wonder if my more progressive 21st attitude is influencing this reading? - 10/21
In the 1900s, the social threat of cross-dressing was heavily frowned upon. This piece about "Our Cross-dressing Ancestors" was quite informative: -11/21
As Jordan notes, when women dressed as men, the primary criticisms were about traditional gender roles and the fear that women were gaining too much "self-esteem" and independence. - 12/21
By contrast, when men dressed as women, the criticism was heavily focused on sexuality and, in particular, the questions of homosexuality. - 13/21
Though we have created a far more inclusive and accepting world in the 21st century, at the time homosexuality was unquestioningly rejected and looked down upon by the hegemonic mainstream society. - 14/21
Now, I'm not suggesting that McCay was using Splinters for commentary regarding gender/sexuality… for children, it would likely have come across simply as funny dress-up moment. - 15/21
But, there is a dissonance here because there were certainly adult readers of Little Nemo's exploits who would, presumably, have read this moment entirely differently based on their experiences with and understanding of American society, as well as the expectations that come with it. - 16/21
So, while children *might* read across these two moments as confirmation that, given the right set of circumstances, a person (even a poor working class boy) can do or be anything that they want… - 17/21
Adults *might* also potentially read that though the working class has a near unlimited potential, taken too far, it threatens the societal normalcy that has been forged by the American upper class. - 18/21
While it's true that these competing readings actually demonstrate the transactional nature of reading in an interesting way, I do wonder if McCay's decision to have Madame Gazookie tossed from the horses back and then kicked doesn't lean it in one direction? - 19/21
There is actually much more to discuss in this week's strip, but having focused on Splinters, I'd like to leave the rest to see what comes up naturally through conversation. I'm eager to hear what others think about this one. - 20/21
This is my reading of "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams" #416. What's yours? - 21/21