"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated October 26, 1926:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (JANUARY 13, 2022):
The first thing that I noticed about this strip was that it subverts McCay's more traditional impulses to lean into holiday strips, which I found really interesting. - 1/18
I wonder if the decision not to reinforce Halloween with this strip is one that reveals McCay's personal preferences… Halloween has never been emphasized as much as Christmas or Thanksgiving (Even Valentine's Day, early on)! - 2/18
I wonder if we might read this as McCay's personal biases against the October holiday? Personally, I LOVE Halloween, but I do know people who really hate it… I wonder… - 3/18
Furthermore, Flip mentions that it is close to voting day, as well. And, indeed, there was an impending election in 1926 slated to take place on November 2. - 4/18
This again reflects Nemo's unconscious (and possibly McCay's conscious) blending together of Slumberland and America. We've seen the American elections become a focus of Slumberlandians previously, so this doesn't stand out as strange. - 5/18
What *does* stand out as strange is the conversation about the Sphinx. - 6/18
The strip takes place in Egypt (the pyramids and desert are pretty clear indicators of this) and yet the Sphinx that Pill and Figures are examining is not an Egyptian sphinx… it's a Greek sphinx. - 7/18
While all types of sphinxes have the head of a human, typically, a Greek sphinx had the head of a woman, while the Egyptian sphinx had the head of a man. - 8/18
Now, knowing as we do, that this is Nemo's dream the contradiction makes sense. It's likely that Nemo has recently learned about the sphinx, but is not yet able to determine the difference between the Greek and Egyptian varieties. - 9/18
Of course, there is no real way to know whether this was an intentional or unintentional sphinx mix-up on the part of McCay… But, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. - 10/18
Personally, I think McCay knew what he was doing… I was initially quite confused about why the sphinx was being gendered so much throughout the strip… - 11/18
Flip's comments about her "bob" and even the visual details of what look like breasts (at least in the first few panels; especially 6) seemed strange to me… but it makes much more sense if McCay is adding this little joke for adult readers. - 12/18
Flip's bravado and confidence as he "tour guides" the group through the desert is much funnier knowing that a) he's making it up as he goes, and b) the sphinx being discussed doesn't even belong in Egypt. - 13/18
It reinforces the dream logic of a young boy and makes the setting and interesting piece to the narrative puzzle. For readers unfamiliar with architecture and mythology, it probably doesn't land as well… - 14/18
…But for those who have the background to understand the nuances here, it becomes a pretty humorous exchange. - 15/18
So much so that when the sphinx climbs out of the sand and begins to chase the group it read to me as the sphinx fighting back against both Flip's comments about her and the fact that… well, she doesn't belong there! - 16/18
Almost as if swiping back would end the dream and allow her to return to the Greek myths from which she correctly comes. - 17/18
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" #538. What's yours? - 18/18
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