"Little Nemo in Slumberland" dated November 19, 1905:
Transcript of Tweets by @LittleNemo1905 (June 1, 2020):
The first-tier triptych returns here in full force and I really love the composition that McCay presents… the two central characters, flanked on either side by the hulking guards really stand out. - 1/25
It's a near perfect visual palindrome and a wonderful optical illusion. As the reader's eye begins in the far left distance and scans right, we're actually drawn into the middle foreground to meet the characters, before departing back into the distance on the right. - 2/25
I really like this because my reading of this tier is that, though split into three panels, it is a single temporal moment. The effect the optical illusion gives is that the reader is dropped into the moment for a glimpse into the magic of Slumberland before being pulled out. - 3/25
Most importantly, we get very tantalizing foreshadowing at the end of King Morphesus' note… who would harm the Queen? How would she be harmed? Why would anyone want to harm her? These were all questions running through my head. - 4/25
It's also rather fascinating that this strip marks the first time that Nemo's house has actually transformed to accommodate his journey. In past strips, the setting change usually occurred off-panel in the gutters, but here his house actually becomes the gateway. - 5/25
To be specific, it is his "play room" that transforms and I believe the fact that it is this room that allows him entry into the cave of glass to be particularly meaningful. - 6/25
This strip is rife with psychoanalytic opportunity and there are about a dozen different potential interpretations for dreams about glass/shattering glass… however, I feel as though there is something to be said about the connection between location and dream, here. - 7/25
Nemo's playroom presumably houses his toys and things he can and often does play with. In his dream though, Nemo is warned countless times that he cannot touch the Glass Queen as she is incredibly fragile and will break. - 8/25
As I and any other parent can certainly attest too, highly breakable toys/objects do not belong in a playroom. So the dissonance created by these fragile Slumberlandians in Nemo's playroom creates in me a feeling of impending disaster. - 9/25
Indeed, caption 6 tells us that, upon meeting the glass Queen, Nemo "fell desperately in love with her" and couldn't resist her. That he ultimately "leaped forward" (kissing & shattering her) could represent his desire to play with forbidden objects in his waking life. - 10/25
It could also represent the young boys guilty conscious. What child hasn't broken something important of their parents and them tried to hide it in fear of punishment? It's almost a childhood rite of passage… - 11/25
But Nemo's selfish actions here not only prevent him from getting to Slumberland, but ultimately cost the lives of every glass citizen in the cave who all shatter around Nemo as he runs back to his bed. - 12/25
I also want to comment on the absolute beauty of the cave itself. The stalactites, with constantly changing colours, set a beautiful mood within the cave scenes. - 13/25
I'm not fully sold on this, but I wonder if the colours of the stalactites change as an emotional response to the panel content? The following colour analysis is largely informed by Patti Bellantoni's "If It's Purple…" - 14/25
So, the colour changes go from: yellow/red > blue > green > blue > red > yellow/red. - 15/25
The blue stalactites reside in the innermost part of the cave, where the main action takes place. Bellantoni says that, "in a blue environment, people become passive and introspective" (82). If you were made of glass, this is how you'd want guests to behave. - 16/25
Of course, Nemo breaks that pattern by leaping to kiss the Queen and, immediately, the stalactites become green. Bellantoni calls green a "dichotomous color" because it can represent both "fresh vegetables and spoiled meat" (160). - 17/25
Obviously, Nemo's actions here have represented a selfish and spoiled young boy who couldn't control his impulses. The green coloured stalactites fit perfectly. - 18/25
The red stalactites are interesting because, as Bellantoni tells us, "red is visual caffeine" (2). It also represents desire and power, though it comes with no moral imperative and will align with heroes and villains equally (2). - 19/25
This moment, as Nemo turns and runs from the carnage he's caused, could both represent how it was his uncontrolled desires that caused the damage, as well as reinforce that it was within his power to have prevented it. - 20/25
Finally, the cave entrance is the only place where the stalactites are two colours: red and yellow. They could, conceivably, be analyzed individually, but I think that the blending of the two colours makes for a more interesting analysis. - 21/25
Yellow and red together make orange. Orange is a unique colour because it has a "double-edged quality" (Bellantoni, 112). Like green, it is a sort of sweet and sour colour that can manifest in different ways. - 22/25
I see this as a warning that reinforces our feelings of unease as we enter the cave with Nemo. The colour combination of red and yellow repays the astute reader by warning them of the uncertain fate that will befall Nemo in the caves. - 23/25
It's a bit of a stretch, I know… but I love colour analysis and I think that this strip allows for a good reading of colour communication! - 24/25
This is my reading of "Little Nemo in Slumberland #6". What's yours ? - 25/25
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