Aunt Marian (sometimes spelled Aunt Marion) is the name of an unseen aunt in at least three different Peanuts families. Charles Schulz used "Aunt Marian" as a recurring name throughout the strip, particularly when the children cited the wisdom or sayings of an older relative.
Families known to have an Aunt Marian/Marion include:
- The Grays : Violet is the first Peanuts character to mention an Aunt Marian (spelled with an "a") when she mails her a card on November 12, 1958 to mark her 40th birthday. This is the only reference to Violet's so-named aunt.
- The Browns : First mentioned by Charlie Brown on June 16, 1959 when he counsels Linus, who is upset with his sister's treatment of him, that his Aunt Marian always says, "You can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives." Charlie Brown refers to his Aunt Marian twice more, and Sally mentions her once, in the strip from March 22, 1991 ("My Aunt Marian says if you miss one streetcar, another will always come along.") On these four occasions, "Marian" is spelled with an "a" three times and with an "o" once.
- The Van Pelts : First mentioned by Lucy on January 25, 1963 when she tells Schroeder that he can stop worrying about Lucy talking to him about marriage, because her Aunt Marian married a trumpet player and says that one musician in the family is enough (to which Schroeder joyfully shouts, "Hurray for Aunt Marian!"). Lucy refers to her Aunt Marian on five subsequent occasions, the last coming on April 4, 1998 when she shouts from right field that Charlie Brown throws "like my Aunt Marian". Lucy is the only Van Pelt sibling to mention an Aunt Marian; on those occasions, "Marian" is spelled with an "a" five times and with an "o" once.
In addition, even Snoopy refers to his Aunt Marian (spelled with an "a") once: on September 18, 1999, when he muses, "My Aunt Marian was right, but I forgot what she said."
In all, "Aunt Marian" or "Aunt Marion" is mentioned in 12 Peanuts strips, by five different characters. It is never specified whether multiple families happen to share the same aunt, or if Aunt Marian and Aunt Marion are indeed different aunts.
Lucy's Aunt Marian[]
Of the Peanuts kids, Lucy most frequently cites her Aunt Marian, often during her attempts at romantic conversation with Schroeder.
Lucy's Aunt Marion is referred to for the third time in the strip from October 10, 1980.
In the Sunday strip from February 24, 1963, Lucy yet again tries to get Schroeder to visualize them being married someday, to which Schroeder persistently replies, in increasingly verbose terms, that such a concept is beyond his mind's capability to grasp. Annoyed, Lucy turns and mutters "My Aunt Marian was right. Never try to discuss marriage with a musician."
On the third occasion, (October 10, 1980), Lucy tells Schroeder that her Aunt Marion (with an "o" this time) told her not to fall in love with a trumpet player. When Schroeder points out that he doesn't play the trumpet, Lucy casually asks why he thought she was referring to him, then smiles triumphantly.
In a strip for Beethoven's birthday (December 16, 1980), Lucy tells Schroeder that her Aunt Marian (back to being spelled with an "a") was born in bed, "to be close to her mother".
In the strip from June 2, 1991, Charlie Brown sees Linus walking along with his security blanket in his mouth, the result of his latest fight with Snoopy. When he asks Lucy about it, Lucy replies that her Aunt Marian says "you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your relatives". Interestingly, in the strips from June 16, 1959 and October 12, 1982, Charlie Brown tells Linus and Peppermint Patty, respectively, that his Aunt Marian told him the same thing. There was never any suggestion in the strip that the Browns and Van Pelts were related, so it is assumed the children are referring to different people.
Aunt Marian is also mentioned by Lucy in Play It Again, Charlie Brown and the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.