| “ | „ | |
| ~ Charlotte Braun's first quote. |
Charlotte Braun is a minor female character from the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Her name is a pun on Charlie Brown's.
History[]
The first appearance of Charlotte Braun in the strip from November 30, 1954.
Charlotte's first appearance was on November 30, 1954. She was introduced as a female counterpart to Charlie Brown (a role later taken up by Sally). Charlotte has a very dominating personality, complete with obnoxious, loud-mouthed voice. She usually appears with Charlie Brown and Violet. She denies having anything in common with Charlie Brown despite them having similar names, forcing him to shout in one strip, "You don't have to be so insistent!"
Charlotte's life in the strip was very short-lived. She made only 10 appearances, the last of which was on February 1, 1955; a victim of being an under-used supporting character with limited comic potential. Her bossy, loudmouthed traits survived, however, in the form of Lucy, who gained much storyline potential after her personality was changed in the mid-1950s (until that time Lucy had functioned as a wide-eyed child of wonder). Interestingly, Lucy and Charlotte never appeared together, possibly because they could have been used interchangeably.
Though her days in Peanuts were short-numbered, she could have been the one to replace Shermy, a character who was quickly disappearing from the strip. When Charlotte was introduced, Shermy had only appeared once since July and had not spoken since May. In fact, Shermy was completely absent during the entire time that Charlotte was present in the strip. Shermy's last appearance before Charlotte was introduced was on October 13, 1954. (However, he was mentioned in a letter Charlie Brown wrote to Santa Claus in the December 14, 1954 strip, which aired during the time Charlotte was in the strip.) As aforementioned, Charlotte's final appearance was on February 1 of the same year. Shermy's next appearance would be on February 15, 1955, exactly two weeks after Charlotte Braun's final appearance.
In 2000, In April of this year, two months after Schulz died, a Peanuts fan named Elizabeth Swaim informed the Library of Congress that she would be donating a letter to the library, which was revealed that she had written to Schulz in 1955, requesting him to remove Charlotte Braun from the strip. Schulz replied that he would be willing to do so but said that the person who wrote to him would be responsible for "the death of an innocent child." Schulz concluded the letter with a picture of Charlotte Braun with an ax in her head. The letter is now in the United States Library of Congress.
However, some theories argued that Swaim was not the only reader who wanted to get rid of Charlotte Braun, mainly because Charlotte didn’t have the warmth or the humor of the other characters.[1]
Discarding Charlotte Braun response from Schulz saying, "Dear Miss Swaim, I am taking your suggestion regarding Charlotte Braun and will eventually discard her. If she appears anymore it will be in strips that were already completed before I got your letter or because someone writes in saying that they like her. Remember, however, that you and your friends will have the death of an innocent child on your conscience. Are you prepared to accept such responsibility? Thanks for writing, and I hope that future releases will please you. Sincerely, Charles M. Schulz."
Some strips which featured Charlotte Braun were included in the 2001 book, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz . All strips featuring the character were finally reproduced in 2004 and 2005 in the second and third volumes of The Complete Peanuts.
Trivia[]
- She makes a reappearance in Snoopy's Town Tale.
- She is the female counterpart to Charlie Brown.
- She is not only the first, but one of the many characters in the series to have a pointed nose. The others being Frieda, Lila, Lydia, Peggy Jean, Babette, Jaques, Dolly, Janice Emmons, Melody-Melody, Mimi, Evelyn, Mary Jo, Nell, The Four Princesses, The Cheerleading Squad, C.A.R.A. and The Little Red-Haired Girl.
- Frieda's character design may have been based on Charlotte's.
- She is the only Peanuts character to have an implied death.
Appearances[]
- November 1954 comic strips
- December 1954 comic strips
- January 1955 comic strips
- February 1955 comic strips
References[]
- ↑ A Cartoon Death on Your Conscience. ABC News. Retrieved on 2022-09-24.