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Marcie is one-up on Peppermint Patty in every way. She sees the truth of things, where it invariably escapes Patty. I like Marcie.
~ Charles M. Schulz on Marcie[1]


Marcie is a major female character, known for her unassuming sweetness and intelligence. She was officially introduced into the cast of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip on July 20, 1971 (although a look-alike character named "Clara" appeared in the strip with her friends Sophie and Shirley as early as 1968). Her bookishness is contrasted with her best friend, tomboy Peppermint Patty, whom she always refers to as "sir"—one of many malapropisms she has. Marcie is insightful and introverted but always willing to help and is usually the voice of reason.

Surname[]

Marcie was never given a last name in the strip. In the TV special, You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown, her last name is Johnson. In The Peanuts Movie, it is Carlin.[2]

History[]

19710720

The first appearance of Marcie in the strip from July 20, 1971.

19711011

Marcie is named in the strip from October 11, 1971.

Marcie was first introduced as a camp attendee with Peppermint Patty in July 1971. However, she was not given a name until later that year, on October 11. The friendship between Marcie and Peppermint Patty started off unassumingly; with Marcie calling Peppermint Patty "Sir" in the very beginning, and Peppermint Patty calling Marcie a "dorky kid" in response. Over time, Marcie's character developed more fully, though she fits best as a supporting player and Peppermint Patty's best friend.

Marcie is an intellectual and a bookworm. She is well known for the high quality of her schoolwork, which provides a perfect contrast to Peppermint Patty's ineptness and has provided dozens of punchlines in the strip. She has a talent for music, having taken organ lessons with Mrs. Hagemeyer (Miss Othmar's married name). She speaks French fluently and once read The Little Prince in French for a school assignment. Although not a hater of athletics (she admired the success of Billie Jean King, for example, and also likes ice skating and caddying golf), her knowledge of sports often seems to be lacking and the rules appear to confuse her (Peppermint Patty: "There's no penalty box in baseball!").

Marcie also has a deep appreciation for the arts. In addition to her organ playing, many of the series' later gags involve her attending "Tiny Tots" concerts with Peppermint Patty, where she once again plays "straight man" to Peppermint Patty's cluelessness about the concerts themselves.

While Marcie is very smart and wise, she has sometimes shown naivete and can be goofy; as seen in the TV special It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown, in which she repeatedly fails to understand the proper way to prepare Easter eggs.

When the actions of Snoopy's World War I Flying Ace alter-ego shifted from fighting the Red Baron to fighting the demons of lost love and loneliness, Marcie would act as friend, confidant, and ultimately the "French Lass" for the flying ace on his sojourns to the Moulin Rouge.

Despite catering to Snoopy's fantasy thoughts, it is Marcie herself who finally shouts out to Peppermint Patty (after a suspenseful fight sequence) that Snoopy's doghouse is not a guest cottage and that Snoopy himself is a beagle, not "a funny-looking kid with a big nose."

Such outbursts by Marcie, however, are very rare; and do not disguise the fact that she is one of the all-around sweetest, most caring, and smartest of the characters in Peanuts.

Appearance[]

19800525

Marcie appears without her glasses in the Sunday strip from May 25, 1980.

Marcie has short dark hair (sometimes shown as dark brown and sometimes as black in animated cartoons). She wears a T-shirt and pants in all her appearances. She has never been depicted wearing a dress, unlike most of the other girls. She also wears glasses which hide her eyes that have only been shown in very rare instances. In most of the animated cartoons, her shirt is colored orange and her pants are shorts. In The Peanuts Movie, she wears a red T-shirt with black pants and white sneakers.

Family[]

19771102

Strip from November 2, 1977.

In the strip from July 31, 1973, Marcie states that her mother is designing a freeway, indicating that her mother is a civil engineer.

In a series of strips from October 1977 and November 1977, Marcie joins Linus in waiting for the Great Pumpkin (misidentifying him as "The Great Grape"). Her family reacts poorly and comes to take her from the pumpkin patch. Marcie later recounts the experience of being "de-programmed", which consisted of being harshly scolded at great length.

According to the strip from June 13, 1975, Marcie's grandfather plays left-wing in the World Hockey Association (a short-lived competitor to the National Hockey League that existed from 1972 to 1979).

We learn from a series of strips starting October 15, 1990, that Marcie's parents are demanding and expect their daughter to be perfect and get straight A's in school. On one occasion, an exhausted Marcie heads to Charlie Brown's house while taking a break from reading "Ivanhoe" and opens up to him about all the pressure she is under. She also reveals her parents have already picked a college for her and that all they care about is her academic performance. She ends up wondering if a parent can love a child who does not get perfect grades.

Relationships[]

Peppermint Patty[]

See main article: Peppermint Patty and Marcie's relationship

Marcie is considered Peppermint Patty's sidekick and best friend, she likes hanging out with Peppermint Patty. Although Peppermint Patty can at times get on her nerves; it bothers Marcie how poorly Peppermint Patty does in school, and how she will never do her work. It also annoys her that Peppermint Patty will never tell anyone about her love for Charlie Brown. However, Marcie looks up to Peppermint Patty and thinks she is a great friend.

Charlie Brown[]

See main article: Marcie and Charlie Brown's relationship

Marcie has affectionate feelings for Charlie Brown as well. Unlike Peppermint Patty, Marcie is not the kind to hide her emotions, often speaking openly and from the heart. She is always rebuffed, however, as Charlie Brown never quite gets the message. In one daily strip, Marcie kisses Charlie Brown (causing his hat to fly up over his head and hover there, and Snoopy to wonder "How does he do that?") and she says she knows that he could never want a girl like her so she will just leave him alone.

Snoopy[]

Marcie regularly plays with Snoopy in his fantasy life, most often as a "beautiful French lass" in a World War I Flying Ace sequence. Marcie sometimes acts as a waitress in a "French café" (usually her family's kitchen) serving root beer to Snoopy. In one series of strips from April, 1991, Marcie has to call Charlie Brown and ask him to come get his dog, because Marcie's mom says they can't keep buying root beer for him and Marcie herself is getting tired of washing empty mugs.

On some occasions, the Flying Ace has been shown to have a love interest in Marcie, though she never returns his feelings. A recurring gag involves Marcie making small talk in French while Snoopy frantically searches through his phrase book for a suitable response,

Linus[]

Marcie has had little interaction with Linus, despite them both being smart bookish characters. This could be a result of the two living in different neighborhoods and attending different schools in the comic strip.

In Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!!), they are both chosen to be exchange students in France along with Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty. Marcie is shown to care for Linus as she rushes to his aid almost immediately after she discovers that the Château du Mal Voisin is on fire.

Franklin[]

Franklin and Marcie live in the same part of neighborhood, so they interact quite often. They often make fun of Peppermint Patty’s habit of falling asleep during class. Franklin may have a crush on her, as shown in Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown, when he leads her in a waltz.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. "TV Guide:Feb 23-29"(1980), p24, Triangle Publications
  2. Marcie's test score with her surname Carlin in The Peanuts Movie.

External links[]


v - e - d
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Media

Films:
A Boy Named Charlie Brown | Snoopy, Come Home | Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown | Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don't Come Back!!) | The Peanuts Movie
Television Shows:
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show | This Is America, Charlie Brown | Peanuts | Snoopy in Space | The Snoopy Show
Specials:
A Charlie Brown Christmas | Charlie Brown's All-Stars | It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown | You're in Love, Charlie Brown | He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown | It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown | Play It Again, Charlie Brown | You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown | There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown | A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving | It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown | It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown | Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown | You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown | It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown | It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown | What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown | You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown | She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown | Life is a Circus, Charlie Brown | It's Magic, Charlie Brown | Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown | A Charlie Brown Celebration | Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown? | It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown | What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown? | It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown | Snoopy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown | You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown | Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! | Snoopy!!! The Musical | It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown | Why, Charlie Brown, Why? | Snoopy's Reunion | It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown | It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown | You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown! | It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown |It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown | A Charlie Brown Valentine | Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales | Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown | I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown | He's a Bully, Charlie Brown | Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown | Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne | Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown | Snoopy Presents: To Mom (and Dad), With Love
Books:
The Complete Peanuts | Other Peanuts reprint books | Comic books
Music:
The Peanuts Movie (soundtrack)

Characters

Main characters:
Charlie Brown | Patty | Shermy | Snoopy | Violet Gray | Schroeder | Lucy van Pelt | Linus van Pelt | "Pig-Pen" | Sally Brown | Frieda | Woodstock | Peppermint Patty | Franklin | Marcie | Rerun van Pelt | Spike | Eudora | Lydia | Peggy Jean
Minor characters:
Charlotte Braun | Clara | Shirley | Sophie | Cormac | Cat next door | Emily | Ethan | Faron | Floyd | The Goose Eggs | Janice Emmons | Joe Agate | Joe Shlabotnik | José Peterson | Lila | Little Red-Haired Girl | Mary Jo | Maynard | Mimi | Miss Othmar | Molly Volley | Charlie Brown's pen(cil) pal | Poochie | Roy | Royanne | Russell Anderson | "Shut Up and Leave Me Alone" | Tapioca Pudding | Thibault | Truffles | Snoopy's Beagle Scouts | Snoopy's siblings | Snoopy's parents | Kite-Eating Tree | Great Pumpkin | Red Baron | Easter Beagle | Harold Angel

Locations

Ace Obedience School | Brick wall | Brown house | Daisy Hill Puppy Farm | Lucy's garden | Lucy's psychiatry booth | School building | Setting | Schroeder's piano | Snoopy's doghouse | Tree

Recurring themes

Aaugh! | Ace Airlines | Baseball team | Beethoven's birthday | Bubble gum | Bunny Wunny | Football gag | "I got a rock" | Linus' security blanket | Mr. Spaceman | Mrs. van Pelt's pool table | Patting birds | Pawpet Theater | Sally's philosophies | Snoopy's Beagle Scouts | Snoopy's alter egos | Spike's cactus | Suppertime | Sweet Babboo | Unrequited love | World War I

Songs

20th Century Fox Fanfare | Beethoven Day | The Book Report | Bows | Cha Cha Slide | Christmas Time Is Here | The Doctor Is In | Don't Be Anything Less Than Everything You Can Be | Easter Theme | Edgar Allen Poe | Failure Face | Glee Club Rehearsal | Great Pumpkin Waltz | Happiness | Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | Heartburn Waltz | Hurry Up Face | I Know Now | Joe Cool | Just One Person | The Kite | Let's Have a Party | Linus and Lucy | Little Birdie | Little Known Facts | Lucy Says | Musical Chairs | My Blanket and Me | My New Philosophy | Over the River and Through the Woods | Queen Lucy | The Red Baron | Schroeder | She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain | Slow, Slow, Quick! Quick! (Doin' the Foxtrot) | Snoopy | Suppertime | Thanksgiving Theme | We're Gonna Have a Party Tonight | You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown | You're in Love, Charlie Brown

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