Marcie

From Peanuts Wiki

Marcie, forever known for her unassuming sweetness and intellect, was officially introduced into the cast in mid-1971 (although a look-alike character named "Clara" appeared in the strip as early as 1968). Introduced as a camp attendee with Peppermint Patty that year, the two grew to be best friends and gave Peanuts fans definite proof there were friends "from the other side of town" who would come to befriend the characters from the old neighborhood of the 1950s.

The friendship between Marcie and Peppermint Patty started off unassumingly; with Marcie calling Patty "Sir" in the very beginning, and Patty calling Marcie a "dorky kid" in response. Over time, Marcie's character developed more fully, though she fit best as a supporting player and Patty's best friend.

Marcie is well known for her intellectual talents in school, which played a perfect contrast to Peppermint Patty's ineptness and provided dozen of punchlines in the strip. Her talents also showed in ice skating and in the organ lessons Mrs. Hagemeyer (nee Othmar) gave her. She had an affection for Charlie Brown as well, but unlike Peppermint Patty, Marcie was not kin to hide this display, often speaking openly and from the heart. She was always rebuffed, however, as Charlie Brown never quite got the message. Although not a hater of athletics (she admired the success of Billie Jean King, for example; she also liked caddying golf), she was easily confused and was very naive towards them (Patty: "There's no penalty box in baseball!")

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

When the actions of Snoopy's Roy Brown alter-ego shifted from fighting Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) to fighting the demons of lost love and lonlieness, 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 was Marcie herself who finally shouted out to Patty, after a suspenseful doghouse sequence, that Snoopy was indeed a beagle, not "that funny looking kid with the big nose."

Such outbursts by Marcie, however, were very rare; and did not disguise the fact that she was one of the all-around sweetest, most caring, and smartest of the characters on Peanuts.