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The Gospel of Marshall

James Marshall Fans:

A few more things I'm obsessed with:

*The "Complete" George and Martha volume talks about Marshall's growing awareness of a "less-is-more" aesthetic. In early George and Martha stories, the two characters would sometimes reflect, directly, on what they had experienced; a moral would be made explicit. This changed as Marshall "grew up."

Look at the early story "Split Pea Soup." At the end of the story, Martha catches George "vandalizing" the soup, and she has a heart-to-heart with him. But, then: Flash-forward to the end of Marshall's career, with "The Clock."

Same kind of story. George gives Martha a gift; unwilling to seem unkind, Martha conceals her distaste for the gift. But--here--there is no moment of revelation. No one announces a moral. Instead, Martha continues with her deception, and George remains happily (maybe semi-willingly?) deceived. And this is how the story ends! A children's story! So subversive. I'm obsessed.

*The "Complete" volume also reveals that Marshall worked hard at tiny utterances. If Martha spills a bunch of jumping beans, she could say, "Oh goodness!" ....But isn't it a bit funnier if she uses the weirdly archaic: "Oh My Stars!" --? When George makes a gift for Martha, he could say, "She'll love this." But isn't so much better that he instead says: "This will butter her up...." ??

I love that detail and that artistry. So very inspired by this guy!
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