Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT Strips 3816-3820 (27-31 August 2018)

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Tova:
Yes, I've been thinking that. Marten is a dogsbody at best in this job, and has neither motivation nor prospects for advancement there. I suppose from Claire's perspective it's a foot in the door, but surely she will be aiming higher.

If there's anything under the surface of this conversation - and seeing as I complained about a lack of subtext recently, it behooves me to search for it - then maybe this recent storyline is really about a more fundamental conflict between Marten and Claire. And that is Claire's highly motivated career trajectory and Marten's complete lack of interest in pursuing a goal of any kind.

Something else that occurred to me overnight was that Marten is doing the stereotypical guy thing of trying to solve Claire's problems rather than simply actively listening. It's probably more of a Jeph thing, I suppose - one character vents their problems and another neatly solves them in a tidy five-strip series. But often in this kind of situation, where someone needs to unload this kind of stress, I have found that what they really need is a sounding board. Maybe some reflection. I don't think Marten will suggest anything that Claire couldn't work out herself given the opportunity to "talk it out" (to borrow one of Jeph's favourite phrases).

pallanox:
I pull back my previous comment.


I associated her statement of martens privilege to her being different.

I think her personality is something that marten can be only partly expected to be tolerated.

Again, I pull back my statement. 

The problem is we have seen martens struggles. She has not. Assuming he got ahead because of privilege,  shows her lack of empathy.

pwhodges:
Thanks.

I dare say that they have talked quite a lot, as couples do, so she probably knows more about Marten than you think.  But panic of the sort that we are being shown can cloud judgement very effectively.

bovinity:

--- Quote from: pallanox on 28 Aug 2018, 15:23 ---The problem is we have seen martens struggles. She has not. Assuming he got ahead because of privilege,  shows her lack of empathy.
--- End quote ---

You're not wrong there, but I don't think she meant "privilege" in the sense of Trans vs. Cis (Or any other social privilege) in this context. Just that in her view him getting that job at all is a great privilege for him. Maybe it wasn't the best word to use in the context.

Again, at least I think so. Can't presume to speak for the author/characters.

Is it cold in here?:

--- Quote from: bovinity on 28 Aug 2018, 13:19 ---The only thing that bugs me about the recent panels is this idea that Marten has some kind of amazing job just because it's in a library. His job is basically a "Library Assistant" at best if I remember right. It's as entry level as you can get, no qualifications, no real career path for most.

No one actually going through school for their MLS would even want that job. Claire - or any other person going through school for their MLS or other library related degree - being jealous of that just because it's "in a library" would be like someone getting an MBA and aiming for a C-level position but being jealous of someone in the mail room just because it's "in a corporation".

Not sure if that's an issue on the part of the writer or the characters, but it irked me so I just had to vent. :D

--- End quote ---

I was startled at that too but then remembered what my friend the librarian has been telling me about that job market. Maybe people with master's degrees really would kill for a job pushing a book cart.

Tai did seem to be pushing Marten onto a career track when she put him in charge of supervising the interns, unless of course that was just her being lazy. So maybe the job is better than it looks.

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