High School Teachers, College Professors, and cultural savants of every stripe, get great mileage out of drilling down into a writer’s work to find the deeper, hidden meanings there..
I wonder how many writers purposely place these various gems into their work. Certainly a writer’s philosophy can seep through, but to actually build in wisdom? I suspect the greats almost never do it, and the not-so-greats try ever so hard.
In an interview today, Bill Watterson, creator of the much-loved Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, had this to say when asked about the deeper meanings people found in his work:
“The only part I understand is what went into the creation of the strip. What readers take away from it is up to them. Once the strip is published, readers bring their own experiences to it, and the work takes on a life of its own. Everyone responds differently to different parts.”
February 2nd will mark 15 years since Watterson retired Calvin and Hobbes.
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As the mother of “a Calvin,” I have certainly missed Mr. Watterson’s comic strip.