Schulz's Beethoven: Schroeder's Muse
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Charles Schulz
Peanuts •  01/15/1958

From 1951-58 Schulz returned to the theme of Schroeder and his Beethoven bust on several occasions. In one strip (September 27, 1954), Lucy interrupts his playing to ask "who's the statue?" "Beethoven... naturally!" he replies. "I thought maybe it was your grandpa," she explains. In 1955 she smashes the bust. In a strip from August 26, 1957, she substitutes a photograph of herself for the bust on the piano, much to Schroeder's disgust. "I guess I knew I'd never get away with it," she muses. To win back his favor, in a strip from June 3, 1957, Lucy brings him a present: "I found you a new bust of Beethoven." After a quick examination, Schroeder announces, "This isn't Beethoven. This is George Washington!" Excusing her mistake, Lucy compounds the display of her ignorance: "I never could tell one composer from the other!" One can understand why Schroeder is so peevish with Lucy in this strip from 1958! Who knows what her next plot will be?