Peanutscreator Charles M. Schulz made unrequited love a big part of the comic strips, with all the main characters having at least one source of unrequited feelings. Likewise, unrequited love has been a longtime running gag of the comic strip. However, mentions of love inPeanutsare not just unrequited. Rather, love in general, unrequited and not, are major aspects of the comic strips.
Whether it be the nature of love described by Lucy or Woodstock’s unlikely romance,Peanutshas the bases covered on all things love. Even Charlie Brown - who is terribly unlucky in love, as many comic strips attest - has his fair share of success in the love department, especially when Peggy Jean, Marcie, and Peppermint Patty are in the picture.
12"You Tied Your Peanut Butter Sandwich in a Knot"
November 15th, 1963
At lunch, Linus notices that a certain Little Red Haired Girl makes his best buddy, Charlie Brown, nervous. Charlie Brown, thinking he had quite the poker face, wonders how Linus knew he got nervous, to whichLinus explains that his feelings were clear because he tied his peanut butter sandwich into a knot.It is not unusual forCharlie Brownto get nervous at the sight of the Little Red Haired Girl, whom he loves from afar, but tying his sandwich into a knot takes things a little above the normal level of jitters. It is normal to be nervous when seeing one’s object of affection, but Charlie Brown’s neuroticism is outside any healthy bounds.
11"Sweet Babboo"
August 23rd, 1960
Sally has long had a crush on Linus. In fact, almost since the beginning of her time inPeanuts, she has loved Linus, as this comic strip from Sally’s early days shows. Linus is minding his own business with his beloved security blanket as Sally watches him intently and happily. Linus catches her staring and tries to move away from her.
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But Sally does not get the hint and instead follows him, even lovingly picking up his blanket for him so it does not drag on the grass. His attachment to his blanket is not off-putting to Sally, in contrast to the otherPeanutskids, who constantly make fun of or berate him for his blanket obsession, with her having hearts all around her as she follows him. This strip was part of the early days of Sally’s love for Linus, with her being more affectionate (and annoying) to him in later comic strips.
10"How About When…"
July 30th, 1990
Charlie Brown meets Peggy Jeanat camp with Snoopy, and he thinks thatshe is the prettiest girl he has ever seen(so much for the Little Red Haired Girl, apparently). He is instantly smitten and is actually capable of talking to her, unlike past crushes, with the pair hitting it off. Peggy Jean even has a little nickname for him after Charlie Brown messes up introducing himself, with her calling him Brownie Charles. Sitting side by side, Peggy Jean asks Charlie Brown if he has ever had anyone kiss him. He struggles to answer, with Snoopy suggesting that one instance could count: when he used to lick Charlie Brown’s face as a puppy.
9"I Can Feel Them Fighting"
January 14th, 1960
Lucy explains that the heart is split into two sides, withone aisw filled with hate and the other filled with love.Lucy notes that the two sides are at war with each other, an explanation that Linus can find no fault with, since he can feel love and hate fighting within himself, much to his misfortune. Lucy’s lesson has alasting effect on Linus, with him obsessing over the hate and love in his heart for the next two comic strips. Linus struggles with half of his heart being hate, because he wants it to be all love instead. But Lucy suggests that leaning to one side, the love side, is the solution to his problem.
8"But It’s Her Grandmother"
November 26th, 1996
Charlie Brown walks by the Little Red Haired Girl’s house and waves at her… grandmother. The wave shows some progress for Charlie Brown;at least he has made contact with a member of his crush’s family,even if he cannot make contact with his actual crush.
This comic strip marks the first reference to the Little Red Haired Girl’s grandmother since May 31st, 1968.
While it may seem like Charlie Brown is still not making much progress with the Little Red Haired Girl, him being able to talk to someone at least tangentially close to her is a step in the right direction. Charlie Brown recognizes this bit of attention from the Little Red Haired Girl’s grandmother as a good thing too, with word getting around about it to Linus and Sally.
7"Unrequited Love!"
March 13th, 1978
Peppermint Patty has a habitof falling asleep in class, and Marcie suggests that she get checked out at the doctor. Even though she goes to the doctor, Peppermint Patty falls asleep in class yet again, but this time she utters some very telling words in her sleep about Charlie Brown, her secret crush. Marcie wakes her up and posits thatPatty keeps falling asleep in class because of unrequited love.Based on Peppermint Patty’s reaction, that is not the theory that she wanted to hear. Funnily enough, Marcie’s theory is the same as one of the doctor’s diagnoses; her unrequited love for Charlie Brown.
6"Never Fall in Love with a Musician"
June 1st, 1958
Lucy has written to a newspaper advice column, and her problem seems very similar to Schroeder and his obsession with his piano and Beethoven. Hearing her letter, Schroeder does not take kindly to his interests being called stupid, so he whips his piano away from her head, and walks away from her.
This comic strip was adapted into the stage musicalYou’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Reading the advice in the paper while lying flat on the ground,Lucy is left with the advice to not fall in love with musicians, a lesson that Lucy has learned the hard way. While the advice columnist may have warned Lucy about falling in love with a musician, it does not do anything to quell Lucy’s feelings for Schroeder, with her having a crush on him to the very end of the comic strip’s history.
5"Love Makes You Do Strange Things"
February 14th, 1989
For Valentine’s Day, Charlie Brownwants to give the Little Red Haired Girl a heart-shaped box of candy like a true romantic. However,he gets cold feet yet again and hides behind a treewith the box of candy held out at arm’s length for her to grab without seeing him. Hiding behind a tree, just holding out a box of candy, waiting for his crush to grab it is definitely a strange behavior that only love could make him do. Little Red Haired Girl never does end up seeing him, so he ends up eating the candy himself, much to Snoopy’s annoyance, who offers to eat the caramel out of the chocolate.
4"Linus?"
January 25th, 1977
Linus and Snoopy met theunderrated character Truffleswhen they wound up at her farm after getting lost. Linus became smitten with her before he and Snoopy eventually had to go home. However, he would see the girl again on a field trip to the same barn where he met Truffles, and the two were reunited, which led to some awkwardness thanks to Sally.
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Truffles and Sally fight over Linus and about who he likes better, trying to get rid of the each other in order to have Linus to themselves. Truffles speaks on behalf of Linus, yelling that they would like to be alone, only for the two girls to stop their fighting for a second and notice thatLinus is nowhere to be found. Instead, he ran away to the top of the roof to get away from the bickering girls.
3"I Can’t Invite Her Out to Dinner…"
July 6th, 1982
Charlie Brown struggleswith one of the downsides of being a kid with a crush: he can’t take the Little Red Haired Girl out to dinner or for a coffee like typical dates.Linus offers an interesting solution for Charlie Brown and Little Red Haired Girl,suggesting that they could stand on a corner and eat an orange together.A nice dinner date pales in comparison to standing awkwardly on a corner with an orange. While Linus’s suggestion may not be ideal for Charlie Brown, it is within his realm of limited possibilities as a kid. An orange may not be enough to impress the Little Red Haired Girl, though.
