Maude Flanders
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Maude Flanders
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Character Information
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Maude Flanders was a devout Christian.
She attended Bible camp to learn to be more judgmental and campaigned against Itchy and Scratchy with Marge.
She died in a sporting accident — she was knocked off a grandstand when a volley of gift T-shirts shot from compressed-air cannons struck her while Homer was distracted from catching the shirts, due to finding a bobby-pin. Maude made Simpsons history by being the first Simpson character to ever die on screen, have a funeral and actually not return (except in ghost form).
Her dream of opening a Christian-themed amusement park was posthumously realized by the grieving Ned, who memorialized her with the motto: "She taught us the joy of shame and the shame of joy."
It is rumored that Maude was killed off because her voice actress demanded more money, and was denied; other sources say the actress was tired of multi-state commutes for only occasional work.
Life
Maude Flanders was the happily married wife of Ned Flanders. With Ned, she had two children, Rod and Todd Flanders, in whom she instilled her unwavering piety. Maude was a woman with many positive qualities: faith, chastity, charity. Maude Flanders was a devout Christian who once attended a Bible camp to learn how to be more judgmental. She campaigned strongly against Itchy and Scratchy with Marge.
While she was not employed outside the home (aside perhaps from occasional stints at her husband's small business, the Leftorium), Maude was a busy homemaker and a tireless advocate for the children, whose innocence is so often sullied by the "evils" of cartoon violence, liberal education and the insidious influences of popular culture.
Even though she spent much of her free time in prayer and reading the Bible, Maude was known to let her hair (and her neckline) down for the occasional dinner party at the home of her neighbors, the Simpsons. Homer often made statements insinuating his attraction to Maude, thereby literally coveting his neighbor's wife. Also in the second season episode The War of the Simpsons Homer oggled at Maude's very low-cut dress at a dinner party which ended up with him and Marge going to marriage camp.
She held a deep love for ficus plants, unflavored ice milk and Newsweek magazine.
Death
In "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", on February 13, 2000, Maude died after being knocked off a grandstand at the Springfield Speedway. Homer had parked in the ambulance zone, preventing any quick resuscitation.
Her death crushed Ned Flanders, who, though used to some measure of hardship (house-destroying hurricanes and car crashes among them), assumed that they would always be together. Maude's death is considered the Simpsons' most show-changing death.
Reverend Lovejoy eulogized her as follows: "In many ways, Maude Flanders was a supporting player in our lives. She didn't grab our attention with memorable catchphrases, or comical accents. But, whether you noticed her or not, Maude was always there ... and we thought she always would be."
Praiseland
In "I'm Goin' to Praiseland", after Maude's death, the grieving Ned saw in her sketchbook a series of drawings that outlined a plan for a Christian-themed amusement park named "Praiseland". Realizing this park to be her final dream, Ned acquired the defunct amusement park "Storytime Village" (from "Lisa the Vegetarian") from Colonel Antoine "Tex" O'Hara ("The Rich Texan") and, with the assistance of Homer and other townspeople, built and opened Praiseland. He memorialized Maude there with a statue bearing her likeness, on whose base there was a plaque bearing the phrase "She taught us the joy of shame and the shame of joy". Praiseland gained popularity among the residents of Springfield when they erroneously attributed to the statue of Maude the performance of miracles providing religious experiences. The religious experiences and attendant hallucinations were actually the result of the inhalation of gas that was leaking from a gas line near the base of the statue. Feeling that profiting off the memory of his dead wife is wrong, as well as a nearly-possible accident involving matches, Ned closes down Praiseland.
Posthumous appearances
- At the start of "Treehouse of Horror XIII", originally broadcast November 3, 2002, The Simpsons and Ned Flanders held a seance and summon Maude's ghost, who proceeds to tell them three horror stories
- The regular episode "Bart Has Two Mommies", which aired March 19, 2006 showed her looking down on her sons from heaven, saying 'My little boy is growing up". Maggie Roswell voiced her, but was uncredited in the premiere airing. When it reaired, the credits were amended to include her name.
- Maude is also shown to be alive in Season 6 in the episode "Lisa's Wedding" which was set in the future after the Simpson children had grown up, but written before Season 11 when Maude was killed. However, it should be noted that this was a vision by a possibly illegitimate psychic, and might not be considered canonical.
- In "Kill Gil Part 1 & 2 ", aired on December 17, 2006 Maude appeared in the special Christmas themed opening sequence when the camera pans to The Simpsons house.
- Any time the full opening theme is played (Chalkboard through to Couch Gag), she can still be seen in the quick fly-by leading to when Bart lands on top of Homer's car.
