Patty Bouvier
Patricia "Patty" Bouvier
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Character Information
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Patricia "Patty" Bouvier and Selma are Marge's two cynical chain-smoking older twin sisters, who work at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and have a strong dislike for Homer. Selma is the older of the two as she was born two minutes before Patty.
Contents
Distinguishing features
Both twins have a similar look, but there are several easy ways to distinguish them. According to Marge, Selma is "the one who likes Police Academy movies and Hummel figurines, and walking through the park on clear autumn days." These are some of the easily noticeable physical differences:
- Patty has an afro, while Selma's similarly textured hair is parted in the middle.
- Patty wears a short-sleeved pink dress and pink shoes while Selma wears a sleeveless blue dress and blue shoes
- Patty wears orange triangular earrings while Selma wears purple circular earrings. In early series Selma wore S shaped earrings.
- Patty wears orange circular necklace pearls while Selma wears purple oval necklace pearls.
Personalities
Selma lacks the senses of taste and smell due to a childhood bottle rocket accident (one shot up her nose). Both twin sisters tend to be cynical and are noted for their addiction to tobacco smoking. They have a strong, mutual (and reciprocated) dislike for their brother-in-law. She (along with her sister) were born before Homer and Marge, but their birthdate has not been given. It is presumed they are in their mid to late 40s[1].
Unlike Homer, who usually makes a perfunctory (if not particularly sincere or committed) effort to be polite to his sisters-in-law out of respect for his wife, Patty and Selma have no hesitation in treating Homer with open rudeness and contempt. There were several instances where they did not seem to care when Homer faced a life-threatening situation. For instance, when Marge rushes to the hospital after receiving a telephone call that Homer had suffered a heart attack at work, Patty and Selma (instead of going to the hospital and comforting Marge in her time of need) remain seated at the kitchen table, continuing their activity of cutting coupons, gasping in amazement at a five cent discount and behaving as though nothing was wrong[2]. They later attempt to set up Marge with a (rather sleazy) friend as a replacement for Homer, regardless of the fact that Homer was still very much alive.
When Homer fakes his death, and Patty and Selma show up holding a tombstone inscribed with "Homer J. Simpson. We are richer for having lost him." This gift as well as the fact that they been saving for this since Marge's wedding causes her to angrily throw them out[3].
Selma's favorite brand of cigarettes is identified as "Laramie Hi-Tars" while Patty's favorite brand of cigarettes is "Lady Laramie 100s." They share an apartment at the Spinster Arms apartment complex and work at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Usually sticklers for rules, they have on occasion acted unprofessionally in the course of their jobs, usually when Homer is involved. They allowed Otto to regain his driver's license during Otto's brief tenancy with the Simpson family due to their mutual dislike for Homer[4].
Once when Homer had to apply for a chauffeur’s license to become a chauffeur so he could pay off a debt he owed them, and they purposely failed him to show how much of a loser he was. On this occasion, however, Homer had the last laugh; saving their jobs by pretending their cigarettes were his when they were caught smoking on the job by their superior. Homer then forced them to wipe the debt clean to repay the favor, thus negating his need to earn a chauffeur's license and removing the power they had of Homer[5].
Like her twin sister Patty, Selma is an avid (and sometimes maniacal) fan of the 1980s TV series MacGyver. During Selma's marriage to Sideshow Bob, he insults MacGyver and she takes it very seriously and starts crying. Regardless of their orientation, they also seem to be erotically aroused by the show and the character, euphemistically needing a cigarette after each viewing of the show. Jay Sherman once tells Patty and Selma that MacGyver is gay[6]; they respond by suspending him from the Simpson home gutter by his underwear. When Richard Dean Anderson tells them he hated playing MacGyver they kidnap him but eventually grow tired of him and get him to leave. Selma's favorite film actor was reportedly Troy McClure, to whom she was briefly married.
Patty comes out of the closet as a lesbian[7], although hints of her sexual orientation have been dropped many times, such as when she is seen coming out of burlesque house La Maison Derriere[8], and when she lacks romantic interest in Seymour Skinner despite his being very much in love with her[9]. She is also seen saying "There goes the last lingering thread of my heterosexuality", when Homer runs past her, naked and screaming[10], and hiding in a closet with Smithers on a parade float during a gay pride parade in[11].
She also had one hint of being a transsexual, as evidenced by Otto asking "Are you always a chick? I mean, I don't want to offend you, but, you were born a man, weren't you? You can tell me, I'm open-minded."
Patty and Selma drive a 1973 or 1974 VW Thing.
Future
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The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed. |
In the future, Patty and Selma still live together and are apparently both still single, as hinted by Selma threatens to stuff Edna Krabappel's hat down her throat if she catches the bouquet at Lisa's Wedding. It is presumed that they both die early, as they are both heavy smokers.
Relationships
Selma inherited her deceased aunt's iguana Jub-Jub (a name invented by Conan O'Brien[12]).
Another time, a very menopausal Selma adopted a Chinese baby, Ling<ref.Goo Goo Gai Pan</ref>. During the adoption process, Selma pretended to be married to Homer, since the Chinese government only allows children to be adopted by successful couples. When the jig was up, Selma manages to keep the baby, as a Chinese dignitary becomes sympathetic, as she too was raised by a single mother. Also it is revealed that she kissed Homer when they were at camp purposely to show that a kiss is nothing and while she enjoyed it Homer did not. All though she did not know it was Homer[13].
The Bouviers and the Simpsons
As children, Patty and Selma were apparently domineering towards Marge and ridiculed her ambition of becoming an astronaut, as well as assaulting her when she told them "no" which resulted in her having difficulty with telling anyone no. Their relationship seems to have improved over the years. As adults, the Bouvier twins have a friendly relationship with their sister and frequently visit the Simpsons. They seem relatively fond of their nieces and nephew, but seem to like them more when they were younger: "The older they get, the cuter they ain't." They have, on occasion, watched the kids when their parents were out of town. However, Bart and Lisa would rather not be around when their aunts visit. Their idea of bonding with Lisa includes tutoring her in the belief that men are pigs, using Homer as the prime example.
Their relationship with Homer remains one of mutual dislike (although Selma gradually grows to become more tolerant towards Homer and often experiences brief moments of kindness) which involves a continuous exchange of insults from day one. They unfavorably compare their brother-in-law to a caveman, suggesting him capable of trading Maggie for beer and a nudie magazine.In one episode,she or Selma said "Hello everybody except Homer"
Selma and Patty have occasionally expressed their common hope that Marge will eventually divorce Homer. They are often quick in pointing out his attempts at infidelity, and have unsuccessfully offered to help Marge find a replacement for Homer (although Selma eventually gave in and helped Marge find Homer after seeing how truly unhappy she was). The twins once went so far as to have a billboard built trying to convince voters to have Homer kicked out of Springfield[14].
Their dislike towards Homer has even led to push Homer off a bridge<ref.Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind</ref>, although they half-heartedly claim they did this in order to get him to his surprise party, which was conveniently on a boat passing beneath the bridge at the time.
Homer also openly calls them ugly. One such incident is when Homer sees them working out and calls the sight nauseating. He once said he was blindfolded and "two sobbing trolls" threw him on to the lawn[15]. Homer also is known to show little care to what happens to Patty and Selma, except if it happens to Marge her upset[16], when as the reaper killed Patty with no remorse, when Patty and Selma foiled Homer to get his license, he smoked their cigarettes to save them from getting fired, but only did it because Marge was upset[17].
Romantic liaisons
Despite being identical twins, Patty and Selma have had very different track records when it comes to finding dates. According to Marge, Patty chose a life of celibacy, while Selma had celibacy thrust upon her. This presumably explains her occasional attempts at romance. Her standards are extremely low, as evidenced by her comments on Mr. Burns: "Single, eh? Well, he passes the Selma Test."
Patty came out as a lesbian after Springfield legalized same-sex marriage[18]. Marge was initially hurt that Patty had hidden her sexuality for years (though as Patty put it when Marge stated she "hadn't seen it coming", "you could see it from Space!"). However, before Patty's lesbian wedding, her partner Veronica is revealed to be a man who disguised his gender to get into the LPGA tour. Patty's sexuality was previously implied in an earlier episode when her voice emanated from an "in the closet" float at the Springfield Gay Pride Parade. Another hint occurred where Patty sees Homer naked and remarks, "There goes the last lingering thread of my heterosexuality"[19]. A snapshot of Patty exiting the infamous Springfield burlesque house (with only a small fraction of her face blacked out) was displayed during a town hall meeting. Selma does indeed indignantly exclaim, "Patty!" when the picture is shown. Patty wooed a tenured professor of Yale University away from her husband[20]. Also, it is hinted that Patty may be attracted to Edna Krabappel[21]. In addition, when Marge wanted to ask Patty to the ballet, Patty retorts, "Bah! Girls' stuff."[22]
However, Patty did date Principal Skinner[23]. She refused to marry him, claiming she was too devoted to Selma as a sister to leave her alone. However, she did consider Principal Skinner a gentleman and had seemed to take it hard that she could not marry him, ending their relationship with the words "Good night, sweet principal." (Homer had been looking for a man for Selma and after Patty found one, Selma was depressed enough to go out on a date with Barney).
Dangerous Behavior
Patty and Selma can be quite dangerous to people who they are obsessed with or people they hate. They capture Richard Dean Anderson a.k.a. MacGyver, isolate him and tie him to a chair[24]. They only let him go because they get bored of him. They also kidnap Homer to prevent him remarrying Marge[25]. They let him go when they hear his vows and are forced to throw the two their wedding afterwards (as Bart and Lisa found out with some help from a previous suspect; Sideshow Bob and threatened to tell Marge that they kidnapped Homer in order to ruin the wedding if they didn't comply).
Behind the Scenes
Character
Creation
Creator Matt Groening has said that he named the Simpsons after his own parents and two younger sisters; he has an older sister named Patty who is an art dealer. Julie Kavner has said that she had difficulty coming up with the voices for Marge's sisters, until producer James L. Brooks suggested that she voice Patty and Selma as characters "that suck the joy out of everything."
Appearances
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References
- ↑ Black Widower
- ↑ Homer's Triple Bypass
- ↑ Mother Simpson
- ↑ The Otto Show
- ↑ Homer vs. Patty & Selma
- ↑ A Star Is Burns
- ↑ There's Something About Marrying
- ↑ Bart After Dark
- ↑ Principal Charming
- ↑ Treehouse of Horror III
- ↑ Jaws Wired Shut
- ↑ Selma's Choice
- ↑ The Way We Weren't
- ↑ Three Gays of the Condo
- ↑ Wedding for Disaster
- ↑ Treehouse of Horror XIV
- ↑ Homer vs. Patty and Selma
- ↑ There's Something About Marrying
- ↑ Treehouse of Horror III
- ↑ Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife
- ↑ Rome-old and Juli-eh
- ↑ Marge on the Lam
- ↑ Principal Charming
- ↑ Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore
- ↑ Wedding for Disaster
See also
External links
- Patty Bouvier's profile at TheSimpsons.com
