The Puzzle of Hobbes: Is Real the Imaginary Friend of Calvin?
Following the exploits of Calvin and his imagined best friend, Hobbes, an anthropomorphic tiger, the cherished comic strip "Calvin And Hobbes" Rather is he? Often stressing the core of childhood imagination, Creator Bill Watterson insisted that Hobbes was a real character to Calvin rather than only an imaginary friend. But one especially interesting plot in the comic strip points to a deeper truth and implies Hobbes is physically real.
Hobbes' Realism: Examining the Comic Strip Closely
Published between November 30, 1987, and December 5, 1987, one Calvin And Hobbes tale shows the pair honing escape artist techniques. Inspired by the great magician Houdini, Calvin asks Hobbes to fasten him to a chair and tries to flee. Hobbes ties him up, then Calvin gets called for dinner. He yells at Hobbes at this point, begging the tiger to untie him, but Hobbes doesn't waver.
Calvin's dad looks at why he is not joining the family for dinner finally and finds his son hooked to a chair. Calvin insists Hobbes tied him up when asked how he managed this. Although his dad chastises him for lying, the truth is Hobbes tied Calvin to the chair in a manner he could not have done on his own. Clearly someone else had to have done since the knot was knotted behind Calvin's back.
Hobbes's physical existence challenges reality.
Everyone except Calvin sees Hobbes as a simple stuffed animal over the lifetime of the comic strip, including in this plot. To Calvin, Hobbes is real and they go on innumerable adventures. But Hobbes is dead, to the rest of the world including Calvin's parents. This narrative questions that view since Calvin's connection to the chair cannot be explained another way.
How then could Hobbes have connected Calvin to the chair? While Calvin sees Hobbes as an anthropomorphic tiger taller than himself, his dad sees him as a little stuffed animal when he visits untying his son. This suggests that Hobbes has shapeshifting powers, able to change at will between a stuffed animal and an anthropomorphic tiger. Alternatively is this like a "Toy Story" situation, in which Calvin simply sees Hobbes as a fully grown tiger while he is a sentient toy?
Ambivalent Notes on Hobbes' Reality by Bill Watterson
Bill Watterson was asked in a 1989 interview with The Comics Journal about the nature of Hobbes' existence. Hobbes is an anthropomorphic tiger to Calvin, but to everyone else he is simply a stuffed animal. Most people thus come to see Hobbes as only the result of Calvin's imagination. "That's the assumption that adults make because none else sees Hobbes, in the way Calvin does," Watterson said.
Referring to Watterson's point that Hobbes is not only imaginary but an autonomous entity with his own thoughts, feelings, and motivations, the interviewer brought up the 1987 comic strip where Hobbes ties Calvin to a chair. Watterson said he appreciated "the tension that that creates," whereby "something odd has happened and neither makes complete sense, so you're left to make out from it what you want."
Although Watterson personally thinks Hobbes is real and not just hypothetical, he seems to have purposefully left the question of Hobbes' reality open to interpretation unattended. Although many supporters still hold that Hobbes is a product of Calvin's imagination and a mix of his stuffed tiger, it is difficult to overlook the evidence of Hobbes' actual existence shown in the comic strip.
The Meaning of Hobbes' Existence in Calvin and Hobbes
Although the idea that Hobbes is merely Calvin's imaginary friend adds to the general tone of the comic strip, catching childhood life in a real and unique manner, it is maybe more powerful if Hobbes is not "just" imaginary. Should Hobbes be imaginary, most of the "Calvin and Hobbes" strips would show Calvin playing alone, so ignoring actual friendships.
Given Hobbes' reality, the comic strip takes on a literal portrayal of Calvin and Hobbes' exploits. Calvin is simply opting to spend time with his true best friend; he is not isolating himself. Seeing Hobbes as real makes the comic strip's enjoyment much enhanced. There are only a fascinating and whimsical world; no undertones of a lonely child forming friends.
Hobbes's Mysterious Enduring Challenge
Remember ultimately that "Calvin and Hobbes" is a comic strip. The strip is not meant to be real, thus dwelling on in-world concerns about Hobbes' existence is useless. He is a comic character. The reality of Hobbes is left for interpretation, and Bill Watterson specifically made sure this line stayed hazy. But the comic strip makes a strong case for Hobbes' actual existence, which invites readers to consider a world in which reality and imagination coexist.
Source: The Comics Journal
On Calvin and Hobbes
Written, drawn, and colored by Bill Watterson, "Calvin and Hobbes" was a satirical comic strip series spanning 1985 to 1995. Through a whimsical lens that tackles daily comedic concerns and real-world issues, the series tracks the daily life of six-year-old Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes.
