Olive Oyl: A Question of Love

When I think of all the love affairs I grew up watching, one still sticks out as a real mystery: that of Popeye's and Olive Oyl.

I was always lead to believe that Popeye and olive Oyl were madly in love with one another. Well I know for sure that Popeye was head over heals with her. The amount of Spinach he guzzled to reclaim her from Bluto was enough to make sprouts come out of his ears. Yet Olive Oyl never struck me as someone ready to reciprocate the affections of Popeye.

In the rivalry between Popeye and Bluto for Oilve Oyl's affection, she always struck me as a bitch. She was always cranky and unhappy about one thing or the other. She often seemed fickle and only ready to be with the highest bidder. She was never appreciative of Popeye's great feats of courage to rescue her from the evil Bluto. At the same time she often struck me as not minding the company of Bluto. As a child, I used to find this as mind boggling: who is she really in love with? As an adult, I still find it mind boggling: How does she do it?

I wonder was anyone else ever weary of this thin-built flapper? Or is it only me?