Peggy Hill
Encyclopedia
Margaret J. "Peggy" Hill (née Platter) is a fictional character
in the American animated series King of the Hill
.
. She wears rimless glasses and is generally seen wearing cut-off blouses and culottes
. She is self centered, most likely caused by her overcompensating for her poor relationship with her mother. Her self-centered attitude often makes her the butt of all jokes, particularly with Dale Gribble. She claims to be a genius, but her intelligence and common sense come in to question on several different occasions, and she often makes ridiculous and senseless remarks. For instance, in the episode "The Substitute Spanish Prisoner," Hank reminds Peggy that her IQ is 175, but a flustered Peggy reveals that is only her own estimate. She also has a habit of claiming obvious facts as her own opinions, such as in "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" when she says that in her opinion, the day after Thanksgiving
is the busiest shopping day of the year, though this statement is commonly accepted as fact. She also gloats about her bilingualism, as she claims to be fluent in Spanish, but her inability to speak and understand the Spanish language is obvious. While Hank is an athlete, Peggy is herself both a scholar and an athlete. Although she has relatively normal height for a woman, she has abnormally large feet – she wears a size 16½ shoe on her left foot, and a size 16 on her right--the one trait she is horribly insecure about. Although it's been said that such feet give her the great exceptional confidence and athletic ability she has. She is gifted at baseball, among other sports.
Peggy assumes that everyone else thinks equally highly of her. Upon meeting him, she assumes that Eduardo Felipe, star of the fictional Monsignor Martinez, wants to have an affair with her. This is partially based on a cultural misunderstanding; over wine he says his wife is "with the ancestors" and acts in a way Peggy's friend Nancy agrees is "flirting." However, the situation is largely based on Peggy's presumption that she is irresistible. Peggy believes she is far more conventionally attractive than she is, from believing she could win a beauty contest hands down, to thinking herself on par with Bobby's girlfriend. Comically, each time she says something to this effect, Hank makes a befuddled expression.
As another running gag, Peggy often calls attention to her part in something for its own sake. In a season six episode, Bobby prepares to run with the Olympic torch. In the midst of the drama, Peggy says "Well, to be fair, I wrote the essay, but let this be Bobby's moment." She often states well-known facts and claims them as her original thoughts, like suggesting that "the day after Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, one of the busiest shopping days of the year." In line with this, she uses "As I like to say/call it," alongside common expressions. Peggy occasionally makes claims that seem to have no basis in reality at all, such as "Swiss cheese is not Mexican, it's American." This is also portrayed when talking about people, where when she saw there was no organ donor sticker on a man's driver license, she stated she believed he was an alcoholic, as well as believing Mihn was having a horrible marriage life because she enjoyed growing roses. When she is particularly pleased with her own cleverness, she coyly raises her hand to her chest and chuckles, "Oh, Peggy!"
As the series progresses, it puts increasing emphasis on Peggy's superiority complex. As her egotism grows to extremes, other characters become more aware of it. In a season eight episode, Peggy states she was once a cheerleader. Bobby says he thought it was more of her "big talk," acknowledging her tendency to self-aggrandize. Hank directly confronts Peggy's ego after she attacks Randy Travis in public, claiming he stole a song she wrote. She puts her own ego in check when she has a moral crisis after bluntly manipulates Bill to exploit his natural talent for sales.
It should also be noted that Peggy's overly high self-esteem may be a reaction to her mother's constant self-criticism.
Character flaws aside, Peggy is an intelligent, thoughtful and kind person at heart who often works from the best motives. For example, when she wanted to help LuAnne get out of debt, she devised a complicated scheme that promptly got out of hand by worked out alright in the end. Peggy is completely devoted to her husband and family. She refers to Hank as the love of her life. Peggy has demonstrated her love for and protectiveness of Hank several times. For example, in the episode What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis she stood up to Buck Strickland on her husband's behalf when his antics drove Hank to get drunk and make a scene in public at a trade show. Peggy confronted Buck and told him very bluntly that Buck owed his successful business to Hank and demanded that Buck help her fix the mess that he got Hank into as a result of his behavior.
However, Peggy makes no secret of her contempt for Cotton Hill and his neglectful, cruel behavior toward Hank. Indeed, her hatred of Cotton is such that she accepts his offer to literally dance on his grave. This hatred between the two even continues when Cotton is on his deathbed. While Hank is out of room, Peggy tells Cotton exactly what she thinks of him just before he dies. When Hank returns, she lies and says Cotton said kindly things about Hank before his passing. Within the household, Peggy provides a voice of reason to and a buffer between Hank and Bobby, who have difficulty relating to each other. Peggy has taken Hank to task about their relationship, or the lack thereof. Peggy's devotion to family extends to her niece Luanne whom she thinks of as a daughter. Peggy freely encourages Bobby and Luanne; sometimes to Hank's distress.
to cattle ranchers in 1965, later moving to Texas
. Her family includes Doc Platter (father), Maddy Platter (mother), Luanne Platter (niece), Hoyt Platter (older brother), Laverne Platter (aunt), Boffo Platter (uncle), Hank Hill (husband), Bobby Hill (son), Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt (nephew-in-law), and Gracie Margaret Kleinschmidt (grand-niece).
Peggy thinks of Luanne as a surrogate daughter and does her best to give her guidance and encourage her; always wanting the best for her. With this in mind, Peggy is openly critical of Luanne's choice to get involved with Lucky, who Peggy views as not being good enough for Luanne. At first, Peggy sabotages Lucky's efforts to better himself by getting a GED. But, in the end, Peggy accepted the relationship; realizing that Lucky made Luanne happy.
Peggy has a strained relationship with her parents. Her mother is emotionally cold towards her and her father constantly speaks in riddles. These portrayals of her parents, from the episode "A Rover Runs Through It
", are actually a retcon
ned version noticeably different from the homemaker mother – and presumably equally suburban father – displayed in flashbacks in the earlier episodes, "I Remember Mono" and "Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet". Early on in the series, Mrs. Platter is seen visiting the Hills' home, implying that she lives in or near Arlen, Texas, and is on speaking terms with her daughter, although the episode "Happy Hank's Giving", in which she appears in her original incarnation, implies that her mother either still lives in Montana or has moved back there. These appearances are discarded by "A Rover Runs Through It" although it is also possible that one is her mother and the other her step-mother. The suggestion in the later episode is that Peggy left her parents behind when she went to Texas, which is a significant alteration. In both versions, her mother tends to be critical of Peggy, albeit for different reasons and very unappreciative and dismissive of her daughter as a whole. She also has a brother named Hoyt who is Luanne's father, and lied to Luanne about Hoyt working on an oil rig when he was actually in prison. When Hoyt returned to Arlen, Peggy tried to help him out and gave him money, but eventually realized Hoyt was an incorrigible criminal and would destroy the entire family. Hank then tricked Hoyt into committing an obvious crime and convinced him to confess to it along with an earlier robbery. This would send him to prison for life, but maintain Luanne's false impression of her father as a good and hard-working man. Peggy and Hank then told Luanne that Hoyt had accepted "a lifetime contract" to work on an oil rig.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the American animated series King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
Biography
Peggy is the matriarch of the Hill family, and the wife of series protagonist Hank HillHank Hill
Henry Rutherford "Hank" Hill Age 50 animated series King of the Hill. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. The Economist named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people...
. She wears rimless glasses and is generally seen wearing cut-off blouses and culottes
Culottes
Culottes is a word that originated in French. Historically, "culottes" referred to the knee-breeches commonly worn by gentlemen of the European upper-classes from the late Middle Ages or Renaissance through the early nineteenth century. This style of tight pants ending just below the knee was first...
. She is self centered, most likely caused by her overcompensating for her poor relationship with her mother. Her self-centered attitude often makes her the butt of all jokes, particularly with Dale Gribble. She claims to be a genius, but her intelligence and common sense come in to question on several different occasions, and she often makes ridiculous and senseless remarks. For instance, in the episode "The Substitute Spanish Prisoner," Hank reminds Peggy that her IQ is 175, but a flustered Peggy reveals that is only her own estimate. She also has a habit of claiming obvious facts as her own opinions, such as in "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" when she says that in her opinion, the day after Thanksgiving
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
is the busiest shopping day of the year, though this statement is commonly accepted as fact. She also gloats about her bilingualism, as she claims to be fluent in Spanish, but her inability to speak and understand the Spanish language is obvious. While Hank is an athlete, Peggy is herself both a scholar and an athlete. Although she has relatively normal height for a woman, she has abnormally large feet – she wears a size 16½ shoe on her left foot, and a size 16 on her right--the one trait she is horribly insecure about. Although it's been said that such feet give her the great exceptional confidence and athletic ability she has. She is gifted at baseball, among other sports.
Character
She believes that someone can do anything if they commit themselves. This leads her into trouble, as she takes the philosophy too literally. Peggy often plunges into things, disregarding her own complete lack of skill, such as walking onto a crime scene and expecting to become part of the investigation just because she is "on a roll."When?Peggy assumes that everyone else thinks equally highly of her. Upon meeting him, she assumes that Eduardo Felipe, star of the fictional Monsignor Martinez, wants to have an affair with her. This is partially based on a cultural misunderstanding; over wine he says his wife is "with the ancestors" and acts in a way Peggy's friend Nancy agrees is "flirting." However, the situation is largely based on Peggy's presumption that she is irresistible. Peggy believes she is far more conventionally attractive than she is, from believing she could win a beauty contest hands down, to thinking herself on par with Bobby's girlfriend. Comically, each time she says something to this effect, Hank makes a befuddled expression.
As another running gag, Peggy often calls attention to her part in something for its own sake. In a season six episode, Bobby prepares to run with the Olympic torch. In the midst of the drama, Peggy says "Well, to be fair, I wrote the essay, but let this be Bobby's moment." She often states well-known facts and claims them as her original thoughts, like suggesting that "the day after Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, one of the busiest shopping days of the year." In line with this, she uses "As I like to say/call it," alongside common expressions. Peggy occasionally makes claims that seem to have no basis in reality at all, such as "Swiss cheese is not Mexican, it's American." This is also portrayed when talking about people, where when she saw there was no organ donor sticker on a man's driver license, she stated she believed he was an alcoholic, as well as believing Mihn was having a horrible marriage life because she enjoyed growing roses. When she is particularly pleased with her own cleverness, she coyly raises her hand to her chest and chuckles, "Oh, Peggy!"
As the series progresses, it puts increasing emphasis on Peggy's superiority complex. As her egotism grows to extremes, other characters become more aware of it. In a season eight episode, Peggy states she was once a cheerleader. Bobby says he thought it was more of her "big talk," acknowledging her tendency to self-aggrandize. Hank directly confronts Peggy's ego after she attacks Randy Travis in public, claiming he stole a song she wrote. She puts her own ego in check when she has a moral crisis after bluntly manipulates Bill to exploit his natural talent for sales.
It should also be noted that Peggy's overly high self-esteem may be a reaction to her mother's constant self-criticism.
Character flaws aside, Peggy is an intelligent, thoughtful and kind person at heart who often works from the best motives. For example, when she wanted to help LuAnne get out of debt, she devised a complicated scheme that promptly got out of hand by worked out alright in the end. Peggy is completely devoted to her husband and family. She refers to Hank as the love of her life. Peggy has demonstrated her love for and protectiveness of Hank several times. For example, in the episode What Happens at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis Stays at the National Propane Gas Convention in Memphis she stood up to Buck Strickland on her husband's behalf when his antics drove Hank to get drunk and make a scene in public at a trade show. Peggy confronted Buck and told him very bluntly that Buck owed his successful business to Hank and demanded that Buck help her fix the mess that he got Hank into as a result of his behavior.
However, Peggy makes no secret of her contempt for Cotton Hill and his neglectful, cruel behavior toward Hank. Indeed, her hatred of Cotton is such that she accepts his offer to literally dance on his grave. This hatred between the two even continues when Cotton is on his deathbed. While Hank is out of room, Peggy tells Cotton exactly what she thinks of him just before he dies. When Hank returns, she lies and says Cotton said kindly things about Hank before his passing. Within the household, Peggy provides a voice of reason to and a buffer between Hank and Bobby, who have difficulty relating to each other. Peggy has taken Hank to task about their relationship, or the lack thereof. Peggy's devotion to family extends to her niece Luanne whom she thinks of as a daughter. Peggy freely encourages Bobby and Luanne; sometimes to Hank's distress.
Family
Peggy was born in MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
to cattle ranchers in 1965, later moving to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Her family includes Doc Platter (father), Maddy Platter (mother), Luanne Platter (niece), Hoyt Platter (older brother), Laverne Platter (aunt), Boffo Platter (uncle), Hank Hill (husband), Bobby Hill (son), Elroy "Lucky" Kleinschmidt (nephew-in-law), and Gracie Margaret Kleinschmidt (grand-niece).
Peggy thinks of Luanne as a surrogate daughter and does her best to give her guidance and encourage her; always wanting the best for her. With this in mind, Peggy is openly critical of Luanne's choice to get involved with Lucky, who Peggy views as not being good enough for Luanne. At first, Peggy sabotages Lucky's efforts to better himself by getting a GED. But, in the end, Peggy accepted the relationship; realizing that Lucky made Luanne happy.
Peggy has a strained relationship with her parents. Her mother is emotionally cold towards her and her father constantly speaks in riddles. These portrayals of her parents, from the episode "A Rover Runs Through It
A Rover Runs Through It
"A Rover Runs Through It" is the 172nd episode of the FOX animated television series King of the Hill.-Plot:Peggy's mother invites the Hill family up to Montana, which they agree to partly in an effort to pull Bobby away from his addiction to video games, where they find that the Platters are on...
", are actually a retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned version noticeably different from the homemaker mother – and presumably equally suburban father – displayed in flashbacks in the earlier episodes, "I Remember Mono" and "Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet". Early on in the series, Mrs. Platter is seen visiting the Hills' home, implying that she lives in or near Arlen, Texas, and is on speaking terms with her daughter, although the episode "Happy Hank's Giving", in which she appears in her original incarnation, implies that her mother either still lives in Montana or has moved back there. These appearances are discarded by "A Rover Runs Through It" although it is also possible that one is her mother and the other her step-mother. The suggestion in the later episode is that Peggy left her parents behind when she went to Texas, which is a significant alteration. In both versions, her mother tends to be critical of Peggy, albeit for different reasons and very unappreciative and dismissive of her daughter as a whole. She also has a brother named Hoyt who is Luanne's father, and lied to Luanne about Hoyt working on an oil rig when he was actually in prison. When Hoyt returned to Arlen, Peggy tried to help him out and gave him money, but eventually realized Hoyt was an incorrigible criminal and would destroy the entire family. Hank then tricked Hoyt into committing an obvious crime and convinced him to confess to it along with an earlier robbery. This would send him to prison for life, but maintain Luanne's false impression of her father as a good and hard-working man. Peggy and Hank then told Luanne that Hoyt had accepted "a lifetime contract" to work on an oil rig.