Rija Faisal
What gaps are there in Herge’s representations of women?
While much has been said and addressed about the representation of race in Herge comics, what has often been neglected to be addressed is his representation of women.
Women play very limited roles in The Adventures of Tintin comics. Herge claimed once that women had little place in the Tintin stories. “Women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s”. The Tintin stories, Herge stated, were concerned with men getting themselves into misadventures rather than adventures, and that he found he simply could not mock women in the same way. “I like women far too much to caricature them. And, besides, pretty or not, young or not, women are rarely comic characters”.
It is not surprising therefore, given these statements and belief’s of Herge’s, that women are almost invisible in the Tintin series.
One of the few ways women tend to be used in the Tintin comics (when they are used at all, that is) , is as a background. They are visible among large crowds of people, such as in a scene set in a square or a marketplace, seen behind simple figures within the crowd, such as in Tintin and the Land of the Soviets. They do not stand out in any particular way, simply blending in with the background. In Tintin in America, as well, women remain creatures of the background, often being displayed with a child nearby, reducing their statues simply to that of a housewife or a mother.
Another way women are depicted in the Tintin series is by placing them within the small realm of labour. Characters representing female labour are portrayed as housewives, nurses, and mothers. This stereotypical portrayal of women serves to effectively limit the number of roles they can portray. White they are not being ruled out in this way, they are certainly being pushed into limited roles, e.g, that of an assistant or a stewardess.
When viewed through the context and the mindset of the time period in which the Tintin comics were produced, this portrayal is easily understandable. Applied to the mindset of modern times, we can see why this portrayal would raise issues.
References:
Participation of Women in Tintin Adventures Tintinologist.org Retrieved from: https://www.tintinologist.org/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=8&topic=5922
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