What gaps are there in Hergé’s representations of women?
There is little to near naught on the critical analysis of gaps in Hergé’s representations of women. It can be notably argued that the representation of women can be considered as insignificant or ‘wallpaper’ constituents (Mountfort, 2020). Much of Hergé’s albums of Tintin barely have female characters that do not contribute to the plot. Common representation of female characters were built in the maternal, caretaker, and assistant sphere. Women in Hergé’s depiction are seen as subservient, feeble characters with minimal say in the storyline; their characteristic ability only show them as far as capable to tend to domestic tasks. Much akin to background fillers, women are also portrayed as victims of tragedy. One example of an exemplary representation is Mrs Wang in The Blue Lotus, wherein she is seen wailing over her son’s misfortune due to consuming poison; Another example is seen in the issue of Tintin in the Congo, where a Congolese woman mourns the demise of her husband (Mountfort, 2020). Another one of Hergé’s oriental caricature was Madame Yamilah who was a fortune teller, but much of her abilities were made insignificant as she was shown to be dependent on her male counterpart (Mountfort, 2020).
Much of Hergé’s works have complete absence of female characters, yet the closest Hergé had come to portraying significant female roles are Peggy Alcazar and Bianca Castafiore in The Castafiore Emerald. Peggy Alcazar is depicted as a bossy woman with a spearheaded personality, although an apparent gold digger (Mountfort, 2020). Critics argue that Peggy’s short yet bold appearance in the illustrated issue was a futile attempt on Hergé’s part to represent the rise of the second wave of feminism during the time of album’s release; shortly thereafter her appearance it was apparent that Hergé glided back to his usual representation of women or the lack thereof (Mountfort, 2020). Bianca Castafiore is an opera star obsessed with rare jewels, with a spontaneous and loud personality, much akin to the lifestyle of a celebrity; however, she was made to be a chatterbox role who would interrupt conversations with her random, vocal outbursts (Europe Comics, 2020). McCarthy (2006) critiqued Castafiore’s characteristic purpose as a symbol of feminine pleasure, which is to say that Hergé’s leading women were apparently only fit to display their femininity and sexuality. It has also been suggested by Apostolidès (2010) that a bottle of champagne in scenes with Bianca Castafiore symbolised sexual tension, therefore reiterating the portrayal of feminine sexuality.
In regard to this argument, the issue can be perceived in two manners: Hergé’s representation of women can either be regarded as no particular representation, or an underrepresentation that conflicts with the awakening of the second wave of feminism at the time (Mountfort, 2020). To support the argument, Hergé claimed that “women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s; I like women far too much to caricature them” (Sadoul, 1989). A statement as such possibly reinstates Hergé’s opinion of women being innocent counterparts with little to no potential as leading roles in an all-male realm of Tintin (Mountfort, 2020).
References
Europe Comics (2020). Women in Belgian Comics P1:Invisibility to objectification. http://www.europecomics.com/women-belgian-comics-invisibility-objectification-pt1/
McCarthy, T. 2006. Tintin and the Secret of Literature. London: Granta.
Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829
Sadoul, N. [1975] 1989. Tintin et Moi: entretiens avec Hergé (Tintin and Me: Interviews with Hergé). Tournai: Casterman
Pop Genres 2020 