1. What gaps are there in Hergé’s representations of women?

Women in the Tintin series are overwhelmingly relegated to background roles, and roles of domesticity or service – wives, mothers, nannies, maids and the like. In the very first Tintin album, Tintin in the Land of Soviets, women have no speaking roles or roles of note at all, merely drawn as background characters in what is shown to be a downtrodden Soviet Union. While the next albums, Tintin in the Congo and Tintin in America, give character (and even a couple of throwaway lines) to a handful of women, these would set the tone for representation of women throughout the rest of Herge’s work – they are shown as wives, mothers, and homemakers, either speaking about their children, their husbands or matters of the home. (Mountfort, 2020) In the two aforementioned albums, it is also notable that the women shown are women of colour – Congolese, African American, and Indigenous American – and, although not the worst of Herge’s racial misrepresentations, similarly sets the precedent for the treatment that women of colour would receive throughout the Tintin series.

When questioned about misrepresentations and stereotyping within his work (particularly racially, although the same can apply to representation of gender), Herge almost famously relegated blame to the time period which he was from and in which he worked. However, multiple points challenge this excuse. For one, Herge’s work spanned a significant period of time, with the first Tintin strips published beginning in 1929, and the final, incomplete album released the year after Herge’s death in 1983. This time period was full of, often radical, societal change. On the gender front, this included the notable second-wave feminist movement, which occurred not just in the United States (upon which the focus is often put), but transnationally, from Asian countries such as Japan and Korea to European countries, including France, in which Tintin was first published.  (Molony & Nelson, 2017, pp. 1-4)

Of particular note is that one of the focuses of French second-wave feminism was the dismantling of societal structures which relegated women to certain ‘roles’ and, effectively, took away their freedom to be individuals and make independent decisions. Historian Natacha Chetcuti-Osorovitz, in her essay on French feminism within ‘Women’s Activism and “Second Wave” Feminism: Transnational Histories, wrote that,‘Ultimately, twentieth-​century feminist struggles expressed women’s desire to escape the subjection to a power system that claimed neutrality and universalism, yet kept them both invisible and marked as different.’ (Molony & Nelson, 2017, p. 65) If women in France, Europe, and worldwide were breaking out of their once designated ‘roles’ from the 1960s onwards, this wasn’t reflected in Herge’s work, as women continued to be relegated to their ‘invisible’ roles, rarely given so much as a name.

Although the feminist movement was far-reaching, Herge’s work and it’s lack of representation of women also stands out when compared to other works from that time outside of the feminist sphere. As study of novels by popular British children’s authors from the 1940s through to the 1970s – all in the midst of Herge’s working period – looked at language and ‘modifiers’ used by the authors when describing male characters and when describing female characters. Although, as author Elizabeth Poytner states, ‘In the mid-twentieth century, sociocultural gender roles were quite distinct in Britain…There was great pressure on women to be primarily wives and mothers’, popular children’s books didn’t necessarily always reflect this, and there were deviations from gender stereotypes, ‘The books examined in this study…offer a more complex picture, often involving equal numbers of boys and girls (Blyton, Saville) as well as courageous and dominating female characters (Brent-Dyer, Johns).’ (Poytner, 2020) Tintin, a series that, although enjoyed by adults, similarly appeals to children, and published within the same time period, shows none of this complexity. Although language analysis alone obviously cannot paint a clear picture of the entirety of the portrayal of women within a particular text (as Poytner points out with the example of George from Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ series), it is a useful comparison to disprove Herge’s own claims that the lack of representation of women outside of domestic roles throughout his work was a ‘product of it’s time’, and further emphasises just how gaping the holes are where unique, developed, and well-represented women should be within the Tintin series.

References

Molony, B., & Nelson, J. (2017). Women’s Activism and “Second Wave” Feminism: Transnational Histories. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.

Poytner, E. (2020). Aggressive but loyal: modification and gender. Gender and Language, 175-196.

Before any further discussion can commence, I would be out of line not to mention the fact that Herge himself was against this interpretation of Tintin (Mountfort,2020). This however has not stopped the reader of the Tintin text from view Tintin in such a light and so we must ask the question of how Tintin’s gender and sexuality have been questioned. A clear example of how the analysis of Tintins closest relationships within the comics would be. Herge relegates the female characters to the role of seen but not heard as Herge believed “Women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s. I like women far too much to caricature them. And, besides, pretty or not, young or not, women are rarely comic characters,” (Mountfort, 2020), in Tintin in America we see women as carers with one being a member of Americans association of animal admirers, we see a woman taking action only because her beloved dog was placed in danger and we see a woman seemingly rocking a crying child (Herge,1973) in all these depictions women are providing care, care for animals care for children they do not stand alone but stand in relation to that which they care about. these are Herge depictions of women even Tintin’s closest female companion Castafiore, though development with a voice and opinions however there are barriers between her and Tintin firstly she is frequently depicted as a nuisance bursting into the Tintin comics often uninvited (Mountfort, 2020) secondly she is the love interest of captain haddock () these barriers mean the strongest and only fleshed out relationship between Tintin and a female character is one that will not progress further than friendship. Leaving the primary relationships in Tintin to be between other male characters and himself. We see this clearly through Tintins relationships with captain haddock, unlike Castafiore captain haddock’s friendship is framed outside of his relationship with Castafiore rather it was built upon the many adventures they partake in throughout the comics (Mountfort, 2020). We never see such a relationship being built between Tintin and female characters and as such Tintin is isolated from any possibility of a relationship with a woman. Thus, allowing space in which Tintins sexuality and gender can be analysed and thus questioned.

The why of the question, how and why Herge character Tintin’s gender and sexuality have been questioned, can be seen throughout the character of Tintin himself. I say this because despite being a comic without many fleshed-out roles the traditional depiction of the female and her attributes can still be seen throughout these comics. The character Tintin carries the traditionally depicted female role as Paul Mountfort states “envisaging Tintin as a girl or young woman would make little material difference to his depiction in the series, other than perhaps to raise eyebrows at his living arrangements” (Mountfort, 2020). It is kind of true, Tintin carries within his character traits traditionally given to female characters and we can see this in The crab with the golden claw when Tintin consoles a drunk haddock after he discovers his crew is diamond smugglers(Herge, 1951).

So overall despite Herge himself being against the reading of Tintin as a possibly queer character one can’t deny that the how and why Tintins gender and sexuality are questioned has a high possibility of stemming from Herge’s decisions when creating the Tintin comic series.

REFERENCES

Herge (auth). (1973). Tintin in America, London, England: Methuen

Herge (auth). (1958). Tintin and the crab with the golden claw, London, England: Methuen

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire[powerpoint]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_1&mode=reset

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin and gender part 2[powerpoint]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_1&mode=reset

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

1. What gaps are there in Hergé’s representations of women?

The adventures of Tintin created by Hergé are predominantly from a masculine perspective. This is shown repeatedly throughout his works as female characters are frequently in the position of mother, caretaker, housekeep, nurse and wife. The only exception to this is the character of Bianca Castafiore, who is an opera singer and makes cameos through many of Tintin’s stories.

Therefore there are numerous gaps in the representation of women throughout Hergé’s texts. In public settings there is a distinct lack of female presence. Although women make up 50% of the population they make up less than a quarter of the people in group settings. Furthermore these women are usually attached to a man or a child. The independent women are missing from Tintin’s adventures.

There are no female protagonists or antagonists in the story arcs. The times that women are present they are depicted as emotional, nurturers, dramatic or bossy. They also have have very little dialogue and when they do it is relation to male characters in the story. For example, in The Black Island, Tintin is recovering in a hospital where a kind nurse says “he’s a lucky young man.” Furthermore another lady on a train admonishes the German villians for being rude. She says, “I beg your pardon! Never a proper hello. Never an excuse me. Never a polite goodbye.” To this Tintin responds with “Hello Ma’am, excuse me, goodbye.” This depiction of women is in line with that of a school matriarch.

Within the markets in the Arabic lands of “The Crab with Golden Claws” there are no women at all. Furthermore, the children depicted in the streets are boys. The only woman to make appearance in this story is the House keeper who screams when a man is kidnapped outside of Tintin’s home.

The women within Tintin’s adventures are often portrayed as lacking strength, physical, mental and emotional. Their dialogue is lacking in importance to the story, except when pointing out distressing situations. This is reinforced in “The Blue Lotus” with the mother wailing of her son’s predicament, whereby he is afflicted by poison to make him insane. At the end of the story while celebrations are underway as Tintin has saved the day she says “and to my son for getting well.” Analyse of Hergé’s work and the lack of agency in the female characters did little to gain change in the author.

“Hergé apparently ignores and arguably resists the challenges to women’s subordination which were being staged in various feminist ‘waves’ throughout the period of his life and work.” Mountfort, Paul (2020) pg 2.

Furthermore the author reinforced his position by suggesting that there was no place for women in Tintin’s world.

References:
Hergé, (1931) The Blue Lotus
Hergé (1938) The Adventures of Tintin – The Black Island
Hergé (1941) The Adventures of Tintin -The Crab with Golden Claw
Mountfort, P. (n.d.). ‘Tintin, gender and desire.’ Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829

Question week 3

What is Castafiore’s role in the Adventures?

Bianca Castafiore, La Castafiore, the Melanese Nightingale or “Blanche Chaster Fleur” – the holy white flower is one of the most important characters in The Adventure of Tintin she is a distraction, helping hand and loyal friend. She is also a strong, female character, which the Tintin comics definitely need. Her first appearance in the series was in Le Sceptre d’Ottokar (King Ottokar’s Sceptre) in 1938 and her importance and presence in the comics increased over the years (Newark, 2013).
Castafiore is an Italian diva, based on the famous opera singer Maria Callas, but also Hergé’s aunt Ninie. Hergé’s aunt would visit his family as a child and entertained them with her loud, shrill singing (Apostolidès, 2010). Castafiore is a strong character with an overpowering personality, she tries to live her life as if her reality is a grand opera where she of course is the start (Apostolidès, 2010). She has a powerful physique and a matching voice, and although one could think she’d have an aggressive personality the only thing who ticks her off is poorly cooked pasta (Newark, 2013).
She is classy and dresses in very elegant, fashionable clothes, and does in fact become more attractive as the series progresses. Her most important and strongest traits however is her loyalty and her courage (Apostolidès, 2010).
As I mentioned earlier Castafiore is a reoccurring character and she seems to pop up in the most unlikely places and often serves as a distraction and helping hand. Some of the elements in the Tintin universe seems to be trapped in time, this is not the case with Castafiore, she is not stuck in just one moment and she keeps evolving. Newark (2013) says that Castafiore represents a threat to Tintin and the Captain’s blissfully unchanging pre-sexual existence and that the three of them are caught in a never-ending game of cat and mouse.  

Although Castafiore is a soprano she only ever preforms one song: The Jewel Song from Charles Gounod’s opera Faust. Apostolidès (2010) writes that the song perfectly reflects Castafiore’s narcissism and that she uses the song as a personal hymn. “She totally identifies with Marguerite’s story” and claims to be “utterly divine (Apostolidès, 2010). Hergé was not a big fan of opera and Newark (2013) writes that her never changing performance is a metaphor for the petrification of the opera repertory, “for it’s homogeneity as a cultural object around the world”. 
Castafiore might be a famous soprano but her voice is describing as anything but pleasant and it does not represent anything positive. Her voice is described by Newark (2013) as “a sound to be avoided at all cost”.
Although her voice is described as something dreadful it only seems to be bad for Tintin and Haddock. In Cok en Stock Haddock would rather get back on a raft with no water then to be on the same boat as Castafiore. Newark (2013) says that the reason for the dramatic effect her voice has on the heroes is simply because they belong to another world and not the world of opera.
Castafiore is also a representation of sexuality throughout the series. She tries to supress it, but it keeps popping up and is reflected in things such as her jewels. Her jewels repeatedly being stolen is an allegory for sexual exchange (Apostolidès, 2010).
Castafiore is the only female character in the series with a personality and real meaning and to me it seems like Hergé took everything he hated about opera and (accidently?) turned it into a strong woman who worshipped her own sexuality.

Sources:

Apostolidès, Lean-Marie. (2010). The metaphors of Tintin or Tintin for Adults. Stanford University Press. https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=8TizX-868GgC&printsec=frontcover&hl=no&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=Castafiore&f=false

Tintin.com. (n.d.). Bianca Castafiore.
http://en.tintin.com/personnages/show/id/18/page/0/0/bianca-castafiore

Newark, Cormac. (2013). Faust, Nested Reception and La Castafiore. Cambridge University Press. https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/stable/pdf/24252367.pdf

What is Castafiore’s role in the Adventures?

Tintin has become an increasingly popular comic series from its inception to today’s era. One of the most notable things about Tintin, besides the loud racism, is the disappearance of femininity and females in general. Rather interestingly though, the main protagonist (Tintin) seems to scream androgynous, but he also has been referred to as appearing more feminine by many theorists. 

Madame Bianca Castafiore is a character within the Tintin universe that seems to be the only proper woman ever introduced to the young boy. Throughout time this has sparked both curiosity and annoyance within the community of popular genres because of the blatant misuse and slander towards women. Mountfort (2020), explains that the character of Castafirore may be female, but she is definitely not portrayed as the nice typical feminine beauty or even as a normal woman. In fact, she often gets in the way of Tintin and whenever she does make an appearance it is either at bad unwanted times, or she is invading the space of others around her. 

Mountfort (2020), discusses that women in the Tintin universe are more often either non-existent or far off background characters. This relates to the ideologies of Herge and his opinions on women. Herge once said that women strictly do not belong in Tintin’s world and that they are hardly ever characters in comics anyway (Mountfort, 2020). Taking all of this in, it is hard to digest that Herge blatantly refuses to draw women within his comics, but even harder to understand is when he does decide to depict a female they are bigheaded divas. 

The eighteenth volume of Tintin, The Calculus Affair, shows a softer side to Madame Castafiore as she actually helps Tintin by distracting the character Colonel Sponsz which aids the escape of both Tintin and Captain Haddock (Herge, 1992). This is, however, one of the only times she is presented as useful within the series. Any other times of representation, Castafiore’s personality is the dramatic diva that ruins the masculine atmosphere surrounding Tintin. Her physical appearance is no better. Herge has drawn Castafiore in such a way that quite resembles the boarish depiction of Viking woman. Undoubtedly she stands taller than most male characters, with a monstrous bust, large eagle nose, and a bigger body mass. 

Another point that has readers rather choked up with the portrayal of women is the blatant sexualization of Madame Castafiore with the twenty-first volume titled The Castafiore Emerald. If the title was not revealing enough, the comic goes on to correlate the emerald with Madame Castafiore’s clit and the idea of her “removing it from her box-” and “touching it” whilst singing “Ah, ahhhh”.   (Mountfort, 2020).

Herge. (1992). The Calculus Affair [Cartoon]. Spain: Methuen Children’s Books.

Mountfort, P. (2020) ‘Tintin, gender and desire’, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. doi: 10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Tintin and Gender Part 1 [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Tintin and Gender Part 2 [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Question 1: What gaps are there in Hergé’s representations of women?

Throughout The Adventure of Tintin there is a gap in the representation of women. Hergé’s female characters are typically subordinate, weepy, fainting, domestic and pathetic creatures, or they are sexy and sensual seen as a man’s accessory, or they are just a crowd filler in his drawings. Comparatively men are portrayed as the heroes and are more ‘important’ to the story than women who are often drawn performing domestic duties such as sweeping or having jobs such as land ladies, house keepers, and nurses. 

Peggy Alcazar is perhaps the most dominant character besides Madame Castafiore, she is depicted as a domineering wife, with scenes in the album ‘Tintin and the Picaros’ where we see her bossing Alcazar around, and seeing him doing stereotypically womanly jobs such as the dishes. However, Hergé saw this as satirical and she is portrayed shrewdly rather than being seen as a symbol of feminism and empowerment (Mountfort, 2020). 

Madame Castafiore is the closest thing that Hergé has as a leading lady, she makes appearances in seven albums as well as having an album dedicated solely to her in ‘The Castafiore Emerald’ (Mountfort, 2020). Madame Castafiore is a self-made career woman, independent, rambunctious, and seen to boss around her attendants. Yet, her visits are almost always unwelcome, she always seems to ‘intrude’ both in real life and through media transmission, or just shows up at the worst or best of times (Mountfort, 2020). 

Hergé did not believe that women had much of a place in comics (Mountfort, 2020, p. 2) and that view has been transposed into his work.    

References

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829 

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin and gender part 1 [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/ 

WEEK 3 Popular Genre 

1.   How and why have Tintin’s gender and sexuality been question? 

Herge stated in an interview that Tintin was not gay nevertheless Tintin shows no romantic interest in dating the opposite sex, getting married or having children one day which leaves his sexuality open to interpretation. It appears Herge intended to leave Tintin’ personal life out of his adventures like family, favorite food and clothes, sexual preferences etc. These stories were written with children in mind, understandably, it would be too traumatizing in 1929 when Tintin was created to deviate from the norms of the time. 

Tintin is a teenager aged somewhere between 15 –18 and as such be going through puberty. In boys this starts as early as 10 years of age when fluctuations in the sex hormone testosterone stimulates libido and growth and ends at around the age of 16. Daily erections and wet dreams are common and a normal part of puberty that happens to all boys. Why Herge didn’t give this matter any thought is baffling considering the use of more adult themes of drugs, crime, violence, political propaganda, religion, racism, sexism and so on.  

On the rare occasion woman are included they are not the cliché damsels in distress that need saving by our hero. Women take a back seat and are depicted as irritants at best and at worst nags (Mountfort, 2020). In no way is this confirmation Tintin is gay due to lack of evidence or him running around with a campy toy dog breed terrier, or frequent compulsion of getting dressed up in disguise, or Dorian Gray-esque of staying young as most fans would be more inclined to see Tintin as asexual. 

There however seems to be more substance than meets the eye between Tintin and Captain Haddock friendship which has homoerotic overtures. When they first meet on board Captain Haddocks cargo ship ‘Karaboudjan’ in The Crab with the Golden Claws, Haddock is drunk and is consoled by Tintin when he finds out his mutinous crew are diamond smugglers. Tintin shows his feminine side of caring for Haddock when he comforts him by tenderly holding both his shoulders from behind then Tintin saves Haddock life by helping him jump overboard and escape in a rowboat. Tintin then saves Haddock from an airplane crash and a group of men in this Golden Claw episode and each time Haddock calls out for Tintin to save him. Sexual tension is symbolized when Haddock dehydrated in the Sahara Desert and imagines Tintin is a bottle of champagne and jumps on top off him.  

Their actions towards each other suggest a kind of intimacy and devotion, spending a considerable amount of time together and sacrificing their lives for each other and I believe Tintin is gay. 

REFERENCES.  

Paul Mountfort (2020): ‘Tintin, gender and desire’, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2020.1729829 

W3

What gaps are there in Hergé’s representations of women?

The adventure of Tintin (1929-1986) has achieved in popular culture and receive much love more than four decades after the last public album. Women are absent over the entire albums and if they have voices in Tintin is hardly flattering. In the adventure of Tintin, women take a back seat. Herge resits and ignores women in his life and work by treating women less important in his works. Tintin works with funny drawing and exaggerates some of the features which can be comedic. This is shown by Herge’s claim that: ‘[w]omen have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s. I like women far too much to caricature them. And, besides, pretty or not, young or not, women are rarely comic characters’ (quoted in Sadoul [1975] 1989, 93). 

Tintin au pays des Soviets has women but without speaking role, and they like a background in the stories where they don’t have mere figures in the crowd. African women critical Tin tin for the scene that causing a bump to her son’s head, and sad feeling to her husband’s illness. The women in Tintin remind background figures. Chinese women in an album praised by Claude Levi-Strauss depicted three generations depress and practice to reject as a western stereotype whereas in reality women were still suffering a lot in their action 1930s (Keeling 2008, p11-17). In the adventure, female’s tears are particular preferences and reproducing nineteenth-century women input as the psychologically ‘weaker sex’ (Fauvel 2013, p1). Herge depicts the assignation of labour roles in the early 20th century, ‘he ignores female aviators, intellectuals, writers, artists and other barriers breakers’ (Mountfort, 2020). The feminism’s second wave by the 1960s and 70s describe the women role is just like wallpaper in the album such as roles of wives, mothers, housekeepers, maid and nurses. Female labour is housekeepers, housewives, and mothers. Women were described as unidentified, nameless women, their visible agency voices metaphor as ‘absence, exclusion and erasure’ (Parkin and Karpinski 2014, p3). Herge said that he likes women too much to caricature them, but the women are still like a background in his books.

The women sought to free them from effective second class citizenship at the same time challenges to gender stereotypes with no reflection in decades. As Herge tell us, ‘women have nothing to do in a world like Tintin’s’ (Mountfort, 2020). That means women are the absence of useless like a background in Tintin’s stories and have a less supporting role in this. At the very start, Tintin explains how women are so associated with effect in the way they don’t want to live at a consequence depict as an annoy of caricature; Herge’s claim disregard to his opinion. The women status is low, it limits their roles in the family or society, and no career option as well as restricted their jobs.

While reading Tintin, we saw that women are excluded; their voices are covered and block in the way of how the society works at the time. The women have no voices, no place in the world; they are like a supporting role for man, and all women can do is working like a wife, housewife or subordination for a man that is present in last century as well as in Herge’s stories.

References:

Fauvel, A. (2013). “Crazy Brains and the Weaker Sex: The British Case (1860–1900).” Clio: Women, Gender, History 37: 1–25.

Keeling, R. (2008). “The Anti-Foot-binding Movement 1872–1922: A Cause for China Rather than Chinese Women.” Footnotes 1: 11–19.

Mountfort, P. (2020). Tintin, gender and desire. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 1-17.

Parkins, I., and E. C. Karpinski. (2014). “Introduction: In/Visibility: Absences/Presence in Feminist

Theory.” Atlantis 36: 3–7.

Sadoul, N. [1975]. Tintin et Moi: entretiens avec Hergé (Tintin and Me: Interviews with Hergé). Tournai: Casterman.