Talk:The Castafiore Emerald/Archive 1

Profanity
This actually isn't the only Tintin book with profanity, in The Shooting Star Tintin says "What an ass I am." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.218.93.138 (talk) 16:51, 18 October 2008 (UTC)


 * What's profane about calling himself a donkey?!?--CRConrad (talk) 08:33, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Tempo di Roma
In the English version of this book, when the front page of the Tempo di Roma magazine was written in French instead of English. Why is that? Also, can anyone translate it? I have enclosed the text below.

LA DIVA E IL PAPPAGALLO
 * in questo numero alle pagg. 8-9-10

This is Italian, not French. Babelfish says this: The DIVA And The PARROT Makes a bit of sense! Jellocube27
 * in this number to the pg. 8-9-10
 * Better translation: in this issue on pg. 8-9-10

This is not a favourite among fans. That is why no one can find a citation for that sentence. It is one of the worst...

It is one of the best you mean - it is a genuine piece of literature - very funny and serious - in the good sense of the word. The Ubik 14:43, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

After being reintroduced to TinTin after 30 years, I read this over the weekend and laughed out loud, almost uncontrollably, several times. At about the 1/2 way point I kept having visions of "Bringing up Baby" and "Arsenic and Old Lace", which seemed to share the same type of building, barely contained energy, leading me to add the senetence about similarity to 'Screwball Comedy". It's a shame that its never been adapted for the stage - the setting lends itself to it - or as a film comedy.Matthewdkaufman 15:13, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

It's an interesting point that this is the only Tintin where the entire story takes place in Marlinspike. I thought there was something different about this one, now I know what it is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.178.165.188 (talk) 14:15, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Hergé’s marriage to Fanny Vlamynck
Hergé may have written this book after leaving his first wife, but he certainly wrote it before he married Fanny Vlamynck; Hergé did not complete divorce proceedings with his first wife Germaine until 1977 (after a further two Tintin books, including his last completed one Tintin and the Picaros), at which point he then married her. The Benoît Peeters book which is cited in the article does not support the information as given in the article. Jock123 (talk) 18:31, 16 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Jock123, you are correct, I stated as much when I edited the article Tintin in Tibet. If this article says otherwise, that needs to be reverted. Prhartcom (talk) 05:00, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Prhartcom, Thanks; I’ve deleted it - there wasn’t much point in altering it, as it didn’t provide a context which would suggest that Hergé’s marital status was relevant to the preparation of the book. I’d also say that the claim that the book is based on the life of Maria Callas is also wild speculation, and also isn’t to be found in the Peeters; whilst there may be something in the notion that Hergé’s depiction of Castafiore would be influenced by the preeminent operatic diva of the day, hence the jewels and furs, the character was well established long before Callas rose to fame, and even if Callas was known for jewels, it would have been simply amusing to Hergé that his star was linked to the “Jewel Song”. There certainly isn’t a mention in Peeters that I can find to say that the story was based on any specific incident in Callas’s life, and she doesn’t get a mention in the section of the book devoted to the story. Jock123 (talk) 09:50, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
 * It is going too far to state that the character Castafiore is "based on the life" of Maria Callas. Callas was indeed one of the inspirations for this character as stated Farr (2001) and Farr (2007), who states she was the "model" for the character, simply because Callas was "the most talked about contemporary diva". Farr (2007) clarifies "Hergé brings together a number of ingredients to form the character of Castafiore" including Callas and her rival Renata Tebaldi. Goddin (2009) states the recent jewel robbery of Sophia Loren is another inspiration. Peeters (1988) and Peeters (2012) never mentions an inspiration, despite writing fairly extensively about the character on one page. The biggest inspiration, which the article fails to mention, is Hergé's Aunt Ninie, who made a deep impression on the young Hergé as his family would visit her on Sundays to listen to her sing loudly at the piano, according to Farr (2007), Thompson (1991), and Bocquet & Fromental (2011). The article should reflect all of the sources. Prhartcom (talk) 13:22, 17 March 2015 (UTC)