Tintin: A Very European Hero 丁丁:典型的歐式英雄

不同的文化與歷史土壤孕育不同的漫畫人物。這些漫畫人物雖生活在虛擬世界中，卻無一不是真實(shí)社會的投影，帶有明顯的社會烙印。因此，崇尚個(gè)人英雄主義的美國誕生了超人和蜘蛛俠，推崇高科技的日本孕育了奧特曼和多啦A夢，而備受二戰(zhàn)蹂躪、崇尚和平與博愛的歐洲在戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后敞開懷抱熱情地?fù)肀Я寺嬘⑿鄱《　Ｗ?929年誕生以來，丁丁在歐洲大陸乃至全球風(fēng)靡了八十余載。如今，一部《丁丁歷險(xiǎn)記：獨(dú)角獸號的秘密》的上映又勾起了不少人兒時(shí)對他的記憶。不過，要想全方位了解這位極具“歐洲”特點(diǎn)的少年英雄，我們還得從他的時(shí)代背景說起。

Once again， Belgium’s heroic boy reporter is set to journey forth from Brussels， this time on the silver screen. Baffled1) people hoping to understand him should really look at him through the prism2) of post-war Europe.

比利時(shí)英雄的少年記者將再次從布魯塞爾踏上征程，只不過這次是在銀幕上。不知內(nèi)情的人們?nèi)绻肓私馑娴膽?yīng)該通過戰(zhàn)后(編注：指第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后)歐洲這面棱鏡來一睹他的風(fēng)采。

It is one of Europe’s more startling laws. In 1949 France banned children’s books and comic strips from presenting cowardice in a “favourable” light， on pain of up to a year in prison for errant publishers. The law created an oversight committee to watch for positive depictions of the ill， along with crime， theft， hatred， debauchery3) and acts “l(fā)iable to undermine morality” among the young.

Taken literally， the law suggests that an ideal comic-book hero would resemble an overgrown boy scout， whose adventures involve pluck4)， fair play， restrained violence and no sex. That is a pretty accurate description of Tintin， the Belgian boy reporter who enjoyed spectacular success in post-war Europe.

Tintin’s slightly priggish5) character fitted the times. His simple ethical code—seek the truth， protect the weak and stand up to bullies—appealed to a continent waking up from the shame of war. His wholesome qualities help explain the great secret of his commercial success—that he was， and remains， one of the rare comic books that adults are happy to buy for children.

But probity cannot explain why Tintin became a cultural landmark in Europe. There were plenty of wholesome comics in post-war Europe， most of them justly forgotten. Something else in Tintin spoke to children and adults in continental Europe.

Admirers point to the quality of the drawing in Tintin， and the tense pacing of the plots， and they are right. Yet even excellence does not explain Tintin’s success in Europe. For， despite his qualities， Tintin has never been a big hit in the Anglo-Saxon6) world. In Britain， he is reasonably well known， but as a minority taste， bound within narrow striations of class. In America， Tintin is barely known.

All societies reveal themselves through their children’s books. Europe’s love affair with Tintin is more revealing than most.

Any exploration of Tintin’s hold on continental affections must start not with culture， but with history. For all the talk about morality， France’s 1949 law on children’s books had ideological roots. It was pushed by an odd alliance of Communists， Catholic conservatives and jobless French cartoonists， determined that French children should be reading works imbued with “national” values. Pascal Ory7)， a historian at the Sorbonne university， writes that the main aim of the law was to block comics from America.

The question of the transatlantic gap remains current. In America， Steven Spielberg first acquired rights to produce a Tintin film following Hergé8)’s death in 1983， and re-optioned them in 2002. Filming was due to begin in October 2008 for a 2010 release， but release was delayed to 2011. All those delays seem to have been caused partly by American puzzlement at Tintin. The Hollywood Reporter， a trade publication9)， describes the films as being about “a young Belgian reporter and world traveller who is aided in his adventures by his faithful dog Snowy，” and explains that this storyline is “hugely popular in Europe.” You can almost hear the baffled shrugs.

As a journalist， Tintin is spectacularly unproductive. In all 24 albums he pauses perhaps twice to jot down10) a note. He happily gives rival reporters the details of his latest scoop11). Only once is he seen with a completed article， on his inaugural 1929 trip to the Soviet Union.

Unlike another fictional adolescent with a media job—the American comic character Spiderman—Tintin is not an outsider， or a rebel against the established order. He defends monarchs against revolutionaries. His first instinct on catching a villain is to hand him over to the nearest police chief. He does not carry his own gun， though he shoots like an ace. Though slight， he has a very gentlemanly set of fighting skills. He has few chances to rescue girls or women， moving in an almost entirely male， sexless world， but is quick to defend small boys from unearned beatings.

Tintin is grandly uninterested in money. He is indifferent when he is offered large sums for accounts of catching some villain. Hergé’s disdain for transatlantic capitalism is portrayed in the 1931 Tintin in America， in which businessmen offer Tintin $100，000 for an oil well. When Tintin explains the well is on Blackfoot Indian land， the businessmen steal the land. European snobbery about money permeates the books.

Hergé did not share his creation’s lack of interest in money. He paid minute attention to marketing， and had no illusions about his homeland’s limitations as a market. He quickly began excising12) references to Tintin’s Belgian roots to boost his appeal on the French and Swiss markets. He was happy for English-language editions to leave the impression that Tintin was British. Now Tintin becomes the subject of a Hollywood blockbuster， many will soon think he is American. Hergé’s heirs know Tintin’s fame will take on quite different， global dimensions， in a way that will be hard to control.

Hergé’s wife Fanny confesses to seeing risks in Hollywood doing Tintin. To her， the charm of Hergé’s work is absolutely “European”—more “nuanced13)” than an American comic. The American style of telling a story threatens that European “sensibility，” she suggests: American narratives are “very dynamic， but more violent， and are much more aggressively paced.”

Hergé wanted the risk taken. Unfortunately， he died days before a planned face-to-face meeting with Mr Spielberg， but said a film-maker like Mr Spielberg should be given free rein， and told his wife: “This Tintin will doubtless be different， but it will be a good Tintin.”

Such artistic openness is perhaps surprising， given where Hergé began his career. He always said the Catholic boy-scout movement rescued him from a “grey” childhood in lower middle-class Brussels. From there， he fell in with15) a slightly hysterical16) clutch of hard-right17) priests and nationalists， one of whom gave him his first job， on a small Belgian Catholic newspaper， the Vingtième Siècle， which fervently supported the monarchy， Belgian missionaries in the Congo and Mussolini.

Tintin was born in this unpromising environment， in a weekly children’s supplement18)， Le Petit Vingtième. Hergé wanted to draw cartoons about the Wild West of America. His employer， an alarming priest named Norbert Wallez， had other ideas， ordering that the new fictional reporter be sent to the Soviet Union， then to Belgium’s colony in the Congo.

The 1930 story Tintin in the Congo has done much to feed Hergé’s reputation for racism. Its Africans are crude caricatures19): child-men with wide eyes and bloated lips who prostrate20) themselves before Tintin.

In Scandinavia the staggering toll of African wildlife Tintin kills has prompted additional angst. The book remains popular in Africa， Hergé defenders like to assert. But， in truth， it has lost any charm it ever possessed. It is a work of propaganda—not for “colonialism，” as is often said—but more narrowly for Belgian missionaries.

Hergé’s reputation is also marked by charges of anti-Semitism21). He received many complaints about one of his villains， the hook-nosed New York financier， “Mr Blumenstein.” It does not help that this caricature appeared in The Shooting Star， an adventure written in 1941 while living in Brussels under Nazi occupation. In the field of devout Tintinologists， much effort has been put to explaining this “l(fā)apse” away. Michael Farr， a British expert on Tintin， is typical， writing in 2001 that as soon as Hergé realised that his character was “l(fā)iable to misunderstanding，” he gave Blumenstein a different name and a new nationality， having him hail from “Satilde;o Rico.”

Tintinologists have a ready explanation too for another lapse: the fact that Hergé spent the war working for Le Soir， a Belgian newspaper seized by the German occupiers and turned into a propaganda organ. This is usually explained by Hergé’s “naivety，” as an author of children’s comics.

Alas， none of those arguments survive a reading of a biography of Hergé by Philippe Goddin22)， published in 2007. Mr Goddin’s honesty is commendable: his is an official biography， based on Hergé’s large collection of private papers.

Mr Goddin returns to The Shooting Star， and its initial newspaper serialisation in Le Soir. This included a strip about the panic unleashed when it seemed a giant meteorite would hit the earth. In one frame， he writes， Hergé drew two Jews rejoicing that if the world ended， they would not have to pay back their creditors. At that same moment in Belgium， Mr Goddin notes， Jews were being ordered to move to the country’s largest cities and remove their children from ordinary schools. In the news pages of Le Soir， these measures were described as indispensable preparations for an orderly “emigration” of Jews. A year later， Hergé deleted the drawing of the Jews of his own accord23)， when the serialised The Shooting Star became an album.

Mr Goddin demolishes the excuse of naivety， thanks to papers found in Hergé’s files. As early as October 1940， he records， Hergé received an anonymous letter accusing him of luring Belgian children to read German propaganda， by publishing Tintin in Le Soir’s youth supplement. A few months later， Hergé had a bitter argument with an old friend， Philippe Gérard. In a letter， Gérard demanded Hergé either endorse the “odious24) propaganda” of Le Soir or make his disagreement with the German occupation known. Saying it was just “a job” would not do， his friend concluded.

By way of reply， Hergé offered a defence of neutrality. “I am neither pro-German， nor pro-British，” he wrote back. “As I can do absolutely nothing to hasten the victory of either England or Germany， I watch， I observe and I chew things over. Calmly and without passion.” His aim was to remain an “honest man，” Hergé wrote.

There is a link between Hergé， this disappointing man， and his creation Tintin， who fights against despots25) so bravely. It lies in the rationalisation of impotence: a very European preoccupation.

The key to Tintin is that he has the mindset of “someone born in a small country，” says Charles Dierick， a historian at the Hergé Studios. He is “the clever little guy who outsmarts big bullies.” And as a little guy， Tintin’s bravery works within limits: he rescues friends， and foils plots. But when he finds himself in Japanese-controlled Shanghai， in The Blue Lotus， he can do nothing to end the broader problem of foreign occupation.

Interviewed late in life， Hergé acknowledged the links between his wartime experiences and his moral outlook. The second world war lies behind a great deal in Tintin， just as it lies deep beneath the political instincts of many on the European continent. It matters a lot that the Anglo-Saxon world has a different memory of that same war: it is a tragic event， but not a cause for shame， nor a reminder of impotence.

Tintin has never fallen foul of26) the 1949 French law on children’s literature. He is not a coward， and the albums do not make that vice appear in a favourable light. But he is a pragmatist， albeit a principled one. Perhaps Anglo-Saxon audiences want something more from their fictional heroes: they want them imbued with the power to change events， and inflict total defeat on the wicked. Tintin cannot offer something so unrealistic. In that， he is a very European hero.

歐洲曾頒布過一條雷人的法律。1949年，法國禁止在兒童書籍和連環(huán)漫畫中以“欣賞”的口吻描寫懦弱行為，膽敢違抗的出版商將被處以一年的徒刑。這條法律還催生了一個(gè)監(jiān)督委員會，專門監(jiān)管對各種不良行為的正面描寫，這些行為除懦弱以外，還有犯罪、偷竊、仇恨、放蕩以及“可能危及年輕人道德”的各種行為。

從字面上看，這條法律認(rèn)為，理想的漫畫主人公應(yīng)該像一個(gè)超齡的童子軍那樣，在歷險(xiǎn)中英勇無畏，光明磊落，不濫用武力，沒有男歡女愛。這正是對丁丁的真實(shí)寫照，這位比利時(shí)的少年記者在戰(zhàn)后的歐洲取得了令人矚目的成功。

丁丁略顯一本正經(jīng)的性格正符合當(dāng)時(shí)那個(gè)時(shí)代的需求。他的道德準(zhǔn)則十分簡單，那就是追求真理，保護(hù)弱者，面對恃強(qiáng)凌弱的惡徒敢于挺身而出。這對剛剛從戰(zhàn)爭的羞辱中醒來的歐洲大陸來說，無疑具有很強(qiáng)的吸引力。他那健全的人格正是他取得商業(yè)成功的重要秘訣，他過去是、現(xiàn)在依然是成年人樂意為孩子購買的為數(shù)不多的漫畫書之一。

但一身正氣并不能解釋為什么丁丁會成為歐洲的文化地標(biāo)。在戰(zhàn)后的歐洲，健康向上的漫畫書很多，但大多數(shù)都已理所當(dāng)然地被人們遺忘了。丁丁的故事一定還有別的東西吸引著歐洲大陸的孩童和成人。

丁丁迷們指出，丁丁系列漫畫有著精美的插圖和緊湊的情節(jié)。他們說得沒錯(cuò)。然而，這些卓越之處還是無法解釋丁丁在歐洲取得的巨大成功。因?yàn)椋瑯泳哂羞@些特征的丁丁在盎格魯-撒克遜世界里就從未引起過巨大的轟動(dòng)。在英國，他雖然在一定程度上也頗有名氣，但卻一直是少數(shù)人的偏愛，局限在某些階層的狹窄范圍內(nèi)。在美國，丁丁的名字幾乎不為人知。

每一個(gè)社會都會通過其兒童書籍展示出自己的特性。但較之其他大多數(shù)民族，歐洲人對丁丁的情有獨(dú)鐘更能揭示出其自身的民族特性。

要探討為什么丁丁一直深受歐洲人喜愛，不能從文化入手，只能從歷史入手。對于1949年法國制定的關(guān)于兒童書籍的那條法律，很多人談?wù)摰亩际堑赖聠栴}，但事實(shí)上它卻有著深深的意識形態(tài)根源。推動(dòng)這條法律的是一個(gè)由共產(chǎn)主義者、天主教保守派和失業(yè)的法國漫畫家組成的古怪聯(lián)盟，他們認(rèn)定法國兒童應(yīng)該閱讀灌輸“國民”價(jià)值的作品。巴黎索邦大學(xué)歷史學(xué)家帕斯加爾·歐利在書中寫道，該法律的主要目的是為了阻止美國漫畫進(jìn)入法國。

大西洋兩岸的這種隔閡至今仍然存在。在美國，在埃爾熱于1983年去世后不久，史蒂文·斯皮爾伯格就首次獲得了丁丁電影的制作權(quán)，后來又于2002年重新獲得授權(quán)。按計(jì)劃，拍攝應(yīng)該于2008年10月開始，2010年影片上映。然而，上映日期卻推遲到了2011年。影片一再推遲，部分原因似乎是因?yàn)槊绹藢Χ《「械嚼Щ蟛唤狻Ｐ袠I(yè)出版物《好萊塢記者》將這部電影描述為“一個(gè)年輕的比利時(shí)記者周游世界，其在歷險(xiǎn)中得到了忠犬白雪的幫助” ，并解釋說這個(gè)故事“在歐洲大受歡迎”。你幾乎可以聽到人們因困惑不解而聳肩的聲音。

作為一名記者，丁丁顯然沒有多大建樹。在24集的漫畫中，他大概只有兩次停下來匆匆寫上幾句。他非常愉快地將自己最新發(fā)現(xiàn)的獨(dú)家新聞詳詳細(xì)細(xì)地告訴競爭的同行們。只有一次，讀者見到他寫了一篇完整的文章，那還是在他1929年首次蘇聯(lián)之旅的時(shí)候。

與美國漫畫人物蜘蛛俠(一位虛構(gòu)的從事媒體工作的青年)不同的是，丁丁并不是一個(gè)局外人，也不是現(xiàn)行秩序的叛逆者。他捍衛(wèi)君主，反對革命者。每當(dāng)抓住一個(gè)壞蛋，他的第一反應(yīng)就是把他交給最近的警長。雖然是個(gè)神槍手，但他卻從不自己帶槍。雖然身材瘦小，但他卻有一套紳士般的格斗技巧。他生活在一個(gè)幾乎全是男性的無性世界里，幾乎沒有英雄救美的機(jī)會，但遇到小男孩遭受欺侮時(shí)，他總會立刻沖上去保護(hù)他們。

丁丁對金錢不屑一顧。當(dāng)他抓住了某個(gè)壞蛋，有人向他提供大筆錢想得到他的報(bào)道時(shí)，他卻無動(dòng)于衷。埃爾熱對大西洋彼岸的資本主義的蔑視在1931年的《丁丁在美國》中表現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致。在這本漫畫中，商人們?yōu)榱艘豢谟途蚨《〕鰞r(jià)十萬美元。丁丁解釋說這口油井在黑腳印第安人的土地上，商人們便將這塊地偷了過來。在丁丁系列漫畫中，到處彌漫著歐洲人對金錢的這種不屑一顧的態(tài)度。

不過，埃爾熱本人并不像他筆下的人物那樣對金錢毫無興趣。他對市場營銷傾注了細(xì)致入微的關(guān)注，而且對本國圖書市場的局限性從不抱任何幻想。很快，他就開始刪掉丁丁是比利時(shí)人的相關(guān)信息，以提升他在法國和瑞士市場的吸引力。英文版的丁丁給人留下了“丁丁是英國人”的印象，對此他非常高興。現(xiàn)在，丁丁成了好萊塢大片的主題，很快將會有很多人認(rèn)為他是美國人。埃爾熱的繼承人知道，丁丁的名氣將會在非常不同的國際層面上展開，如何發(fā)展將很難控制。

埃爾熱的夫人范妮坦承，她看到了好萊塢改編丁丁的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。在她看來，埃爾熱作品的魅力在于其百分百的“歐洲”風(fēng)格——比美式漫畫更加“細(xì)膩”。她認(rèn)為，美國式的講故事方法會威脅到歐洲作品特有的“敏感性”：美國式的敘事“跌宕起伏但卻更為激烈，節(jié)奏也更咄咄逼人”。

埃爾熱則希望冒險(xiǎn)一試。他本來已計(jì)劃好和斯皮爾伯格先生面對面交談，但卻在會見到來的前幾天不幸去世，不過，去世前他曾說，像斯皮爾伯格先生這樣的制片人應(yīng)該給予充分的自由。他告訴他的夫人：“這次的丁丁毫無疑問是不一樣的，但肯定會是很棒的丁丁。”

考慮到埃爾熱創(chuàng)作生涯的發(fā)源地，他對丁丁電影所持的開放性態(tài)度也許有點(diǎn)出人意料。他總是說天主教的童子軍運(yùn)動(dòng)將他從中下階層布魯塞爾人的“灰色”童年中解救了出來。在那里，他遇到一群有點(diǎn)歇斯底里的極右派牧師和民族主義者，并深受其影響。這些人中的某一個(gè)人為他提供了第一份工作——在比利時(shí)一家名為《20世紀(jì)報(bào)》的天主教小報(bào)里工作。《20世紀(jì)報(bào)》狂熱地支持君主制，支持在剛果的比利時(shí)傳教士和墨索里尼。

丁丁就是在這種毫無希望的環(huán)境中誕生的，刊載于每周一期的兒童增刊《小20世紀(jì)報(bào)》(譯注：《20世紀(jì)報(bào)》的增刊)上。最初，埃爾熱想畫一些關(guān)于美國大西部的漫畫，但他的老板諾伯特·沃爾茨——一位令人畏懼的牧師——卻有不同的意見，他要求將這位虛構(gòu)的記者首先派往蘇聯(lián)，然后再去比利時(shí)在剛果的殖民地。

1930年的《丁丁在剛果》在很大程度上給埃爾熱留下了種族主義者的名聲。書中的非洲人被畫成了諷刺漫畫般的丑陋形象：瞪大的眼睛，腫脹的嘴唇，一臉孩子像的男人拜倒在丁丁面前。

在斯堪的納維亞，丁丁所殺死的非洲野生動(dòng)物的數(shù)量驚人，這也額外引起了人們的焦慮。埃爾熱的支持者總是聲稱丁丁在非洲仍然很受歡迎，但事實(shí)上，該作品已經(jīng)失去了它曾經(jīng)擁有的魅力。它不過是一部宣傳品，不是像人們常說的那樣替“殖民主義”做宣傳，而是在更為狹窄的意義上為比利時(shí)的傳教士做宣傳而已。

埃爾熱還受到了反猶太主義的指控，這也使他的名聲蒙受污點(diǎn)。書中的一位反派人物讓他遭到很多指控，此人名叫“布魯曼斯坦先生”，是一位長著鷹鉤鼻的紐約金融家(編注：指控者聲稱，這位金融家的名字很像猶太人的名字，而且是典型的猶太人長相)。該角色出現(xiàn)在1941年完成的歷險(xiǎn)故事《神秘的星星》中，雖然這是埃爾熱居住在納粹占領(lǐng)下的布魯塞爾時(shí)創(chuàng)作的，但仍然不能讓他獲得人們的諒解。在丁丁研究領(lǐng)域，虔誠的“丁丁學(xué)家”們?yōu)榱私o這一“瑕疵”開脫投入了大量的精力。邁克·費(fèi)爾——英國的一位丁丁研究專家——就是他們的典型代表，他在2001年寫道：埃爾熱一意識到他的角色“有可能引起誤解”，就立刻更改了布魯曼斯坦的名字，并改變了他的國籍，讓他來自“圣·里克”(編注：丁丁漫畫中虛構(gòu)的國家)。

埃爾熱還有另一個(gè)“瑕疵”：在戰(zhàn)爭期間，他曾經(jīng)為《拉·索爾報(bào)》效力過，這是一家由德國占領(lǐng)者控制的比利時(shí)報(bào)紙，當(dāng)時(shí)變成了德國的宣傳口舌。對于這一“瑕疵”，丁丁學(xué)家們也準(zhǔn)備好了托辭，通常的解釋是埃爾熱作為兒童漫畫作家有點(diǎn)“天真”。

嗚呼！只要讀一讀菲力普·戈丁在2007年出版的埃爾熱傳記，人們就會發(fā)現(xiàn)所有這些托辭都站不住腳。戈丁先生的誠實(shí)是令人欽佩的：他寫的埃爾熱是官方傳記，參考了埃爾熱大量的私人文件。

戈丁先生重新研究了《神秘的星星》及其最初在《拉·索爾報(bào)》上刊登的長篇連載。其中有一段漫畫，畫的是一顆巨大的流星似乎就要撞到地球，因而引發(fā)了人們的恐慌。戈丁先生寫道，在其中一格漫畫中，埃爾熱畫了兩個(gè)猶太人欣喜若狂的樣子，因?yàn)槿绻澜缤炅耍麄兙筒挥眠€債了。戈丁先生注意到，此時(shí)此刻，在比利時(shí)，猶太人正被勒令遷移到比利時(shí)最大的城市里，并將他們的子女從普通學(xué)校中轉(zhuǎn)走。在《拉·索爾報(bào)》的新聞版面上，這些做法被描述成為猶太人有序“移民”而進(jìn)行的必不可少的準(zhǔn)備活動(dòng)。一年后，當(dāng)連載的《神秘的星星》要單獨(dú)出版成冊時(shí)，埃爾熱主動(dòng)刪除了這些猶太人的畫面。

借助于在埃爾熱檔案中發(fā)現(xiàn)的文件，戈丁先生推翻了所謂“天真”的托辭。據(jù)他記載，早在1940年10月，埃爾熱就收到了一封匿名信，指責(zé)他把丁丁發(fā)表在《拉·索爾報(bào)》青年增刊上，以此引誘比利時(shí)兒童閱讀德國人的宣傳品。幾個(gè)月之后，埃爾熱和老朋友菲力普·杰拉德進(jìn)行了一場激烈的辯論。在一封信中，杰拉德要求埃爾熱要么公開支持《拉·索爾報(bào)》那“令人作嘔的宣傳”，要么公開表示他對德國人占領(lǐng)的不滿。他的朋友在信的最后說，僅僅把它說成是“工作需要”是說不過去的。

在回信中，埃爾熱為他的中立立場進(jìn)行了辯護(hù)。“我既不支持德國，也不支持英國，”他回信說，“我絕對沒有能力來加速英國或者德國任何一方的勝利，所以我只能冷靜地、不帶任何感情地注視一切，觀察一切，思考一切。”他寫道，他的目的是做一個(gè)“誠實(shí)的人”。

埃爾熱，一個(gè)令人失望的人；他筆下創(chuàng)造的丁丁，一個(gè)勇敢反抗獨(dú)裁的人。這兩者之間存在著某種聯(lián)系，那就是一種存在合理性的無能為力：這是一種非常具有歐洲特點(diǎn)的根深蒂固的思想。

埃爾熱研究室的歷史學(xué)家查爾斯·德瑞克指出，丁丁的關(guān)鍵之處在于他具有“小國國民”的心態(tài)。他是個(gè)“聰明的小人物，能夠在智慧上戰(zhàn)勝大惡霸”。但作為一個(gè)小人物，丁丁的勇敢只能在一定的局限性內(nèi)施展：拯救朋友，挫敗陰謀。可當(dāng)他在《藍(lán)荷花》中來到日本人占領(lǐng)的上海時(shí)，對于異邦占領(lǐng)這樣更大的問題，他卻無能為力。

埃爾熱在晚年接受采訪時(shí)承認(rèn)，他的道德觀與他在戰(zhàn)爭期間的經(jīng)歷有關(guān)。第二次世界大戰(zhàn)在丁丁身上留下了許多印跡，就像它在歐洲大陸許多人的政治本能中留下了深深的烙印那樣。重要的是，在盎格魯-撒克遜的世界里，人們對同樣的戰(zhàn)爭有著不同的記憶：它是一場悲劇，但并不是令人感到恥辱的理由，也不會讓人想起自己的無能。

丁丁從來沒有和1949年法國制定的那條兒童文學(xué)法律產(chǎn)生過沖突。他不是懦夫，畫冊也沒有以欣賞的口吻描繪過懦弱行為。但他是個(gè)愛管閑事的人，雖然他管起閑事來有自己的原則。也許盎格魯-撒克遜的觀眾們對他們虛構(gòu)的英雄有著更高的要求：要求英雄有能力改變現(xiàn)實(shí)，并且徹底擊敗邪惡分子。丁丁無法向觀眾提供如此不現(xiàn)實(shí)的情節(jié)。從這個(gè)意義上來說，他是個(gè)典型的歐式英雄。

1.baffle [#712;baelig;f(#601;)l] vt. 使困惑，使為難

2.prism [#712;pr#618;z(#601;)] n. [物]棱鏡

3.debauchery [d#618;#712;b#596;#720;t#643;#601;ri] n. 放蕩，道德敗壞

4.pluck [pl#652;k] n. 勇氣

5.priggish [#712;pr#618;ɡ#618;#643;] adj. 〈貶〉自命不凡的，一本正經(jīng)的

6.Anglo-Saxon：盎格魯-撒克遜人(指公元5世紀(jì)至諾曼征服這一時(shí)期內(nèi)居住在英國的民族成員)的后裔的；說英語的人的；深受英國文化影響的

7.Pascal Ory：帕斯加爾·歐利(1948～)，巴黎索邦大學(xué)當(dāng)代史教授，同時(shí)任教于法國社會科學(xué)高等研究學(xué)院和巴黎政治學(xué)院新聞學(xué)院。

8.Hergé：埃爾熱(1907~1983)，原名喬治·雷米(Georges Remi)，比利時(shí)漫畫家，世界著名連環(huán)漫畫《丁丁歷險(xiǎn)記》(The Adventures of Tintin)的作者

9.trade publication：行業(yè)出版物

10.jot down：草草記下

11.scoop [sku#720;p] n. [非正式用語]獨(dú)家新聞

12.excise [#712;eksa#618;z] vt. 刪除，刪去

13.nuanced [#712;nju#720;#594;nsd] adj. (描述、表演等)細(xì)致入微的

14.lapse [laelig;ps] n. 失誤，過失

15.fall in with：偶然遇到

16.hysterical [h#618;#712;ster#618;k(#601;)l] adj. 歇斯底里的

17.hard-right：極右派(偏激保皇派和正統(tǒng)派)

18.supplement [#712;s#652;pl#618;m#601;nt] n. 增刊

19.caricature [#712;kaelig;r#618;k#601;tj#650;#601;(r)] n. 諷刺畫，諷刺描述法

20.prostrate [#712;pr#594;stre#618;t] vt. 使(自己)拜倒

21.anti-Semitism：反猶太主義(對猶太人或猶太教思想敵視或抱有偏見)

22.Philippe Goddin：菲力普·戈丁(1944～)，重要的丁丁學(xué)家，《丁丁歷險(xiǎn)記》研究專家

23.of one’s own accord：自愿地，主動(dòng)地

24.odious [#712;#601;#650;di#601;s] adj. 可惡的，令人作嘔的

25.despot [#712;desp#594;t] n. 專制君主，暴君

26.fall foul of：同……沖突，同……產(chǎn)生糾葛