Dogs in Fiction: Tintin

For ages, various depictions of man’s best friend have been abundant in literature – even one of the plays of William Shakespeare; ‘Two Gentlemen from Verona’ features a dog in the cast. However, one of the most famous dogs in fiction is probably Snowy – or Milou, as he is called in Europe, who is the companion of Tintin. Tintin is the lead character, a journalist, of a range of comic books drawn and written from 1929 – 1978 by Belgian cartoonist and journalist Georges Remi, recognised more widely under his pseudonym Hergé. The stories of Tintin and Milou are one of the most popular in the world. It has been estimated that one in four youngsters in the EU owned at least two comic books about Tintin in the 1990s and the books have also had great success in India and China.

Milou, or Snowy, is Tintin’s fox terrier friend and he and Tintin are inseparable. They have a very strong bond and they have saved each other from danger more times than can be accounted for. Often Milou is able to save Tintin by gnawing through ropes binding him or distracting, sometimes even biting, the various villains holding Tintin captive.

Milou doesn’t speak to humans, but his thoughts are visible to readers although Tintin might himself not always understand. But in spite of this, Milou is mostly able to communicate well. Early on, Milou used to have detailed conversations with other dogs although this was phased out and in later comics Milou appears as quite puzzled over other dog’s behaviour.

Like the other characters in the series, Milou developed during the long period of Tintin albums. By introducing other characters, Milou was gradually removed from the role as a somewhat cynical commentator and adviser to Tintin. He then gradually evolved into a role of providing comic-relief qualities as the Tintin-series became more realistic and the adventures darker. The later albums especially focus on Milou’s scare of spiders, cat-chasing and occasional alcohol-intake.

There has been some debate among Tintin enthusiasts as to how Hergé came to choose a fox terrier as a companion to the adventurous Tintin. Some have believed that it is a reaction to the winds of fascism and communism blowing over Europe in the 1930s. Milou is a small and kind dog, as contrasted by the big and violent German Shephards or Dobermans he is often coming into conflict with. In the end though, he shows that his terrier spirit can turn the most dangerous hunting dog away!

Sources

Wikipedia

Tintin.com

Images by joi (feature image) and Gianfranco Goria