Asterix and the Great Divide (1980)

Le grand Fossé

Romans are scarce, so the village ditches Asterix.

Presenting a pretentious thematic undercurrent...

Notable Nomenclature...

• Cleverdix: Elected village chief. Old comrade-in-arms of Vitalstatistix.
• Majestix: Appointed village chief.
• Histrionix: Cleverdix's Adonis-like son. Basically Tragicomix from Asterix the Legionary with a moustache.
• Melodrama: Daughter to Majestix.
• Angelica: Her nurse.
• Codfix: Majestix's (quite literally) slimy advisor. The piscine-perfume usually attributed to Unhygienix is effectively tranferred to him for the course of this book.
• Sourpus: Legionary.
• Infectius Virus: Decurian.
• Umbrageous Cumunolingus: Centurian.
• Schizophrenix (common misuse of 'Schizophrenia' to mean 'Multiple Personality Disorder'): Neutral villager, ie the divide has been dug straight through his hut.

Continuity; lack-thereof and other gaffes...

• First book of phase Kessler dubs "The Real and the Cartoon" - marked by a differentiation in the drawings of the complex, detailed regulars and the simple, line-drawn guest-characters.
• Uderzo has a more supernatural/fantastical view of the Asterix world than Goscinny. This is reflected in the multiple magic potions of this story. (Kessler)
• Extension of unsubtle-shield-gag, as Vitalstatistix places his shield on a trolley. Obviously a futile gesture (p6).
• Fishfights (pp7-8 and 12).
• Unsubtle-shield-gag, sans-trolley (p12).
• Romans, for the first time, seem obsessed with slave/concubine ownership (pp 14-15).
• Roman legionaries again form a trade union (see The Mansions of the Gods (pp15 and 28).
• Getafix seemingly carries around a combined restoration/forgetfulness elixir (p16).
• Obelix's childhood immersion seems to have endowed his hands with sharp edges (p22).
• Getafix carries off much the same potion-in-Roman-camp ploy as he did in Asterix the Gaul (p23).
• Slightly contrived plot-development re. Getafix's strength-potions and combined restoration/forgetfullness elixirs not being compatible (p31).
• The rivals invoke the 'Big Fight' method of chieftal appointment (pp 41-42).
• A, O & Getafix return home to a fishfight-in-progress (p 44).

Cleverness and contemporaneity...

• Cleverdix and Majestix represent the elected versus divine-right leadership debate (p1).
• The old guy's apple tree shows a natural contempt for political divides (p2).
• The neutral stance doesn't work (p2).
• Cleverdix offers a socialist manifesto (p4).
• More self-reference: Obelix responds to the previous frame-caption (p6).
• Fishfight seems to have therapeutic purpose of uniting village when Romans are scarce (p8).
• Majestix anticipates his daughter joining 'Classical women's Lib' (p9).
• Name of god Vesta explicitly linked to unappetising dehydrated 'curries'.
• Besotted Histrionix imagines face of Angelica in smoke of village's chimneys.
• Fulliautomatix keeps hammer very much on standby (p13).
• There is, of necessity, so such book as 'Hymns Ancient and Modern' yet written (p14).
• Getafix's bill of fare is replete with punning and dramatic irony (p22).
• Symbolic placement of Getafix's cauldron to represent the village's re-unification (p29).
• Re-united village devises one-way traffic system (p 43).
• Histrionix's village has a melodious bard providing music at the banquet at the equivalent place of Cacofonix's tree (p43).
• Cacofonix suspended from tree, going eye-to-eye with its resident owl (p44).

Those Romeo and Juliet comparisons...

• There are two lovers from rival camps.
• Melodrama's nurse is called Angelica, as is Juliet's in the play. Like her she acts as go-between between the lovers (p9).
• The paramours enjoy soirees at Angelica's window; and the 'what's in a name' speech ensues. We release that, whereas 'Histrionix' doesn't fit the scansion, Shakespeare got it spot on with 'Romeo' (p10).

That army recruitment drive...

• 'Back at the recruiting office they told us we'd get beautiful slave-girls from the countries we'd conquered'.
• 'Loot they said, the carrot for the donkey'.
• 'It's a mans life they said'.

Obelix has a tender side...

• Cries up against a wall over Histrionix's predicament, much to Dogmatix's contempt (p13). And again (p18). And again (p44).
• Institutes a one-man slaves revolt when his stature is appraised (p20).
• It is always wise to avoid the use of 'fat' however euphemistically, around Obelix (p25).
• Turns his customary beetroot-hue when Angelica kisses him goodbye. Dogmatix carries his huff away with him (p43).

Classic Pegleg...

Redbeard's Retort...

Good or what?

Like most solo Uderzo books, this is hard to call. As the illustrator of the Goscinny/Uderzo team Uderzo does not exhibit anything approaching the comic vision of Goscinny's best texts. Then again, he is capable of producing a story that is more than respectable and illustrating it to his usual extraordinary standards (I doubt the series could have continued had it been the illustator who had died: a lot more people can write a decent narrative than can provide drawings for one). Uderzo's jokes - in this and subsequent books - rely on past continuity to a massive extent. This either involves re-using jokes from earlier books (i.e. the legionaries' trade-union) or extending a running gag to absurd lengths (e.g. the Vitalstatistix-shield-on-trolley joke) that don't particularly work. He also seems obliged to include at least one instance of each running gag (fishfight, Piggywiggy, classic Pegleg etc.) per book, whereas the Goscinny/Uderzo stories were more selective. Despite that these books are valuable for the usual wit and punning (via Bell and Hockeridge) and, as I said, for Uderzo's priceless artwork. Usually I am an advocate of successful series' finishing on a high-point but in this instance, and despite their relative decline, I am glad that Uderzo has continued to produce Asterix.