Scrooge has had several relationships with women in the comics and in animation. I believe we've discussed several of them on various threads here, but here's a good place to start.
Most of them are far from being classified as truly romantic relationships.
Yes, I think we need a dedicated thread on Scrooge's romantic past on this forum, since that page is outdated and may actually disappear any day.
I will try to explain myself more clearly if possible. First of all, I did not mean Scrooge had to give up his romance to become rich, I was saying Scrooge lost everything (at the beginning of chapter 12), and Goldie was just one of them. She was the woman he met at the pinnacle of his life, a glorious time that he missed so much as an old man. He was obsessed with his past, and that woman was the representation of it.
On the other hand, I do believe a marriage life could not possibly last long if the only goal of his life is pursuing money, Hortense and Matilda left Scrooge not because he burnt down a village to buy the land, but because he did not contact his family, at all, for 37 years, and came back with a gloomy face when they threw a party for him. He was no longer the family man they expected him to be. Goldie would not be in a better place if they got married. If you think about it, I am pretty sure in real life couple breaks up when one of them does not spend enough time at home.
I will try to explain myself more clearly if possible. Firstly of all, I did not mean Scrooge had to give up his romance to become rich, I was saying Scrooge lost everything (at the beginning of chapter 12), and Goldie was just one of them. She was the woman he met at the pinnacle of his life, a glorious time that he missed so much as an old man. He was obsessed with his past, and that woman was the representation of it.
On the other hand, I do believe a marriage life could not possibly last long if the only goal of his life is pursuing money, Hortense and Matilda left Scrooge not because he burnt down a village to buy the land, but because he did not contact his family, at all, for 37 years, and came back with a gloomy face when they threw a party for him. He was no longer the family man they expected him to be. Goldie would not be in a better place if they got married. If you think about it, I am pretty sure in real life couple breaks up when one of them does not spend enough time at home.
Correction: Scrooge didn't contacted his family for 21 years (1909-1930)
I will try to explain myself more clearly if possible. Firstly of all, I did not mean Scrooge had to give up his romance to become rich, I was saying Scrooge lost everything (at the beginning of chapter 12), and Goldie was just one of them. She was the woman he met at the pinnacle of his life, a glorious time that he missed so much as an old man. He was obsessed with his past, and that woman was the representation of it.
On the other hand, I do believe a marriage life could not possibly last long if the only goal of his life is pursuing money, Hortense and Matilda left Scrooge not because he burnt down a village to buy the land, but because he did not contact his family, at all, for 37 years, and came back with a gloomy face when they threw a party for him. He was no longer the family man they expected him to be. Goldie would not be in a better place if they got married. If you think about it, I am pretty sure in real life couple breaks up when one of them does not spend enough time at home.
I think you're in your belief that Scrooge and Goldie's marriage couldn't have lasted if his sole pursuit was money, but I think it could have persevered even with Scrooge's longing for wealth, so long as that came second to his love for her. I suspect that Goldie would have wanted to go with Scrooge on all of his globetrotting business trips, so I don't think they would have split due to not being near each other. Anyways, there's another thread clearly dedicated to discussing what would have happened if Scrooge and Goldie had gotten together in their youth.
No matter what I say or do, know that Jesus loves you.
I'm not referring merely to the Prisoner of White Agony Creek scene. That unfulfilled love story he built around their relationship rendered Scrooge's life story too dark and sorrowful imo. And I don't think that was what Barks had in mind when he introduced Goldie either.
It may be dark and sorrowful, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Scrooge is the most comple character in the duck universe, so he can be allowed to have such kind of storylines. Plus, many scenes about the Scrooge-Goldie relationship are actually bittersweet rather than depressingly sad. Even when they are sad, they usually reach a narrative peak that really makes them well worth reading.
Perhaps Rosa should've left Goldie as an old, unserious crush of Scrooge's that never went further than that.
An unserious crash? I don't think that would have done any justice to Goldie's character, or to Scrooge's character, or even to "Back to the Klondike" itself.
I kind of agree with this. Scrooge's lifelong obsession with Goldie, to the point where he had no further relationships, pines ineffectively for her and is teased for it by his nephews
Well, Scrooge being a bachelor is not a Rosa invention: Barks created him that way. And it's an integral part of the character, since it's obvious that he spent his whole life building his financial empire. Scrooge is similar to those literary characters who are married to their job, like Sherlock Holmes. That's why Goldie being the only person for which he considered a relationship makes her, and the events involving them, so special and unique. It's pretty sad to think that this aspect was lost among other creators: the cited Katie Sullivan page mentions dozens of love interests, Robb mentions that at least two more are missing... that's much more love interests than an average person has in a whole life! Making Scrooge a ladies' man doesn't feel right to me, it is even worse than giving him an ordinary man's life with an average number of past relationships.
and supposedly leaves everything behind to retire towards the end of his life to spend his last years with her, is sad and unrealistic to say the least.
But I don't think we should take offhand remarks like these as face value just as if they appeared in a published story. Any criticism of Rosa's Glodie should only be based on his actual comics imho.
That's why I like the idea that Dickie is Goldie's granddaughter but not Scrooge's; it means that Goldie, at least, moved on as you would expect.
Here I disagree: not only I find Dickie a boring and uninteresting character that I don't care for, but for me it makes for a much more powerful narrative if the impact they had on each other was so big that they never had any other relationship. Maybe it's even unhealthy in some ways, but this isn't necessarily a bad think as long as it builds an important part of their mythology. After all, everything about Scrooge is unhealthy, and this is the reason why he's one of the best characters.
Plus, Goldie didn't even seem pregnant in "Hearts of the Yukon".
Barks' Scrooge, on the other hand, seems to have forgotten about her completely until his "Blinkus of the Thinkus" pills brought back long-forgotten memories.
Well, because of "Blinkus of the Thinkus" he had also forgotten who Donald was... can we say for sure that before he got "Blinkus of the Thinkus" he didn't remember about Goldie?
Again, though, I'm not sure why, even in the Rosa-verse, Scrooge had to choose between Goldie or becoming a billionaire (if that's what Rosa implies; did he?).
There were several reasons for their separation. In "The Prisoner of White Agony Creek", he is afraid that she would take on his worst faults, and felt it was not correct to have her be subjected to the same dangers he routinely faces. But, most of all, was afraid of the consequence of his falling in love.
In "Hearts of the Yukon", a series of coincidences separated them: she asked for him to be arrested, but in fact only wanted to use this as an excuse to talk with him, and would have dropped charges later. However, Scrooge didn't know that, as they didn't have a chance to really meet each other, so he refused to open her letter because he thought "This is probably another complaint she's filed... or a lawsuit for fire damage... or some other deviltry to harass me! Should I open this... or is it better not to see the poison inside? Maybe it's nicer to pretend tht there's one person in this sorry world tht I might... that I can..."
In "Last Sled to Dawson", after Srooge had earned his first million dollars he thought that he would stop there, because "A million dollar is all I'll ever need!" That's why he felt ready to look back as his past relationship with Goldie and thought of giving them a second chance. However, the sled in which he put his letter for her, and a box of chocolates, fell into a glacier and he almost died, plus he fell into Soapy Slick's boat which further brought he away from Dawson. He took it as a sign of the destiny: "Things went fine while I worked my claim day and night, never resting, making myself a rich man! Why did everything turn sour as soon as I decided to settle down, go to Dawson, and... [silent panel in which Scroge is thinking] But if that's the way it is, I won't stop with a million bucks! I'll work and keep working until I don't measure my money by the million, but by the... the acre! And I'll start by buying the bank in Whitehorse!"
So, it was a bit more complex than choosing between her and becoming a billionaire. I like how TheMidgetMoose explained the psychological reasons behind Scrooge's actions.
I will try to explain myself more clearly if possible. Firstly of all, I did not mean Scrooge had to give up his romance to become rich, I was saying Scrooge lost everything (at the beginning of chapter 12), and Goldie was just one of them. She was the woman he met at the pinnacle of his life, a glorious time that he missed so much as an old man. He was obsessed with his past, and that woman was the representation of it.
On the other hand, I do believe a marriage life could not possibly last long if the only goal of his life is pursuing money, Hortense and Matilda left Scrooge not because he burnt down a village to buy the land, but because he did not contact his family, at all, for 37 years, and came back with a gloomy face when they threw a party for him. He was no longer the family man they expected him to be. Goldie would not be in a better place if they got married. If you think about it, I am pretty sure in real life couple breaks up when one of them does not spend enough time at home.
Correction: Scrooge didn't contacted his family for 21 years (1909-1930)
It's hard to say the correct number since chapter 11 is the hardest when it comes to determining the chronology.
and supposedly leaves everything behind to retire towards the end of his life to spend his last years with her, is sad and unrealistic to say the least.
But I don't think we should take offhand remarks like these as face value just as if they appeared in a published story. Any criticism of Rosa's Glodie should only be based on his actual comics imho.
From what I know of Don Rosa's imaginary "Scrooge's end" story, it's far from an "offhand remark", but rather an elaborate and long-held headcanon of Rosa's with many moving parts. You're right that it's not the same as a published story, in that it's even more shamelessly fanfiction than usual, the sort of thing he chooses to believe but wouldn't impose on other Duck fans.
Plus, Goldie didn't even seem pregnant in "Hearts of the Yukon".
That point has been discussed before, and the best answer is, she's a duck. There is evidence that duck "pregnancies" all in all last 9 months, but how much of that is the egg waiting to hatch, after having already been laid? (This answer actually still kind of works if you want to buy Don Rosa's idea that Donald & Co. are literally humans in-universe, and just drawn as ducks: "if we drew Goldie as she really is she would be visibly pregnant, but since ducks don't get visibly pregnant, that gets removed just like ears and other such details when the duck filter goes on".)
Plus, Goldie didn't even seem pregnant in "Hearts of the Yukon".
That point has been discussed before, and the best answer is, she's a duck. There is evidence that duck "pregnancies" all in all last 9 months, but how much of that is the egg waiting to hatch, after having already been laid? (This answer actually still kind of works if you want to buy Don Rosa's idea that Donald & Co. are literally humans in-universe, and just drawn as ducks: "if we drew Goldie as she really is she would be visibly pregnant, but since ducks don't get visibly pregnant, that gets removed just like ears and other such details when the duck filter goes on".)
Of course, it dependes on the way we see anthropomorphic animals: for me, they become visibly pregnant like humans, and don't hatch eggs at all. But I know your position is different.
From what I know of Don Rosa's imaginary "Scrooge's end" story, it's far from an "offhand remark", but rather an elaborate and long-held headcanon of Rosa's with many moving parts. You're right that it's not the same as a published story, in that it's even more shamelessly fanfiction than usual, the sort of thing he chooses to believe but wouldn't impose on other Duck fans.
Do you happen to have a link to it?
And nice use of the filter theory that you don't believe in and drakeborough and I do, but I still think that if anyone was going to draw a visibly pregnant Goldie, it would be Rosa, who clearly doesn't believe that the Ducks lay eggs.
When I started reading Disney comics as a little child, I didn't know WAK about Barks/Rosa canonicity. All I knew was what I could see in the stories I read and my impression of Scrooge was that he was celibate and married to his lifelong goal; that was one of the reasons I admired him.
When I read Barkses story with Goldie, I wasn't really annoyed, since nothing serious was implied between Scrooge and Goldie other than some vague fondness of Scrooge's for her. The fact that he let her keep the gold in the end was, to me, more of a token of Scrooge's goodness rather than anything else; I'm pretty sure he'd have done the same whoever had been in Goldie's shoes.
Even Rosa's allusions, over the course of his career, to something deeper Scrooge might feel for Goldie were borderline to me.
Rosa in his last story (Agony Creek) as well as other creators who gave Scrooge even more love interests went too far imo.
Not a aspect of Rosa that I particularly care. In Last Sled to Dawson I think it works perfectly but later during the development of Life and Times it went too far. I prefer Scrooge's redemptive moments and overall aspects having to do with his family or the underdogs, like he shows in Pipeline to Danger , North of the Yukon, Island in the Sky and, yes, in Back to the Klondike where Goldie is a poor old woman desperately in need of cash. Other than this his tender moments with Huey, Dewey and Louie and (when he shows he does care about him) Donald is what makes a plutocrat like him somewhat endearing.
I will try to explain myself more clearly if possible. Firstly of all, I did not mean Scrooge had to give up his romance to become rich, I was saying Scrooge lost everything (at the beginning of chapter 12), and Goldie was just one of them. She was the woman he met at the pinnacle of his life, a glorious time that he missed so much as an old man. He was obsessed with his past, and that woman was the representation of it.
On the other hand, I do believe a marriage life could not possibly last long if the only goal of his life is pursuing money, Hortense and Matilda left Scrooge not because he burnt down a village to buy the land, but because he did not contact his family, at all, for 37 years, and came back with a gloomy face when they threw a party for him. He was no longer the family man they expected him to be. Goldie would not be in a better place if they got married. If you think about it, I am pretty sure in real life couple breaks up when one of them does not spend enough time at home.
I think you're in your belief that Scrooge and Goldie's marriage couldn't have lasted if his sole pursuit was money, but I think it could have persevered even with Scrooge's longing for wealth, so long as that came second to his love for her. I suspect that Goldie would have wanted to go with Scrooge on all of his globetrotting business trips, so I don't think they would have split due to not being near each other. Anyways, there's another thread clearly dedicated to discussing what would have happened if Scrooge and Goldie had gotten together in their youth.
Goldie most likely would have been exited to leave for travels at first. However she is very independent too and would be eventually annoyed they are his trips and she is more social than Srooge so could not establish herself anywhere if there kept moving. And I would not be sure that Srooge would have remembered to make her feel more important than money and his career overall, it’s common thing to happen in relationships that one resents the others obsessions and career if it takes too much time. Goldie was never Brigitte type who idolized him it was around Srooge’s business career and liked that aspect of his character. Additionally if they had children they would have to be apart since you can’t drag babies all over the world even if 10 year olds like HLD can in this universe. She would get annoyed with him eventually if he didn’t really change his money obsession. That’s the tragedy there, Srooge would have known that he would loose some independence in a relationship and could not deal with it. He didn’t feel at home when he returned or wished to spend much time wit his sisters either or made lasting friendships.
Also Srooge in the had a life of his own and adventures even if he didn’t end up with Goldie and some type of family with his nephews later in life. It would be imbalances and depressing if Goldie just had no life or family in between and is in the story not as her own person but something Srooge can obsesses over and even save from poverty after they meet again after so many decades. I rather think she did plenty of things on her own too. One of those can be traveling (and maybe moving to West) and getting marriages and later having a granddaughter. She could have just returned to Yukon after her husbands death and remembered Srooge there the way he remembered her.
Additionally regarding Dickie, if Goldie had Srooge’s child it’s unlikely he would not have known and it would make him very unlikely to abandon Goldie and the child like that (expecially since he was rich). Or in the case she hid it from him it makes her unlikable. I don’t know why anyone would want that to be the case. He never meets or is interested in meeting Goldie’s kid too after learning of Dickie unless I have missed something. So it would not make any sense. It would just fits to me better that whole Srooge had riches and lifetime of adventure she had a family and some interesting experiences in the world. It makes them more balanced.
I gotta point out here that young Goldie was portrayed as somebody a girl of loose morals in in an age before contraceptives. She probably just got knocked up at some point, and the father (whoever he was) got to keep the baby. This may well have happened before White Agony Creek, or (and this is my guess) a few years after. It was about 35-40 years after WAC that Dickie was born, after all. It may also have played a role in Goldie retreat from society about 10 years after WAC. Maybe she lost custody of her child due to her social status, lost credibility in the eyes of her fellow Dawsonites, and retreated to the one place where she was taught work an honest wage?
The real question is how the Blackjack Saloon survived the end of the gold boom, the loss of one of its star attractions, and Prohibition, without going through a single refurbishment. Did somebody turn it into a restaurant or something?
As for Rosa, it was very much a case of diminishing returns. I like Hearts of the Yukon, but her appearance in A Little Something Special is just yucky and The Prisoner of White Agony Creek is a bit too vulgar. Give and take The Dream of a Lifetime and The Beagle Boys vs. The Money Bin I guess, though I personally don't wanna live in Rosa's fantasy where Scrooge keeps obsession over this one maybe-fling he had fifty years ago. It's been far too long, for either of them.
I enjoy the fanfictions of other writers as much as the next guy, but for me Scrooge/Goldie is a ship that sailed a long, long time ago.
Well, one German fan recently dreamed up a story about Dickie actually being Scrooge's offspring... the letter that he never read was about her expecting a kid, and because she thought he knew it, she doesn't tell him when he meets Dickie that she's his granddaughter. What happened to Dickie's parents then? Well, that's probably one reason this is never going to be acceptable as an official Disney story.