Talk:André
Is André gay?
Not that it matters (well, not that it matters for the wrong reasons, I hope these are the right ones), but a woman I know, who is a bit of a "fag-hag" by her own admission, gave me back the copy of Maskerade that I'd loaned her and said "I'd bet you anything that André is gay." and asked if it had ever occured to me on reading the book. It hadn't, but I know her gaydar is never wrong, and on re-reading it, there all manner of things that would make more sense if the character of André were homo rather than heterosexual. That he doesn't write off Agnes because she's a plain and unattractive woman, for instance, and that he actively appreciates being in her company; that he appreciates Christine's style and presence while being able to see further into her than a straight male could (ie, he isn't blinded by her looks), and that he is irresistibly drawn to the iredeemably high-camp world of musicals.
It would also add to the load of random casual cruelty that the world has chosen to dump on Agnes Nitt's head from a very great height, were she to become aware that the only man to take a deeper personal interest in her for some time, one who appreciates her for her intellect and Great Personality, turns out to be the sort of chap who on a night out might head for the Blue Cat Club rather than the Pink PussyCat Club... only to be expected, really, as Agnes also attracted a most unsuitable male in Carpe Jugulum
As a policeman he'd be an odd-man-out, and therefore natural for undercover work, as in a very real sense he would have been acting an undercover role all his life...
This is just a thought, but reading André as a straight-acting gay does appear to make a lot of sense in the mad world of opera!!!--AgProv 13:07, 27 November 2007 (CET)
Whether or not it is true it is only suspicion and definitely shouldn't be on the main page.--Confusion 22:33, 16 October 2011 (CEST)
- Which is, of course, exactly why it isn't... valid speculation unsupported by canonical fact (however logical and however plausible) goes to the talk page... it has its value and its worth, but is still only speculative. --AgProv 02:13, 17 October 2011 (CEST)
- And then: he's a musician. Does he have to be gay to appreciate musical talent? I can remember the days before "music" videos when we may not have had any idea of the performer's appearance (sometimes confusing black and white artists). Nobody cared if Cass Elliot or Jennifer Warnes were sex-objects, we just listened. In opera, of course, no one ever cared if the big fat homely soprano matched the physical character of the libretto; it's about the voice. --Old Dickens (talk) 05:07, 15 March 2015 (UTC)
"Mr Vimes" vs "Commander Vimes"
This article claimed that " André automatically refers to his commanding officer as "Mr Vimes" throughout the book," but in my edition of Maskerade (US HarperCollins eBook) he doesn't:
“Commander Vimes said [...] we’d better look for other crimes” (p. 451)
“Commander Vimes says they’re the most obvious policemen anyone could think of.” (p. 451)
Therefore, I've removed the claim for lack of evidence. --Distressedpudding (talk) 18:17, 18 December 2020 (UTC)