The Unknown Father...

Mattias Hallin Mattias.Hallin at jurenh.lu.se
Mon Jun 12 09:36:11 CEST 1995


JAKOB & ERIK:

             No -- I don't share your idea that Ludwig van Drake (not *von*,
BTW) is the father of HDL; and I especially don't share your approach to logic
-- that a theory could be valid, simply because noone has offered any other
theory or that the relative silence about LvD should prove he has spent time in
hospital. This is called an argument e silentio, and is a very bad thing to do
in logic, in historical source criticism and *especially* in trying to
construct a universe based on comic books. The way it works is this: you *may*
take *positive* evidence from a comicbook (e.g. it is stated that Della Duck is
the mother of HDL) and base a conclusion on this (the mother of HDL is Della
Duck); with care you may also use corroborative evidence (e.g. in one instance
in a Barks story -- the title presently eludes my memory -- HDL calls Daisy
"Aunt Daisy"/Daisy is the girlfriend of or at least courted by Donald Duck/it
is stated that Donald Duck is the brother of Della Duck) and base tentative
conclusions on this (if Daisy is a bloodrelated aunt to HDL, as opposed to
"honorific" aunt, and we believe it less likely that Donald is courting his
sister, she must be an aunt on HDL's father's side of the family; ergo -- HDL's
father is Daisy's brother).

Now, there has to my knowledge never been any mention by name of a brother of
Daisy's; but she must have at least one sibling since she has nieces (April,
May & June).

This is as far as published material allow you (me) to draw conclusions. To
fill in the voids, it is necessary if e.g. you are a comic book artist who want
to do a story about the parentage of HDL to resort to creativity -- or in other
words: to make something up that suits your needs.

Until a clear reference is made in a story, no theory that is not based in
facts from previous stories can claim any priority. *BUT* as Don likes to tell
us (and rightly so!), we are not talking 'bout real life here, but figments of
imagination -- and anyone's imagination is as good as the next guy's. We're all
free to believe what we like, like it or not!

Oh and Jakob -- I do of course realize that you've presented your theory with
not too little tongue in cheek -- so no offense taken, I hope?! where none is
indeed intended!

All my best

Mattias

**** Mattias Hallin ** Lund * Sweden ** <Mattias.Hallin at jurenh.lu.se> ****
*                                                                        *
*               "Oh bury me thar! With my battered git-tar!              * 
**************       A-screamin' my heart out fer yew!"      *************



More information about the DCML mailing list