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Salammbô

 Salammbô
type
TVTItem
 Salammbô
label
Salammbô
 Salammbô
page
Salammbo
 Salammbô
comment
The second novel by Gustave Flaubert, author of the infamous Madame Bovary. Rarely, if ever, have two successive novels by the same author been so different.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })Whereas Madame Bovary charted the agonisingly mediocre tragedy of a bored housewife and her hapless husband in early 19th-century France, Salammbo is a richly exotic war epic set in ancient Carthage. The scale is vast, the imagery opulent and intense, and the battle scenes brutal enough to make Leonidas and his boys look like... well... a bunch of fairies.After an exhausting war with Rome, the city of Carthage finds itself incapable of paying its vast mercenary army. Increasingly desperate attempts to fob them off spark a full-on rebellion, and eventually a destructive total war between the powerful but self-destructively disorganised mercenaries and a Carthage at but a shadow of its former strength.In the midst of all this, the mercenary leader Matho falls obsessively in love with the beautiful Salammbo, daughter of Carthage's most fearsome general. His maniacal desire for her drives him to unprecedented lengths to obtain her, unleashing a conflict like no other upon the Carthaginian empire.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })While just as popular as Flaubert's works in most of the world, Salammbo has never really caught on in the Anglosphere. (In fact, the only exposure most Americans have had to the name is through the film Citizen Kane - an opera based on the book is the one Kane's wife badly performs during the course of the movie.)This novel has been adapted into multiple plays and films. In 2003, it was also adapted into a Point-and-Click adventure game, named Salammbo Battle For Carthage.
 Salammbô
fetched
2023-03-12T09:44:05Z
 Salammbô
parsed
2023-03-12T09:44:05Z
 Salammbô
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Salammbô / int_14b85a5f
type
Fat Idiot
 Salammbô / int_14b85a5f
comment
Fat Idiot: He's also not much of a military leader.
 Salammbô / int_14b85a5f
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_14b85a5f
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Salammbô / int_14b85a5f
 Salammbô / int_396e1c2a
type
Face Death with Dignity
 Salammbô / int_396e1c2a
comment
Face Death with Dignity: Spendius.
 Salammbô / int_396e1c2a
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_396e1c2a
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 Salammbô
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Salammbô / int_396e1c2a
 Salammbô / int_3b79029a
type
Crapsaccharine World
 Salammbô / int_3b79029a
comment
Crapsaccharine World: Carthage is a grand city, filled with beautiful public buildings, magnificent temples and gorgeous artefacts, all described in loving detail... and the site of a hideous all-out war with unbelievable cruelty on both sides.
 Salammbô / int_3b79029a
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_3b79029a
 Salammbô / int_3cb1d38d
type
Bad Boss
 Salammbô / int_3cb1d38d
comment
Bad Boss: Hamilcar Barca is this to his domestic staff. He notably has his slave master drowned in manure and his chief steward crucified after hearing about the Mercenaries' trashing of his house, even though they couldn't have done anything to stop them.
 Salammbô / int_3cb1d38d
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_3cb1d38d
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Salammbô / int_3cb1d38d
 Salammbô / int_40c57041
type
Manipulative Bastard
 Salammbô / int_40c57041
comment
Manipulative Bastard: Spendius, who kickstarts the whole war to get back at Carthage for enslaving him.
 Salammbô / int_40c57041
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_40c57041
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Salammbô / int_40c57041
 Salammbô / int_46b5a2f2
type
Historical Character's Fictional Relative
 Salammbô / int_46b5a2f2
comment
Historical Character's Fictional Relative: Downplayed. While Salammbo is a fictional daughter of Hamilcar Barca, it is traditionally believed that Hamilcar had several daughters aside from his male sons Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago, so the novel could get away with this if we interpret that Salambo is meant to be one of them.
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Salammbô / int_46b5a2f2
 Salammbô / int_4de1a4f7
type
Improvised Weapon
 Salammbô / int_4de1a4f7
comment
Improvised Weapon: Narr'Havas nails Matho's hand to a feasting bench with a javelin in the first chapter. Matho throws the bench back at him.
 Salammbô / int_4de1a4f7
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Salammbô / int_4de1a4f7
 Salammbô / int_504a1991
type
Body Horror
 Salammbô / int_504a1991
comment
Body Horror: The ravages of Hanno's leprosy are chronicled in truly sickening detail. Matho's final fate is also pretty horrifying.
 Salammbô / int_504a1991
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_504a1991
 Salammbô / int_51300dbf
type
Fat Bastard
 Salammbô / int_51300dbf
comment
Fat Bastard: Hanno is not a nice person at all.
 Salammbô / int_51300dbf
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_51300dbf
 Salammbô / int_54321e11
type
Innocent Fanservice Girl
 Salammbô / int_54321e11
comment
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Salammbo.
 Salammbô / int_54321e11
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_54321e11
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Salammbô / int_54321e11
 Salammbô / int_586db75d
type
My Girl Is Not a Slut
 Salammbô / int_586db75d
comment
My Girl Is Not a Slut: Hamilcar to Salammbo.
 Salammbô / int_586db75d
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_586db75d
 Salammbô / int_6d57a234
type
Lemony Narrator
 Salammbô / int_6d57a234
comment
Lemony Narrator: A resounding aversion.
 Salammbô / int_6d57a234
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-1.0
 Salammbô / int_6d57a234
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1.0
 Salammbô
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Salammbô / int_6d57a234
 Salammbô / int_76db0ef5
type
Slobs Versus Snobs
 Salammbô / int_76db0ef5
comment
Slobs Versus Snobs: Obviously, Hamilcar and Senate of Carthage as Snob and The Mercenaries as Slob.
 Salammbô / int_76db0ef5
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_76db0ef5
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Salammbô / int_76db0ef5
 Salammbô / int_7ec94d53
type
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
 Salammbô / int_7ec94d53
comment
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Spendius, born to a poor Campanian prostitute and enslaved at a young age kickstarts the whole war out of resentment.
 Salammbô / int_7ec94d53
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1.0
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 Salammbô
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Salammbô / int_7ec94d53
 Salammbô / int_885a5be7
type
Suffer the Slings
 Salammbô / int_885a5be7
comment
Suffer the Slings: A common weapon on both sides, and it's made very clear just how dangerous they were. Some of the mercenaries inscribe jokes and insults on their bullets to imprint them on the skin of their victims.
 Salammbô / int_885a5be7
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Salammbô / int_885a5be7
 Salammbô / int_8ab096bd
type
Dehumanization
 Salammbô / int_8ab096bd
comment
Dehumanization: The priests of Baal-Moloch make throwing Carthaginian children to be burned alive as Human Sacrifice easier by getting the crowd to yell with them "They are not men but oxen!".
 Salammbô / int_8ab096bd
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Salammbô / int_8ab096bd
 Salammbô / int_95265081
type
Leeroy Jenkins
 Salammbô / int_95265081
comment
Leeroy Jenkins: The Mercenaries are almost a whole army of them, which loses them a lot of battles.
 Salammbô / int_95265081
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_95265081
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Salammbô / int_95265081
 Salammbô / int_9c1f758a
type
Kill It with Fire
 Salammbô / int_9c1f758a
comment
Kill It with Fire: The statue of Moloch is hollow with a great pyre inside, and children are shoveled into it by the dozen.
 Salammbô / int_9c1f758a
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Salammbô / int_9c1f758a
 Salammbô / int_9c45b5a2
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What Measure Is a Non-Human?
 Salammbô / int_9c45b5a2
comment
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: "They are not men but oxen!"
 Salammbô / int_9c45b5a2
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_9c45b5a2
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 Salammbô
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Salammbô / int_9c45b5a2
 Salammbô / int_9ce7c264
type
Future Badass
 Salammbô / int_9ce7c264
comment
Future Badass: Hannibal Barca, although such is the deliberate absence of any Lemony Narrator that you'd have to have heard of him to realise it.
 Salammbô / int_9ce7c264
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Salammbô / int_9ce7c264
 Salammbô / int_9d27a8be
type
Army of Thieves and Whores
 Salammbô / int_9d27a8be
comment
Army of Thieves and Whores: The Mercenaries, whose ranks are eventually expanded with tribes from all over Africa.
 Salammbô / int_9d27a8be
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_9d27a8be
 Salammbô / int_a8076bdf
type
War Elephants
 Salammbô / int_a8076bdf
comment
War Elephants: The Carthaginian army's trump card, and the deciding factor in several battles. However, they also end up killing their own side more than once.
 Salammbô / int_a8076bdf
featureApplicability
1.0
 Salammbô / int_a8076bdf
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1.0
 Salammbô
hasFeature
Salammbô / int_a8076bdf
 Salammbô / int_aabe2fb
type
Deliberate Values Dissonance
 Salammbô / int_aabe2fb
comment
Deliberate Values Dissonance: Possibly one of the best-done examples ever, because it doesn't contain a word of allegory, moralising or the slightest nod from the narrator - who, for all that the reader knows, might as well have been from the time period. Nobody bats an eyelid at the most horrible cruelties or the most fantastical beliefs.
 Salammbô / int_aabe2fb
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Salammbô / int_aabe2fb
 Salammbô / int_ad9fbc1e
type
Pyrrhic Victory
 Salammbô / int_ad9fbc1e
comment
Pyrrhic Victory: Several of the battles. Since Carthage was completely subjugated by Rome within forty years of this war and completely destroyed less than a hundred years after it, the whole story is one!
 Salammbô / int_ad9fbc1e
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1.0
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 Salammbô
hasFeature
Salammbô / int_ad9fbc1e
 Salammbô / int_bc74ef27
type
Berserk Button
 Salammbô / int_bc74ef27
comment
His elephants also serve as a twisted version - it's when he sees the injuries the Mercenaries inflicted on them that he orders his chief steward crucified.
 Salammbô / int_bc74ef27
featureApplicability
1.0
 Salammbô / int_bc74ef27
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 Salammbô
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Salammbô / int_bc74ef27
 Salammbô / int_c3478f1d
type
Badass Bookworm
 Salammbô / int_c3478f1d
comment
Badass Bookworm: Spendius can speak every language in the mercenary army, snipe a man with a longbow from an enormous distance, infiltrate Carthage not once, but twice, and operate (and build) siege engines like a pro. He's pretty worthless as a general however, managing to get defeated by Hanno.
 Salammbô / int_c3478f1d
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_c3478f1d
 Salammbô / int_c66cb5a9
type
Human Sacrifice
 Salammbô / int_c66cb5a9
comment
Human Sacrifice: And that includes children!
 Salammbô / int_c66cb5a9
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1.0
 Salammbô / int_c66cb5a9
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Salammbô / int_c66cb5a9
 Salammbô / int_cbdd9a55
type
We ARE Struggling Together
 Salammbô / int_cbdd9a55
comment
We ARE Struggling Together: Hamilcar and Senate of Carthage doesn't get along even in front of danger which can destroy their Empire.
 Salammbô / int_cbdd9a55
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1.0
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Salammbô / int_cbdd9a55
 Salammbô / int_ce104b8e
type
Serial Escalation
 Salammbô / int_ce104b8e
comment
Serial Escalation: The scale, and bodycount, of the war just keeps going up and up.
 Salammbô / int_ce104b8e
featureApplicability
1.0
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Salammbô / int_ce104b8e
 Salammbô / int_d9e924a5
type
Weapons Kitchen Sink
 Salammbô / int_d9e924a5
comment
Weapons Kitchen Sink: Justified, since the Mercenary army comes from all over Africa and beyond, and a lot of their best equipment is stolen or scavenged.
 Salammbô / int_d9e924a5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Salammbô / int_d9e924a5
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Salammbô / int_d9e924a5
 Salammbô / int_db7c3858
type
One Mario Limit
 Salammbô / int_db7c3858
comment
One-Mario Limit: Flaubert changes one historical character's name (Hannibal) to Hanno to avoid confusion with the other, better-known Hannibal (Hamilcar's young son).
 Salammbô / int_db7c3858
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Salammbô / int_db7c3858
 Salammbô / int_e16217f8
type
Historical Villain Upgrade
 Salammbô / int_e16217f8
comment
Historical Villain Upgrade
 Salammbô / int_e16217f8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Salammbô / int_e16217f8
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 Salammbô
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Salammbô / int_e16217f8
 Salammbô / int_e1acc872
type
From Nobody to Nightmare
 Salammbô / int_e1acc872
comment
From Nobody to Nightmare: Matho used to just be an ordinary soldier in the mercenary army (even lower than most, set to carry the other's luggage and firewood) before he saw Salammbo and basically seized control of it by sheer force of willpower. Spendius was a slave for years, but pretty much the first things he did upon being freed were grab the Dragon-in-Chief spot and incite the war.
 Salammbô / int_e1acc872
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Salammbô / int_e1acc872
 Salammbô / int_e3b0cd87
type
Morality Pet
 Salammbô / int_e3b0cd87
comment
Morality Pet: Hannibal is one to Hamilcar, although horrifically subverted. To save his life, Hamilcar sends a slave's child to be roasted alive as a human sacrifice in his place. His elephants also serve as a twisted version - it's when he sees the injuries the Mercenaries inflicted on them that he orders his chief steward crucified.
 Salammbô / int_e3b0cd87
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Salammbô / int_e3b0cd87
 Salammbô / int_e542d889
type
Gorn
 Salammbô / int_e542d889
comment
Gorn: Tons of it. A faithful adaptation of the book would almost certainly be unmakeable even now, in any medium. Even more shocking when you remember that this was published in 1862. Notable instances include: extreme animal cruelty, including cutting the trunks off elephants, lighting fires under cauldrons of fish to slowly cook them alive and covering pigs in burning pitch; numerous crucifixions, including one of a man with advanced leprosy whose limbs are then torn off by his own bodyweight; mass child sacrifice via roasting alive; friends forced to fight and kill each other, and a man being literally flayed to death by an angry mob who have been ordered to do so scratch by scratch. This list does not include the 'fight scenes'.
 Salammbô / int_e542d889
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Salammbô / int_e542d889
 Salammbô / int_e68b72
type
The Load
 Salammbô / int_e68b72
comment
The Load: Hanno and the Carthaginian elite completely botch the first part of the war and have to bailed out by Hamilcar at every turn.
 Salammbô / int_e68b72
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Salammbô / int_e68b72
 Salammbô / int_eedee4d
type
The Starscream
 Salammbô / int_eedee4d
comment
The Starscream: Almost everyone of note. Hamilcar leads the Carthaginian war effort while scheming to monopolise food supplies and come out of it even richer than he already is. Meanwhile, Hanno and all the city Elders are openly trying to undermine him and increase their own power. Spendius uses Matho as a puppet leader to try and carve himself out a comfortable niche, and Narr'Havas betrays the Mercenaries entirely for the sake of Salammbo's hand in marriage.
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ItemName
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Salammbô

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Salammbô
hasFeature
Dehumanization / int_d8d091bd
 Salammbô
hasFeature
During the War / int_d8d091bd
 PhilippeDruillet
seeAlso
Salammbô
 Salammbo
seeAlso
Salammbô