Helvetica Spot-the-Ref

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Miseri spends inordinate amount of time putting in references, so it would be a pity not to write down the stuff we notice:

  • Helvetica and Geneva are fonts, of course
  • The Pervenches are the kids from Narnia, complete with disappearance into wardrobe
  • Louise Beauclair (the barber's wife), her downstairs neighbor (Mme L'Amour, the baker's wife), and Judge Dupin are from Sweeney Todd, though the events therein had not yet taken place when we met them.
  • Lucille (the vampire) is eventually buried in a tomb with Wilhelmina Murray
  • Lucille also attacks Camilla Karnstein, in a reversal of Carmilla (and note we also have a Laura)
  • Sir Galahad Locksley's name is at least three refs (Tennyson's Sir Galahad (he's a poet); Locksley, for Robin of Locksley; and Gilderoy Lockhart)
  • Obviously we have a Scarlet Pimpernel thing going on with rescuing folks from Bois-Franc, but there haven't been any explicit refs as far as I've noticed
  • Maria von Pinn and some students are from The Sound of Music, and her surname is undoubtedly a reference to Von Pinn from Girl Genius
  • Adelheid Sessemann is from Heidi
  • Dupin is (I assume, though there's no evidence besides his name and nationality) Auguste Dupin
  • Cujo the Alsatian is of course Cujo, and despite being named for this fictitious monastery, the Alsatian is a real-world breed better known as the German Shepherd
  • St. Alsace is (I assume) referencing Alsace, a region with similar geography to Helvetica. Lake Lorraine, counterpart to the real Lake Geneva, is named after the adjoining region.
  • It has been implied that Nicolette is based on an existing story as well about a character whose name begins with C, but which story that is has not yet been determined.
  • Armand Chevalier's names both mean 'knight'; is this irony or a Clue?
  • Morgana is named for Moxana, an automaton with similar abilities from Girl Genius
  • Brother Etienne was reading a collection of stories by Justine du Paix, including The Blackwood Portrait (The Picture of Dorian Gray) and Guillaume Guillaumin (William Wilson -- that, or Sweet Valley High)
  • Stefan's relationship with his orchids threatens to turn into a Little Shop of Horrors thing, but that hasn't happened yet; on the other hand, the blood-drinking and aphrodesia and stuff are based on real historic beliefs about orchids
  • Raoul is Rolf from The Sound of Music, at least to his expressed relationship with Agathe. Does this mean he's also a no-good Nazi?
  • Trujillo is kind of doing a Doctor Frankenstein thing with Pedro.
    • Strike that. Reverse it.
  • Miseri says, "Colonel Sapt is definitely one of the good guys. He's the one who convinces Rudolf Rassendyll to impersonate the king and foil Michael's bid for the throne."
    • Meanwhile, Sapt is the guy who convinced Rudolphe Pervenche to impersonate the Baron and (hopefully help) foil Chevalier's bid for Helvetica.
    • Unfortunately, Rupert is a villain in that story. Is he one in ours?
  • Brother Etienne has apparently created a potion similar to Dr. Jeckyll's; it is not unlikely that Guy Heimlich is his Mr. Hyde.
  • Tineka Van Rijn is surely the clank Tinka (created by the master Spark van Rijn, sister of Moxana mentioned above)
  • Elise de L'Isle (Languages, elocution, rhetoric.) is probably Eliza Doolittle
  • The first names of the nine women in the crypt are Wilhelmina, Elisabeth, Serendipity, Tineka, Elise, Rosanna, Nora, Annette, and Lucille. This spells out WESTERNA, Lucille
  • Elisabeth Sommers, who was a fighter and possibly a monster hunter, may be related to Buffy Summers