Gladstone Gander
The luckiest duck in the world who never works a day in his life.
Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by Carl Barks for Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptionally good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. This is in contrast to his cousin Donald Duck, who is often characterized for having bad luck. Gladstone is also a rival of Donald for the affection of Daisy Duck. Gladstone dresses in a very debonair way, often in a suit, and wearing a bow-tie, fedora, and spats. He has a wavy hairstyle which is depicted either as white or blonde. In the story "Luck of the North" (December 1949), he is described as having a brassy voice.
Quick Facts
- Creator
- Carl Barks
- Family
- Gander family; Duck family
- First
- "Wintertime Wager" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #88 (January 1948)
- Franchise
- Donald Duck
- Partner
- Daisy Duck
- Linda Paper
- Feather Mallard
- Species
- Half-Duck, Half-Goose
Lore & Background
Gladstone's good luck defies probability and provides him with anything that would be to his benefit or enjoyment; as well as things he specifically wishes for, which are at times related to the plot of some stories. This could range from finding wallets and other valuables on the sidewalk to pieces of a ripped apart treasure map floating together in river to form it whole again; revealing the treasure's location. His good luck also protects him from any harm.
At times he might not even know that a situation will work out in his favor in a later stage and by then often feeling confused or at times even thinking his luck has abandoned him; just to learn that it has been with him all along. There have been various explanations for Gladstone's good luck over the years by various writers and artists. In Barks' story "Luck of the North" Gladstone proclaims: "I was born under a lucky star, and everything I do will bring me good fortune [...]."
This is read from a horoscope book he owns which also has a map showing his lucky star conniving with the planet Neptunus. In many of the Italian comic books stories, Gladstone is bestowed with his luck because Fortuna, the goddess of fortune, is in love with him. In Don Rosa's story "The Sign of the Triple Distelfink" (1997), he added the fact that Gladstone was born on the day of his mother Daphne's birthday in 1920, under the protection sign of the Triple Distelfink, thus inheriting his mother's luck. In some stories he also uses good luck charms like lucky horseshoes or rabbits foots.
Reader's Guide
However, for all his luck, Gladstone has no achievements to be proud of and no true ambitions, as he is incapable of long-term planning. This is because he does not have to make the slightest of efforts to get what he wants, as his good luck will just give it to him in the end. He also often does not learn any life lessons from any misfortunes he could experience. This leads him to be extremely lazy; at times even thinking that willfully wishing for something is hard work, and disconnected from the realities of ordinary life.
All of this is in stark contrast to his relative Scrooge McDuck, who is also capable of taking advantage of opportunities but works hard to create situations favorable for him; is strongly motivated by his ambitions and takes pride in forming his fortune by his own efforts and experiences. Instead, Gladstone often shows pride in his effortlessness and expresses great anxiety if he would betray those ideals. This is something first explored in more detail in Carl Barks's story "Gladstone's Terrible Secret" (May, 1952).
Comic artist and writer Don Rosa has commented about this on the character: "Gladstone is unwilling to make the slightest effort to gain something that his luck cannot give him, and, when things go wrong, he resigns immediately, certain that around the next corner a wallet, dropped by a passer-by, will be waiting for him." Gladstone feels open contempt towards work of any kind, claiming it is beneath him, to the point of hesitating to help others even if it is to his own advantage, claiming that it seems alarmingly akin to work.
More in Characters
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