Matilda McDuck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matilda McDuck is a fictional character of the Scrooge McDuck universe. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 1871 to Fergus McDuck and Downy O'Drake. She had an older half-brother named Rumpus McFowl (according to William van Horn) and an older brother named Scrooge McDuck. She would have a younger sister named Hortense McDuck and a younger half-brother named Gideon McDuck.
In contrast to Scrooge's and Hortense's fiery tempers, she was always amazingly calm. On 1902 Scrooge returned to Scotland and took both of his sisters with him. When he established his homebase in Duckburg, Calisota, United States he left her and their sister to run his empire from 1902 till 1930. In the meantime he traveled the world expanding his financial empire.
On 1930, a fight with Scrooge ended all relationships between him and his family and she retired. Some time later she presumably married the Austrian professor Ludwig Von Drake, since this is the only way he can be Donald Duck's uncle. According to Don Rosa, Matilda McDuck went back to tending the McDuck castle in Scotland. She was hired for this job by her nephew Donald Duck in his capacity as Scrooge McDuck's assistant, but without Scrooge's knowledge. She was still alive in 1955 and in 2005, as shown in the story "The Old Castle's other Secret." This story shows the reconciliation (after 75 years, though in the story only 25 years have passed) between Matilda and Scrooge. Their nephew Donald brought about this reunion, but he does not get the credit he deserves for this. At least, he managed to introduce Huey, Dewey and Louie to their grand-aunt.
(Don Rosa wasn't allowed to use Ludwig von Drake in this story. His editor Byron Ericksson says that he is "officially dead." The fate and whereabouts of Hortense remain a mystery.)
Matilda is usually drawn with a flower on her hat, which loses a petal in each panel she appears in.