Sylvia (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)

Sylvia
Species	Bob-omb
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)

Sylvia is a minor character encountered during the events of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. She comes from a rich family and is the wife of Goldbob, the president of Goldbobbington's, and mother of Bub. They live in Poshley Heights, though they are seen traveling throughout the game.

History

Sylvia first appears during Chapter 3, where she spends her vacation in Glitzville, together with her family. She shows a dislike to the combat sports in the Glitz Pit, going as far as to call them "barbarous". As Mario, under the alias of the Great Gonzales, raises in ranks however, she admits that her son might benefit from knowing how to fight for self-defense purposes and starts looking for a fighting tutor. She even offers Mario this position after he became champion, although the player is unable to accept her offer.

Mario meets Sylvia again in Chapter 6 inside the Excess Express. During that time they returned from Glitzville and boarded the Excess Express to return to their home in Poshley Heights. During the train ride, Mario stumbles into an argument between her and her husband about what to buy their son for his birthday. Sylvia is certain that the present has to be something educational, instead of something expensive. She is not aware, however, that her son actually wishes to become a train engineer in his future. She and her husband only take notice when Mario delivers an Autograph of the Excess Express engineer to Bub. They agree to give their son something related to trains for his birthday, which settles their argument.

Sylvia also appears in Bowser's sequence after the player completes Chapter 7, again alongside Goldbob. When Bowser speaks to them, they start a conversation about Poshley Heights' fountain, completely ignoring him. The conversation baffles him and states that they "scare" him.

Appearance

Sylvia is a silver Bob-omb, which is reminiscent of her name. She wears pink, pointed shoes and a small pink hat, decorated with pearls and feathers. Her eyes show an angry expression at all times, similar to her husband. If the player tattles her, Goombella remarks that Sylvia's perfume smells like "money".

Personality and marriage

Sylvia is shown to be very protective of her son Bub. She is almost always worried about his future and is eager to find someone or something that helps him to learn how to prevail in the life of their social class. She often argues with her husband because he values the price of a matter over its usefulness for the future.

Goldbob's and Sylvia's marriage is depicted as somewhat reserved during the game. Their family seems to go on vacations occasionally, and Goldbob and Sylvia are also shown to hold casual conversations. However, they occasionally argue and their personal interests seem to differ greatly. It is even implied that they sleep in separate beds, since at the Excess Express they are both shocked to find out that there are only two beds for three people. Sylvia is quick to decide to share a bed with her son, rather than with her husband. Goldbob is not pleased by the thought of sharing the night with Sylvia as well, since he claims that she "tends to explode in her sleep". Goldbob always refers to Sylvia as "the wife".

Tattle information

• "That's Sylvia the Bob-omb. She's super-wealthy. She's got a real high-society air around her... Even her perfume smells like money."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	シルビア Shirubia	Sylvia; possibly from a partial homophone of「シルバー」(shirubā, silver)
French	Argelle	From "argent" (silver, but also means "money") and possibly the name "Belle"
German	Silbia	"Silber" (Silver) and the name "Sylvia"
Italian	Bomb-oniera	Pun on "Bob-omb" and "bomboniera" (wedding favor)
Spanish	Bombowitz	Play on "bomba" (bomb) and "Koplowitz" (the surname of two famous Spanish millionaire sisters)