Sylvia (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)

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. Together they have a somewhat spoiled son by the name of Bub. They reside in Poshley Heights, though they seem to go traveling occasionally.

History

Sylvia first appears during chapter three, where she spends her vacation in Glitzville, together with her family. She shows great aversion to the exhibition of 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 profit from knowing combat sports 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 given no opportunity to accept her offer.

Mario meets Sylvia again in chapter six inside the Excess Express. During that time they returned from Glitzville and boarded the Excess Express to return to their home in Poshley Heights. Mario stumbles into an argument between her and her husband, through which they try to decide what to buy their son for his birthday. Sylvia is certain that the present has to be something salutary, 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. The parents agree to give their son something related to trains for his birthday, which settles their argument.

Sylvia also appears during one of Bowser's sequences, again alongside her husband Goldbob. When Bowser speaks to them, they start a random discussion amongst themselves about Poshley Heights's fountain, completely ignoring the Koopa King. The conversation soon annoys Bowser and he even states that they "scare" him.

Appearance

Sylvia appears as a Bob-omb of silvery color, which is reminiscent of her name. She wears pink, pointed shoes and a small pink hat, decorated with pearls and feathers. For some reason, her facial expression seems to be displeased all the time, something she shares with her husband. When the player decides to tattle her, Goombella remarks that Sylvia's perfume smells like "money", which might mean that she appears to match the typical image of a high-society Bob-omb.

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 further shown to hold casual conversations now and then. However, they are also occasionally seen fighting and their personal interests seem to differ greatly. It is even implied that they used to 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 isn't 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	Notes
Italian	Bomb-oniera[?]	From "Bob-omb" and "bomboniera" (wedding favor)
Spanish	Bombowitz[?]	From "Bomba" (bomb) and Koplowitz, the surname of two famous Spanish millionaire sisters.