Contributed by Talia.
I know that the generally accepted theory is that The Smurfs are Communists, but another possibility recently occurred to me. Could the Smurfs possibly be philosophers stones? That would explain a few things, for example, why Gargamel variously wants to eat them or to transform them into gold. When eaten, the philosophers stone is an elixir of life, but it can also be mixed with other elements to turn them into gold or silver. It is interesting that there are actually two colors of philosophers stone: white and red. The white stones were used to make silver, but only the red could make gold. Apparently, though, both could be eaten and produce similar effects. That explains the colors of the Smurfs’ clothes.
Papa Smurf is the only truly perfect one (gold being the perfect balance of all elements) and spends his time trying to perfect the other elements. The most obvious time he did this was when Smurfette was created by Gargamel to lure the others to him, and (if memory serves) once she decided to stay with the Smurfs, Papa Smurf replaced her heart, which was made of stone, with one of gold. Unless he actually cut her open and took out the old one, it was probably his ability to change one element to another that changed the substance. In changing that element, he also accidentally changed her hair to gold as well. Also of interest is the fact that Alchemy was not just the science of changing elements to perfection, but also of the Alchemist changing himself. Smurfette was already changing of her own will before Papa Smurf allowed her the gold heart. Gargamel, meanwhile, still has a long way to go, and this is why he has not been able to successfully obtain the stone(s) for his own use. He must balance all elements within himself before he can obtain them.
Back to Smurfette. She is still not perfect, shown by the fact that she still must wear white. It is because she is still unable to perfect the elements around her-in fact, at times, she actually corrupts them (like the episode where, suddenly, one day, all the other Smurfs are asking her to marry them. While I think it was partly due to outside forces, she made her suitors fight each other.) Additionally, she lacks the required balance of male and female elements-she’s far too feminine, as shown by her lifestyle.
Posted by The Editor 
