Full text. Carmen, Mérimée's classic tale of passion and power, provided the inspiration for one of the world's most enduringly popular operas, and numerous films. According to a letter Mérimée wrote to the Countess of Montijo, Carmen was inspired by a story she told him on his visit to Spain in 1830. He said, "It was about that ruffian from Málaga who had killed his mistress, who consecrated herself exclusively to the public...As I have been studying the Gypsies for some time, I have made my heroine a Gypsy."