Tintin Forums

Tintinologist.org Forums / Official Tintin books /

The Calculus Affair: What is Haddock Drinking?

snowybella
Member
#1 · Posted: 6 Sep 2017 10:52
Hello everybody,

I've been rereading The Calculus Affair again, and I've noticed that on page 11, Captain Haddock is drinking out of a small coffee cup. As we learn in The Seven Crystal Balls and on the last page of The Crab With The Golden Claws, Captain Haddock will choke if he drinks water. He only begins drinking coffee in Alph-art, and Haddock wouldn't drink whisky out of a small cup like that, so what is he drinking?


Thanks,

snowybella
jock123
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 6 Sep 2017 11:43
Well, tea would be one option, I suppose, but, given that it is/ was a breakfast staple on French and Belgian dining tables, and going by the shape of the pot, it could be hot chocolate.
snowybella:
He only begins drinking coffee in Alph-art

However, I'm a little uncertain as to why you say that - can you point to a specific reason you think that, as I don't recall it myself?
I know that he actually fails to drink coffee at the start of the book, as Nestor says he ran out leaving his cup undrunk, but I don't remember that being indicated as anything new or unusual for the Captain's breakfast.
I also would not set a great deal of store by Alph-Art as a definitive source of information, given that it's incomplete and unedited. Even if Hergé did make a note here that this was Haddock's first coffee, it's entirely possible that he had forgotten that he'd shown Haddock drinking coffee in The Calculus Affair, but would have picked it up in editing the book, and revised it (much as the mistake in the season at the start of Picaros led to that being revised once spotted).
Richard1631978
Member
#3 · Posted: 6 Sep 2017 20:22
Maybe Capt Haddock adds a tot of whisky to his coffee from a flask?
Ranko
Member
#4 · Posted: 14 Sep 2017 19:11
Hot chocolate could be an option. Coffee could well be the other choice.

Remember at this point the Captain declares he is tired of adventuring. He wears a monocle, tweed jacket, plus fours and riding boots. He has a stately home and butler...Grown up, figuratively speaking?
Even a hardened drinker like the Captain would like to start the day off with something other than Loch Lomond. (He may well not, but the subject of Archie being an alcoholic is for a different topic)
Besides, I'm not sure the done thing would have been to draw a whisky bottle on the table alongside the coffee pot. It just doesn't sit right.

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the Forum Posting Guidelines.

Disclaimer: Tintinologist.org assumes no responsibility for any content you post to the forums/web site. Staff reserve the right to remove any submitted content which they deem in breach of Tintinologist.org's Terms of Use. If you spot anything on Tintinologist.org that you think is inappropriate, please alert the moderation team. Sometimes things slip through, but we will always act swiftly to remove unauthorised material.

Reply

 Forgot password
Please log in to post. No account? Create one!