Tintin Forums

While reading somewhere else I just stumbled over a theory that the Captain doesn't like to be called by his first name. And if I think of it this seems quite plausible; when Tintin mentions the first name while Archie suffers amnesia in Picaros, the Captain says that the name is ridiculous.

This would also explain why nobody ever, not even Tintin, calls him Archibald or Archie but only "Captain" (aside the fact that Hergé didn't come up with the first name until Picaros).

(Which is a pity because I like the name.)

Hmm, what do you think?

I think one could interpret that scene in Picaros a little differently when you consider that Haddock had completely lost his marbles at that point. The conversation goes something like this: ""Look here Captain..." "Who's the Captain here? You or me?" "You are, of course. You're Captain Haddock" "How ridiculous! What's my first name then?" "Archibald, isn't it?" "Even worse! What's yours?" "Mine's Tintin" "Grotesque!"

The point is, he is a captain. You don't go calling captains by their christian name. A captain is a position which commands respect. I could never imagine Tintin or the rest of the cast calling him Archie!

Woah, no. But even if they would, I don't think he's very fond of his first name. The fact that he never mentions it, ever, and that Tintin only uses it when trying to remind him of who he is, suggests that he's not exactly proud of the name, doesn't it? Even if he had lost his marbles when he said it was awful, it counts for something. Maybe he had to forget what was going on before he could actually say what he really thought (about Tintin's name, too...).