Tintin Forums

I have some questions about that pesky broken step in the Castafiore Emerald - how come nobody thinks to remove that loose piece of marble until the builder comes (whenever that will be), so at least people won't step on it and take a tumble down the staircase? Or why don't they put some sort of marker or barrier over that step? Sure, that doesn't stop Haddock absent-mindedly stepping on the step at the end and undoing Mr Bolt's work, but it would show more foresight.

And why didn't Haddock follow up on his decision to get someone else to repair the step if Mr Bolt didn't come?

I like to imagine a certain someone's singing has simply frazzled everyone's mind's too much to do anything logical! As for Mr. Bolt, he probably heard she was visiting and rightfully wanted to stay away :)

(Although, wasn't he loosely based on an actual repairman Hergé had trouble getting to visit? I feel like I read that somewhere.)

They probably didn't just remove the loose piece because they thought it would be unsightly.

The reason no one removed it is simple, because then Herge wouldn't have had his running gag through the book! If every character acted like we probably would in real life, the adventures would be pretty boring. :-)

Maybe Nestor keeps putting it back, only using stronger and stronger glue each time, hoping it will hold up.

It's amazing; Captain Haddock has collided with trees, turned into a snowball which crashes into a rock, tripped over things, banged his head, fallen on his back several times and had countless other accidents from which he emerges with little more than snarling - yet he finally sprains his ankle on a little step.

He probably hadn't been getting out enough.

I do like the idea of Nestor trying to fix the broken piece with glue but it isn't strong enough. It sounds a lot more responsible than inserting the loose piece of marble waiting for someone to fall over it again.

That's the thing about Castafiore, that a lot happens to them without leaving Marlinspike. When I was much younger, I didn't like it because it lacked the adventure of the others, it was one of the last I bought, but I like it more now, in the way that it shows what ordinary life is like for them, when they don't suddenly go abroad for some reason.

Yep, he was inspired by a bone idle builder called Boullu (Herge didn't even bother to change the name in the original). A reader asked him if it was the same Monsieur Boullu who had done repairs to her summer house and if so, could he forward her his address. Surprised he didn't get sued for defamation but never mind. The story's recounted in Michael Farr's Companion.

I like how Castafiore is the only person unaffected by the step; absolutely everyone else succumbs at some point. She's a presence to be reckoned with, alright!