Captain Haddock's and Tintin's relationship

Amen!

I was about to say what you said Jock, but I couldn't write my thoughs in so elegant way you did. :-)

I do not think that Tintin and Haddock are gays, I just think that Tintin is not interesed in girls yet, and that Haddock is more like a father for Tintin, Haddock just trying to protect Tintin, maybe Hergé added a little part of his "father's role" above Tintin to captain Haddock

I was about to say what you said Jock, but I couldn't write my thoughs in so elegant way you did. :-)

Hey, he is the master :)

I believe that Tintin and Captain Haddock are not gay, but instead share a father-son relationship, just like many other members have already said. I dislike the thought of the Tintin stories having any sexual aspects to them. I think that they are stories of true and admirable friendship. As mct16 said, this seemed to be a trend in Belgian comic books that were aimed towards boys at the time, and we have to remember this when examining their relationship. Everyone has their own opinion though, of course. This is mine.

I have often wondered what Hergé would say to the question of Tintin and Captain Haddock's relationship, and how he would feel when asked if Tintin was gay or not.

I remember reading somewhere the assertion that the only reason Hergé didn't include many women in the strips was because he held them in such high regard, or at least that it would be disrespectful to use them for comic effect. The relationships left are therefore largely between males. It's little wonder then that some people look to analyse these relationships in certain ways.

But the key thing is evidence contained in the strips themselves.

I think parjanyasen reacted to the abhorrence of the idea of Tintin being gay; rather than be shocked by the idea, it's relatively easy to state the lack of evidence there is for it being true.

Haddock to me was always a loving avuncular figure.

He did mention something along those lines in a television interview.

It is actually quite an interesting relationship. In some way one could see Haddock like a father figure, or maybe more an uncle figure, but in an other way one could even see it the other way round. Despite his age, Tintin often seems to be the more mature of the two as Haddock can be quite immature at times.

While the prevailing opinion is that Tintin and Haddock are straight. I must say as a gay person myself, I see them as much more than friends. I started writing a fan fiction concerning Tintin's past and Tintin/Haddock's not long ago. I feel like if someone would explore the "What if Herge had decided they were gay" what would that do to the series? I kind of feel like many people would abandon Tintin (of course I wouldn't). I feel like many non-gays to really understand all the nuiances would need to understand the gay man of Tintin's time (30's or 40's) to really grasp that idea.

I think the fact Herge left a lot to interpretation is what gives this aspect such an awesome meaning. While many see them as straight, there are those of us who see them as starcrossed lovers. Not to derail the topic, but I hope more gay characters are created to take the spot light as a way of changing old views on people who are of a different persuasion.

Here in Denmark, Tintin is a commonly used icon by the (male) homosexual community. If you go to Aarhus, you will find a life-size painting of Tintin, being the only sign outside the larger of the two "gay bars" in the city.

And why not? An androgynic young male with blushing cheeks, living together with an older sea captain with a big bushy beard (the archetypal "bear"). I can easily see why the homosexual community has "adopted" Tintin as "one of their own" - and I am having a hard time having a problem with it really. It simply can not bother me.

Personally, I could not care less about Tintin's sexuality - neither do I think it was given much thought by Hergé.
Furthermore, I have a very hard time believing that Hergé, born in 1907, raised a catholic, working for a catholic newspaper, being heterosexual and a boyscout (at that time the scout movement was, like most of society, very anti homosexual), would create a homosexual character. It simply doesn't make any sense to me.
Im my eyes, any attempt to "make" Tintin gay, is a mere modern afterthought.

Tintin and Haddock are the archetypical male platonic soulmates, commonly seen in litterature from long before Hergé was born - as early as the Greek tragedies and most likely earlier. It is simply a literary tradition - and has nothing to do with sexuality.

I think using Tintin as a icon for a gaybar is a little bit over the top. I think if Tintin and Haddock were brought out by Herge as a gay couple, I definitely think that their relationship would be extremely private and classy; and, I could see if anyone in the comic were to dare ask Haddock about their relationship... I'm sure Haddock would respond strongly, and it wouldn't be Blisterin Barnacles.

As far as Herge is concerned, I really don't think any of us can really say for sure what went on in that man's head. For all we know he may have had homosexual friends, or it's very possible that he had relations with his Chinese friend thus making him bisexual if that were the truth. Outward society may have been anti-gay, but remember once you get underground the networks were around and extremely complicated. People went to lengths to mask any sign of homosexuality. Most gaymen were married and no one had any clue that they were gay because of fear of public ostracism.

As far as Herge creating a homosexual character, maybe not intentionally but inadvertently. Also remember too that a lot of sexual abuse occured in the Catholic Church. A lot of writers from his time used the Greek model of the Mythos which back in Greek times it was acceptable behavior for an older male to be the mentor of a younger male while being married and usually that 'mentoring' also consisted of sexual relations. Anything homo or bi-sexual would have remained unspoken of--just like a married hetero man doesn't reveal who his mistress was.

The more you analyse it the more that it can go either way really--but of course in the end it's all merely speculation, but really good speculation.

Again, I don't know any of this for a fact I'm just stating my opinion.