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Marlinspike: Does Tintin live there?

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mct16
Member
#21 · Posted: 12 Oct 2018 23:00
I don't see any evidence to suggest that he is living there on a temporary basis either. Calculus Affair and most of the subsequent books have scenes of Tintin at Marlinspike in pyjamas (indicating that he stayed overnight), having breakfast and just spending the day in conversation with Haddock.

If Tintin did still have a flat in town then I think that we would have a couple of scenes there at least.
In the opening scene of Red Sea Sharks, for instance, after going to the cinema with Haddock, it would make sense for him to go back to his flat than go all the way to Marlinspike.

Tintin and Haddock do seem quite joined at the hip, like glue, in most of their latter adventures, like when they visit the Alps on holiday in Tibet.
They do split for a while in Picaros but that is mainly because Tintin initially disagrees with going to San Theodoros and straight into the lion's jaws.
jock123
Moderator
#22 · Posted: 13 Oct 2018 12:57
mct16:
I don't see any evidence to suggest that he is living there on a temporary basis either.

Huh? That's circular logic - no evidence to support something doesn't automatically make a contrary position true.
When we met at Somerset House, for example, I didn't see anything to say that you didn't live there - but that doesn't make any sort of case for me to decide that you did live there...

Additionally, many people who regularly visit a temporary lodging will keep items there if it is convenient to do so - I didn't "live" at my parents' house after I left home at 18, but I had clothes, toiletries and such there such that I could have stayed there for weeks at a time without arriving with luggage.

mct16:
If Tintin did still have a flat in town then I think that we would have a couple of scenes there at least.

Why? Hergé could put characters wherever he liked, so again, not seeing something doesn't its presence "off-stage" untrue; if Wagner, for example, isn't seen at home - doesn't make the statement "We never see Wagner at home, so he doesn't have one...", true, does it?

mct16:
it would make sense for him to go back to his flat than go all the way to Marlinspike.

Again, false logic - maybe Haddock, passing through town, came to pick Tintin up for a weekend at Marlinspike, rather than for him to have take the train or bus, and they used the opportunity to take in a movie because there isn't a cinema in the village?

All this really goes to show is that the best that seems possible is surmise and speculation, but that there isn't really a concrete answer in the books as to the exact nature of Tintin's domestic set-up.
mct16
Member
#23 · Posted: 14 Oct 2018 00:17
For a temporary guest, he certainly appears to be a very permanent resident.

jock123:
maybe Haddock, passing through town, came to pick Tintin up for a weekend at Marlinspike

And Snowy, who usually lives with Tintin, walked all the way from the flat in town to Marlinspike and got there in time to greet them as the victim of one of Abdullah's pranks?

If the village cinema is not showing the film you want to see, going to town to see it makes sense, doesn't it?
Shivam302001
Member
#24 · Posted: 14 Oct 2018 16:37
mct16
Sorry for being a bit late but I had gone on holiday where there was no Internet connection.
Anyway, the scene I am talking about is in page 58 of The Castafiore Emerald, the exact term being 'woodman' as I just checked now.

But I am afraid that your view that Tintin resides permanently in Marlinspike does not have any solid basis.

For example, I stay with my parents in the weekdays but shift to my grandparents' every weekend, which is where I have all the fun.
If a person visits my grandparents' house every weekend, there is no proof to him/her that I reside elsewhere.
Not that I am saying that Tintin does not live in Marlinspike, in fact there is every possibility that he may have actually shifted there.

Actually there are no solid basis for any kind of view in this thread because frankly none actually exist.

All are guesses and surmise which fall down like a pack of cards with the merest wind of counter logic.

So, as I said before, we should keep our minds open in this case as there is no place in the book where Tintin's residence is clearly mentioned after The Land of Black Gold. I think every reader will and ought to come up with different logic to suit their ideas of their Tintiniverse.

Personally, I think Tintin did move to Marlinspike Hall too, but since there isn't any solid reason behind it, I won't try to give any.

Pure fun! ;-)
Aryan Tiwari
Member
#25 · Posted: 14 Oct 2018 18:09
I'd assume Tintin does stay with Haddock, more on a permanent basis like Calculus.
It was Tintin who helped Haddock from his rough life and his damned first mate; Haddock was only able to achieve such a feat because of Tintin.
As for Calculus - well he paid for the house!
Thus Haddock would have definitely been more than happy to have them around on a permanent basis.

Hopefully I made some sense here!
Sugarplum
Member
#26 · Posted: 25 Jan 2021 07:05
Tintin to Calculus with amnesia in Destination Moon:

"Marlinspike Hall ... Our butler, Nestor ... remember Marlinspike".
jock123
Moderator
#27 · Posted: 25 Jan 2021 11:33
Sugarplum:
Our butler, Nestor

Ah, it's certainly a point worth considering, but I think there's a common usage of "our", which doesn't necessarily imply direct ownership, rather a shared point of reference or experience.

So you could say, "Our waiter was very attentive", without meaning that you employ a waiter of your own.

A closer parallel for the exchange in the book could be along the lines of two people talking, and one saying "Newtown High School... Our teacher, Mr Nestor... Remember Newtown?".

The high school and Newtown are places they went regularly, and with which both are familiar, and Mr Nestor is a figure known to both.

But your example can't be ruled out entirely as evidence! We need to keep digging! :-)
superjm9
Member
#28 · Posted: 26 Jan 2021 18:26
jock123
This is actually as a result of the translation.
In the original French, Tintin says "Moulinsart... Le château de Moulinsart... Nestor... Rappelez-vous: Moulinsart... Le capitaine Haddock...". So he doesn't mention Nestor as being 'their' butler. It was probably added to make the text flow better in English.

As to the actual question, he definitely doesn't live there before Land of Black Gold, as his apartment is shown in that book, and before that, The Seven Crystal Balls.
What we can say is that from Destination Moon onwards he stays there for days at a time, mostly notable in The Castafiore Emerald.
He seems to have his own room, yet in Tintin and the Picaros he seems to be visiting Haddock at the start when he arrives on his motorbike.

He does seem to live there in some books, though it's not impossible that they are merely extended stays:

Destination Moon
The Calculus Affair
The Red Sea Sharks
The Castafiore Emerald
Tintin and Alph-Art
mct16
Member
#29 · Posted: 26 Jan 2021 19:16
superjm9:
in Tintin and the Picaros he seems to be visiting Haddock at the start when he arrives on his motorbike.

In the original French, when Tintin gets off the bike, Haddock says: "Ah! You're back!", as if he had just be out for an errand, probably to the village.
He is also always present during Haddock's war of nerves with Tapioca in the subsequent scenes.

Later in Picaros, when Tintin joins Haddock and Calculus in San Theodoros, he tells them he has "arrived straight from Marlinspike".

You've listed all the books in which he is shown living at Marlinspike.
For someone who only goes there temporarily he appears to be rather permanent.
superjm9
Member
#30 · Posted: 26 Jan 2021 22:29
mct16
Hi, thanks for that. The start of Picaros was what prevented me from drawing a conclusion.
He seemed to arrive similar to how he did at the start of The Seven Crystal Balls and the Tintin magazine version of Prisoners of the Sun.
In both of those cases he is arriving from his apartment. If Haddock says that in the original French, then there is no question about it. Tintin is clearly living there from The Calculus Affair onwards

Destination Moon is a more interesting one.
Due to their extremely brief stay at Marlinspike, it's hard to say; if Tintin lives there at that time, the transition is a bit awkward.
This is because the last time Tintin's apartment appears is in the part of Land of Black Gold that first appeared in Le Petit Vingtième, before Marlinspike was in the series, so he seems to go straight to Khemed (in the modern edition) and then is suddenly living at Marlinspike afterwards, since they go straight there from the airport.

In any case, I think it's definitely true that Tintin lives there from The Calculus Affair onwards, and possibly at the start of Destination Moon too. The last time he definitely lives in his apartment is Land of Black Gold.

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