Tintin (character) making it in his role of explorer. Clearly unencumbered with financial preoccupations, after "Red Rackham's Treasure" he is ensconced as a permanent house guest in the stately Marlinspike Hall with retired mariner Captain Haddock and the scientist Professor Calculus. Tintin occupies all of his time with his friends, exploring the bottom of the sea, the tops of the mountains, and the surface of the Moon (sixteen years before astronaut Neil Armstrong). Through it all, Tintin finds himself cast in the role of international social crusader, sticking up for the underdog and looking after those less fortunate than himself. From the
The Secret of the Unicorn and in doing so "deals with the meanings of symbolic relations within personal life". Discussing the character of Sir Francis Haddock, he states that this ancestral figure resembles both Tintin and Haddock, "the foundling and the bastard", thus making the duo brothers as well as close friends. He adds that when Captain Haddock reenacts his ancestor's fight with Rackham, he adopts his "very soul, his "mana", and is transformed in the process." Apostolidès also discusses Red Rackham, noting that the name "Red" conjures up "the forbidden colour of blood and wine" while "Rackham" combines "raca" ("false brother") with the French