Nestor
First name: Nestor
Occupation: Butler
Occupation: Butler
Beyond self-sacrifice, Nestor is the guardian of Marlinspike Hall Estate.
A secondary role, Nestor? That remains to be seen, so essential is his role in the running of Marlinspike Hall Nestor seems to have been a servant there for as long as we can remember, probably even before Marlinspike Hall was bought by the Bird brothers, rogue antiquarians on the trail of the Unicorn treasure. Nestor's first quality is loyalty... even if he sometimes eavesdrops and looks through the keyhole. Nestor doesn't know that his bosses are crooks, which is why, mistaking Tintin for a thief, he knocks him out with a club. Only Tintin can keep him out of prison by confirming to the Thom(p)sons that Nestor has been taken advantage of by his employers. Supported by Haddock, who is very persuasive... so that once freed, he can supply him with three-star cognac.
Obsequious, but to what extent?
From that moment on, Haddock treated him like a servant, calling him by his first name and giving him instructions. Apparently to the full satisfaction of the butler. Respectful of everyone, never complaining, always ready to serve, is Nestor really that clear-cut? It's true that his parents named him after the oldest and wisest hero of the Trojan War. But our butler, though self-effacing, seems to cultivate dark prejudices. He clearly expresses his disapproval when Haddock invites Travellers, who have been chased away from a rubbish dump, to camp on the lawns of Marlinspike Hall. And he protests vigorously when ‘these strangers’ pitch their tents in the drawing room...
A secondary role, Nestor? That remains to be seen, so essential is his role in the running of Marlinspike Hall Nestor seems to have been a servant there for as long as we can remember, probably even before Marlinspike Hall was bought by the Bird brothers, rogue antiquarians on the trail of the Unicorn treasure. Nestor's first quality is loyalty... even if he sometimes eavesdrops and looks through the keyhole. Nestor doesn't know that his bosses are crooks, which is why, mistaking Tintin for a thief, he knocks him out with a club. Only Tintin can keep him out of prison by confirming to the Thom(p)sons that Nestor has been taken advantage of by his employers. Supported by Haddock, who is very persuasive... so that once freed, he can supply him with three-star cognac.
Obsequious, but to what extent?
From that moment on, Haddock treated him like a servant, calling him by his first name and giving him instructions. Apparently to the full satisfaction of the butler. Respectful of everyone, never complaining, always ready to serve, is Nestor really that clear-cut? It's true that his parents named him after the oldest and wisest hero of the Trojan War. But our butler, though self-effacing, seems to cultivate dark prejudices. He clearly expresses his disapproval when Haddock invites Travellers, who have been chased away from a rubbish dump, to camp on the lawns of Marlinspike Hall. And he protests vigorously when ‘these strangers’ pitch their tents in the drawing room...
Nestor, hard at work.
Nestor stops at nothing to make the stay at Marlinspike Hall a pleasant one for his masters, but also for the guests of this prestigious place that he seems to have always lived in.
After his entry into the world of Tintin, Nestor became a recurring character in the series, appearing almost every time the action took place at Marlinspike Hall, sometimes very elliptically: in Tintin in Tibet, Nestor, who is invisible, is only mentioned for having forwarded Chang's mail to Switzerland.
