Europeans and the marine realm: A blue ecocritical perspective on Hergé's The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure

This study examines the portrayal of oceanic spaces as a part of the holistic nature in Hergé’s texts The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure from his graphic series The Adventures of Tintin. It aims to analyse the interactions between European characters of the texts and the oceans as a holistic part of nature, exploring how these interactions reflect broader colonial attitudes and environmental perspectives. It traces the unfolding of the early depictions of the marine realm from its early representations in the narratives as a hostile and wild force to later narratives showcasing attempts at human mastery over the blue space of the Earth. The paper adopts the theories of blue ecocriticism as propounded by Sidney I. Dobrin to critically analyse the texts and focus on the historical trajectories of European colonial inclination towards the marine environment. The paper explores Tintin’s initial encounters with the treacherous blue spaces as presented in the texts as a symbolic resistance to colonial ambitions. It then continues to examine the select texts to exemplify the narratives of conquest and technological domination of the oceanic realms. The analysis reveals the tension between the human drive for exploration and conquest and growing awareness of ecological responsibilities. It also critiques anthropocentric and exploitative standpoint towards the marine environment prevalent in colonial enterprises. This blue ecocritical reading from Eurocentric perspective of the select texts from the series reflects critically on how colonial narratives shape the interactions of the colonizers with that of the natural world, and how these interactions influence their perception as a superior species over the non-humans within the marine realm.