Master and Commander

The opening chapters of Master and Commander establish the theme of Friendship Between Equals through the unlikely relationship between Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, two men of different professions and temperaments who nevertheless grow to respect and value one another’s company. Aubrey and Maturin have a negative first encounter, both of them making a bad impression on the other. O’Brian suggests that this is partially due to their own dissatisfying circumstances, which cause them to behave uncharitably toward everyone else. As Aubrey sits at the concert, he is angry with Maturin for complaining about his sense of rhythm, but as he is unable to express his rage, “his anger [takes] on the form of melancholy: he [thinks] of his shipless state, of half and whole promises made to him and broken, and of the many schemes he had built up on visionary foundations” (9). Aubrey’s bad mood is related to his professional and financial troubles, not just the events of the concert. O’Brian emphasizes this as Aubrey walks back to the Crown after the concert:

[H]e was profoundly dissatisfied with himself, and with the man in the black coat, and with the service. And with the velvet softness of the April night, and the choir of nightingales in the orange-trees, and the host of stars hanging so low as almost to touch the palms (11).

The appealing language describing the beautiful Mediterranean evening draws attention to the absurdity of Aubrey’s mood; he has no logical reason to feel unhappy about the night, yet his worries and disappointments cause him not to appreciate them. Similarly, Maturin is also dissatisfied with his circumstances, lacking money and opportunity to practice natural philosophy after his patient dies before paying him what he was owed.

Once Aubrey receives his new rank as master and commander of the Sophie, his mood is immediately altered, and he is able to quickly forget his animosity toward Maturin. When he encounters him on the street, Aubrey immediately apologies, saying, “I must have been a sad bore to you last night, and I hope you will forgive me. We sailors hear so little music—and are so little used to genteel company—that we grow carried away” (15). Aubrey and Maturin appear entirely different in their mannerisms and temperament, which builds the groundwork for the exploration of the differences between The Customs of Sailors Versus the Customs of Shore. Aubrey and Maturin embody the differences between sea and land in everything from their appearances to their interests. Aubrey is a sailor: he is described as big and tanned, eager for action, women, and money. Maturin is small and pale, a civilian scholar who is only excited by seeing a rare bird. His time as a member of the Sophie’s crew begins with a misunderstanding, foreshadowing his lack of understanding of naval habits and customs.

Once Aubrey has made amends, he and Maturin realize that they share a passion for music. O’Brian writes that “they talked about Boccherini, bows and rosin, copyists, the care of strings, with great satisfaction in one another’s company until a brutally ugly clock with a lyre-shaped pendulum struck the hour” (17), suggesting that their intense dislike has turned into intense affection for each other. Despite a bad first impression and entirely different personalities, Aubrey and Maturin begin to develop a friendship due to their shared interest. Both of them can provide something useful for the other: Aubrey offering the impoverished Maturin a job and Maturin providing needed medical and linguistic skills. Yet their shared enjoyment of music affirms that their continued association is due to more than just necessity.

The notion of misleading impressions and the desire for authentic connection continues as Aubrey meets his crew for the first time and begins to assess their capacities. As Aubrey tours his new ship, he “[sees] exactly what he had expected to see—a vessel ready for inspection, holding her breath in case any of her beautifully trim rigging with its geometrically perfect fakes and perpendicular falls should be disturbed” (30). Aubrey intentionally does not call attention to any of the hidden imperfections of the ship because he acknowledges that the crew does not intend for him to notice. However, Aubrey is a keen observer of both people and vessels. He learns of the crew’s secrets from observation and grows to understand the Sophie’s limits through his own experiments. Aubrey’s position as the captain of the ship means that he must both be aware of everything that occurs aboard the ship, but intentionally ignore some of that information to avoid upsetting the crew or contradicting other officers. As Aubrey learns to navigate this, he both enjoys his new rank, but also feels wistful that “he [is] no longer one of ‘us’: he [is] ‘they’” (32). His position of authority leaves him isolated from genuine connection with the other sailors, illustrating The Cost of Ambition. Aubrey longed for a position that would give him the power to truly earn money, but getting it means giving up his equal relationship with the rest of the crew. This shift in dynamics also necessitates that he develop his bond with Maturin, whom he considers an equal. The progression of their relationship from hostility to dependence indicates a central theme of the book: that true friends can help one to overcome adversity by providing complimentary abilities, requiring comrades to have different strengths and weaknesses.