Many years ago I saw “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” and it became one of my favorite films of all time. Later, when Joseph was getting into naval history, I showed it to him and fell in love with it, too.
Because of Joseph’s encouragement, I began to read the original series of books by Patrick O’Brian which inspired the film. The tales center on Captain Jack Aubrey and his particular friend, Stephen Maturin, a physician and intelligence agent. O’Brian published 20 books in the series, and was working on a 21st when he died; those few unfinished chapters were published posthumously. It probably goes without saying that I quickly became hooked on the books, and continue reading them today.
Fans of the series refer to a complete reading of the series as a “circumnavigation,” and I personally have now completed three or four circumnavigations. There’s a passage in “H.M.S. Surprise” where Maturin is discussing marriage, which I think applies equally to my feelings about reading the series:
“… sometimes I wonder … whether any arrival can amount to the sum of voyages — whether, in fact, it would not be better to travel indefinitely.”
Anyway, this summer I finished another circumnavigation. This time around, I was struck by something about the character Awkward Davies towards the end that I hadn’t noticed in previous readings — and I don’t believe I’ve seen anyone else write about it before, either. If you’re a fan of the series, please keep reading for my analysis!
[Warning: some spoilers ahead]
Awkward Davies
Like Barret Bonden, Preserved Killick, and several other of Aubrey’s followers, we get to know Davies (or Davis) over the course of the series. O’Brian characterizes him as “big,” “ugly,” “dull-witted,” “clumsy,” “dark,” “fierce,” “brutal,” “dangerous,” “powerful,” “lumbering.” We often see his berserker rage, and we are reminded repeatedly that Captain Aubrey has rescued him multiple times from drowning.
But after Bonden is killed off towards the end of Book 19, “The Hundred Days,” I was struck by Davies’ increased prominence in the subsequent (and final) published book, “Blue at the Mizzen.” It felt like he was mentioned quite a bit, he got more dialogue than usual, and he received some nuanced characterization.
Was it my imagination, or was O’Brian elevating Davies’ profile, hoping to fill some of the hole left by the demise of our beloved Bonden?
Today I tried to quantify it, using the Aubrey/Maturin series text search to tally up all references to Davis/Davies in the series.
It turns out that he is mentioned only sporadically during Books 1-7 (and a couple of those references are debatable). Davies really rises to prominence in Book 8, (“The Ionian Mission”), where we get this amusing introduction:
‘It is Davis again, sir,’ said Pullings.
‘That’s right, sir,’ cried a huge dark seaman in a hairy coat. ‘Old Davis again. Faithful and true. Merry and bright. Always up to the mark.’ He stepped forward in a blundering, lurching movement, thrusting the cheerful young lieutenant from the Niobe aside…
I count 21 mentions of his name in this book. And he continues to be mentioned regularly for the next 8 books, including 17 mentions in Book 15 (“Clarissa Oakes/The Truelove”) and 14 in Book 9 (“Treason’s Harbour”).
But things drop off after “The Wine-Dark Sea.” Davies is not mentioned at all in book 18, and only once in “The Hundred Days,” where Bonden meets his demise.
Then, suddenly, in “Blue at the Mizzen,” Davies is mentioned 13 times.
Aubrey tells Davis he’s “happy to see you” in the first chapter. A few chapters later, while writing to Sophie, he calls Davis “your favorite.” Indeed, this passage adds a lot to Davies’ characterization, with Aubrey citing Davies’ rescue of young Hanson as an example of his “other sides.”
We’ve seen glimpses of this softer side in the past, most notably in Book 14 (“The Nutmeg of Consolation”), when Stephen notes the “massive, lowering creature was sometimes possessed by an elfin gaiety” while watching him play with Emily.
But here in Book 20, we learn of Davies attachment to Hanson, and their improbable friendship, and then see them working side by side. They have a nice exchange in chapter 9 when Davies anxiously asks Hanson about unusual things happening on the ship, and Hanson is able to reassure him they are the captain’s orders. In the cutting out of the Esmerelda at the end of the book, the two work together to cut the cable holding the ship to the mole.
In this book, we learn Davies can sing in a “strikingly true basso profundo,” where in prior books we only heard about his “horrifying roar,” the “strongest voice in the crew.”
And, interestingly, when Colonel Valdes needs help to descend from the top, Captain Aubrey summons both his new coxswain AND Davies to act as guides.
Finally: In the unfinished Book 21, Davies is mentioned four times, even though O’Brian had only written a few chapters. Would he have continued elevating Davies’ profile in later chapters, using him to fill some of the hole left by Bonden?
I think he would have.