1924: The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes

Perhaps some of you have thought to yourself that the last couple of posts on this blog were a bit on the long side. Perhaps you did a bit of skimming, brushed up on your speed reading skills. If so, you will probably enjoy this post, because it is fairly short.

Why is it so short? As my poor husband (whom I constantly pursue around our apartment enthusing about remote and uninteresting topics) will tell you, I didn't particularly enjoy this book. This may be because I'm not as versed in maritime adventure stories as I should be. But I think it might mostly be because of certain unavoidable comparisons I drew between The Dark Frigate and Treasure Island. They are both maritime coming-of-age adventure stories, but Treasure Island is much more famous than The Dark Frigate ... and for very good reason. Let me describe my impressions, and those of you who have read the book can defend it if you like.

I spent the entire book trying to picture the main character, and I never quite managed to form a mental image. As far as I could tell, he is young but of indeterminate age; slim but strong enough to fight off opponents twice his size; handsome enough to be instantly propositioned by whatever woman he encounters; and very honest-looking, even when he's caught doing something dishonest.

Each time another character meets this boy, they instantly like and trust him. He gets promoted faster than his peers, befriended by his rivals, spared by the hangman ... and all, as far as I could tell, because they "instantly liked the look of him." The first person he meets, a Scottish smithy, becomes so enamored of him that he seems to want to adopt him on the spot; but alas, he has to settle for staying up all night and forging him a dagger and with an ivory handle and a loving inscription. By the end of the book, his good looks and mysterious je ne sais pas get him an inheritance from a wealthy landowner - not to mention the man's alluring daughter.

Perhaps you feel I am being unfair. You might argue that it is a tradition of this genre to weight the dice in favor of the protagonist. But for a coming-of-age story, this book was missing something vital: a coming-of-age. Sure, the character ages throughout the book. Sure he has many experiences, both exciting and traumatizing. But I cannot see that he changed much at all through the whole book. His struggles are purely external, meaning that though he observes many lawless activities taking place and feels vague disapproval, he never acts. Perhaps this is a mistake on the part of the author, who was generous with the fist-fights and nautical terms but a little skimpy on the internal development. All we get to see of the main character are his actions and reactions. When his ship is shanghaied by ruthless pirates, he tut-tuts at the carnage and then joins up with the new captain hoping to make a few bucks. While he does eventually slip away because "an honest man can go so far in the company of rogues and no farther," this is only after he's taken part in a few unsuccessful ventures and sees there's nothing to be gained by sticking around. The only time he draws a clear moral line is when he refuses to testify in court against the murdering pirates out of some sense of honor among thieves. This doesn't make him a very good citizen, but it turns out that he made the right choice, because of all the pirates he alone escapes the noose, having impressed the jury with his honesty (and his awe-inspiring face).

In conclusion, I felt no sympathy or interest in the main character. He begins the book with superhuman strength and a magical face, and ends the book in exactly the same state. Where's the fun in that? Its similarity to Treasure Island only drew attention to the comparative flatness of its characters. Oh, and one more thing. Before I end this post, I will make one parting shot: the main character's name is Phil. Phil?

But I will say no more.