58 pages • 1 hour read
Patrick O'BrianMaster and Commander
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1969A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary
On the first morning of their voyage, Aubrey wakes up early and goes to climb the mast and observe the ship. The Sophie is sailing slowly so that the convoy of merchant ships they are protecting can keep up. As Aubrey goes to attend to his administrative tasks, the crew wakes up. Maturin, hearing the commotion of the morning, wakes up believing that there is some sort of emergency occurring. He bumps his head on a beam. Aubrey invites him to come eat breakfast and Maturin says that he slept wonderfully in his hammock and feels restored. After breakfast, Aubrey calls the crewmembers and reads the articles of war, with the sick gunner Marshall and a sailor named Isaac Wilson not present. Maturin is introduced to some other crewmembers, including the lieutenant, James Dillon. Dillon and Maturin recognize one another from their participation in the United Irishmen, a society that advocates for Irish representation in the government and equality for the Presbyterian and Catholic Irish population. Maturin pretends not to know Dillon, but both of them appear shaken by the encounter.
Maturin goes with a sailor named William Mowett to learn the parts of the ship. Mowett is hoping to become a lieutenant someday and so has memorized the dimensions of every part of the ship, which he explains using sailor’s technical jargon. He is also an aspiring poet, composing rhyming verses about naval technology. While Maturin tries to keep up with the lecture, he is distracted by thinking about Dillon. Mowett takes Maturin through the crew quarters, explaining how the sailors all sleep very closely and relieve themselves off of the side of the ship. They meet with William Babington, a young crewmember who is learning trigonometry. Maturin worries about the close and unsanitary conditions easily spreading disease.
Meanwhile, Aubrey has been appointing the new crewmates of the Sophie to various positions. When Maturin comes to join him for dinner, Aubrey worries that he has offended Dillon because he made a disparaging comment about how many of the crewmembers were Irish Catholic criminals. While Aubrey claims to hate “Papists,“ he is more concerned that he has upset Dillon. Aubrey, Maturin, and Dillon dine together that evening on unappealing food, and Dillon describes a battle he fought in aboard the Dart. Aubrey tells them about serving under Lord Nelson, a famous British naval commander who won many battles throughout the Napoleonic Wars with France. According to Aubrey, Nelson was a small and frail man, but his tactic of always attacking led him to many incredible victories.
After dinner, Aubrey reveals that Isaac Wilson has been court-martialed for sodomizing a goat. Aubrey explains that Isaac Wilson will be hung for this, but Maturin finds this too extreme, wondering why they do not simply leave the offending sailor at the nearest port. Aubrey offers Maturin tea, but Maturin refuses to drink the goat‘s milk. He asks about the sick gunner, hoping to go and attend to him.
Meanwhile, in the gun-room, the purser, Mr. Ricketts, and the ship’s master and navigator, Mr. Marshall, discuss the new captain and the changes being made aboard the Sophie. They wonder if Captain Aubrey will be able to succeed in getting the other officers to support him, reflecting that a captain needs to be steady and well-behaved as well as a competent seaman.
Chapter 4 Summary
The crew of the Sophie practices loading and firing the guns. Aubrey is distressed by the slow loading time. Maturin learns more about naval customs from Aubrey, who is astounded and amused that Maturin did not understand the difference between the ship’s master and the much higher-ranking master and commander. The master gunner Mr. Day finally arrives on deck, claiming that Maturin’s prescription has cured his illness. Aubrey is relieved that this will help the crew improve at firing the cannons.
Maturin notices one of the merchant ships in the convoy slowing down, with another ship pulling up close beside it. Aubrey realizes that one of the Norwegian merchant vessels has been boarded by Algerian pirates. They turn the Sophie to go and help, but the Algerian pirates have a much faster galley than the Sophie and will be able to outrun them. Aubrey realizes that the pirates are leading him into a trap, trying to catch him between the Norwegian ship and the Algerian galley, and so he settles for damaging the galley before returning to board the Norwegian ship. The pirates claim that they have thrown the merchant crew overboard. Aubrey is excited that they may be able to claim the merchant ship as a prize and earn money from the engagement.
Two crewmen have died and several have been injured in the fight, including Mr. Day, whose skull is fractured. Maturin cuts into his skull to relieve the pressure, exposing his brain. Aubrey suspects that he will die soon. Meanwhile, while taking the pirates prisoner, Dillon has discovered that most of the Norwegian sailors actually managed to survive by hiding in a cabin. While Mr. Lamb, the carpenter, is relieved that they are safe, Aubrey is upset by the lost money.
The Sophie arrives at its destination, the port of Cagliari, and Lord Admiral Keith gives Aubrey new orders—the Sophie will sail the Mediterranean in search of French or Spanish merchant ships to attack, disrupting enemy trade. Any vessel they capture will result in prize money for the captain and the crew. Aubrey meets with Queeney, a childhood friend who married Lord Keith, and she reminds him of his rakish past. Aubrey reflects upon the disciplinary punishments he endured as a young sailor for pursuing women, telling Maturin that it afforded him the opportunity to learn all the parts of the ship and crew’s work.
Aubrey, Maturin, Dillon, Mowett, Marshall, and Ricketts dine together on a suckling pig. They celebrate Maturin’s success at saving Mr. Day’s life. Maturin discusses how the term surgeon is not an accurate title for him, and his philosophical mind detests incorrect language. The sailors point out that Aubrey is not technically a captain, but rather a master and commander, and the Sophie is technically a brig due to the number of masts, but is called a sloop because a brig is under the command of a lieutenant. Dillon reflects that in the navy, terms are malleable.
Chapters 3-4 Analysis
The Customs of Sailors Versus the Customs of Shore is a major theme in these chapters. As Maturin is introduced to life aboard the ship, he gains an understanding of both the technical and cultural knowledge of sailors. Maturin’s first morning aboard the Sophie indicates how unprepared he is for nautical life. Upon hearing the sailors washing the ship in the morning, Maturin wonders “is it some emergency?” (89) and then hits his head against a beam when he attempts to get out of his hammock. When Maturin tries to climb up the ropes to observe the ship from the mast, he gets stuck; when he looks down, “his grip on the ratlines [tightens] with cataleptic strength and his upward progress [ceases]: […] irrational panic and reasonable dread acted upon his motionless, tight-cramped person” (96). These mishaps indicate that he is not yet familiar with life at sea and is not naturally inclined to it.
The theme of Friendship Between Equals emerges between Maturin and the crew, but it is in its early stages. Language becomes one of the key sites of misunderstanding between Maturin and the crew. Though the crew tries to accommodate Maturin, answering his questions and teaching him the way of life aboard a ship, they speak to Maturin “in the unusually distinct, didactic voice used at sea for landmen and on land for half-wits” (89), which Maturin struggles to comprehend. William Mowett gives Maturin a thorough explanation of the technical features of the ship, and Maturin asks him to explain “this maze of ropes and wood and canvas without using sea-terms” (97). After an overwhelming explanation of the complex mechanics of the ship in sailor’s jargon, Maturin remains disoriented by naval terminology. He remarks over dinner that he objects to being called a surgeon because “it is a false description; and a false description is anathema to the philosophic mind” (151). Dillon replies that “the naval mind fairly revels in it” (151), indicating that Maturin’s commitment to the precise, scientific terminology of biology makes him an outsider aboard a ship, where all terms are flexible.
However, Maturin excels in his role aboard the ship. Though he remains a naive “landsmen” where nautical matters are concerned, these chapters show the breadth of his expertise—he gives Mr. Day medicine and operates on him to save his life, and he worries about the unhealthy living conditions on the ship, which are completely ordinary to the crew. The celebratory dinner at the end of Chapter 4 hints that Maturin is settling in with the crew, even though he remains closest to Aubrey and never truly relinquishes his position as an outsider.
Meanwhile, Aubrey himself is occupied with training the crew to become a competent military force, and with gaining the respect of the officers as a commander. Though he wishes to maintain good relationships with his crew, he knows that he cannot act as their equal now that he is in a position of authority over them. His main priority must be the ship as a whole and the success of the mission, which requires a delicate balance of control and approachability. Aubrey, who is driven by ambition, is not particularly broken up about this. In these chapters, his desire for wealth and success shines through: He is frustrated when he is unable to capture the enemy frigate without abandoning the merchant convoy his orders instruct him to protect. He comes across as more discouraged about the loss of money than happy that the Norwegian merchants have survived the encounter with pirates, offending Dillon. This, combined with the way Aubrey accidentally insults Dillon, foreshadows the growing tension between the two, who respect one another’s military bravery but otherwise cannot get along.
The crew is also uncertain about Aubrey’s character and his ability to lead them effectively. Mr. Ricketts complains about The Cost of Ambition, as he fears Aubrey will be a difficult and ruthless captain: “[I]f he persists in capers of this kind—which I believe it is in his nature so to do—why then, I dare say he will exchange out old Sophie as quick as Mr. Harvey did” (119). Aubrey’s ambition for money and promotions creates conflict with the other officers, although they ultimately inspire him to train a loyal and skilled crew.
Despite the uncertainty of the officers, Aubrey’s ambition is rewarded due to the overall success of the mission. Finally, he is granted permission to seek out fortune and success, which was his original goal. The next chapters further explore the relationships between Aubrey, Maturin, Dillon, and the rest of the crew as they set out on their new mission.
