Hornblower plays Affectionate HusbandThe mirror caught Maria's reflection, and he forced himself back into the world again. she was standing pathetically looking at him, and he put down his razor, and took up the towel ans wiped the lather from his mouth. "Not a kiss since yesterday!" he said. "Maria, darling, don't you think you've been neglecting me?" ...And while he kissed her he thought of Atropos riding to her anchor out there in the river, and despised himself as a hypocritical lover." (Hornblower and the "Atropos")
John Ford visited me at the store a few days ago. When I told him that Hornblower had become a 'real' captain he announced that he skips all the "mushy parts."
And for the first three books I didn't really understand what John was talking about; this was a series about a man in love with the sea (even though it made him violently sick and frequently led to mortal danger) and service. It was a Romance with the Sea - surely - but mushy?
That was, until Horatio got married to a sensitive, homely innkeeper's daughter. The first woman to show him kindness during a time of hard luck, Marie changes Horatio - military genius and gangly man of action - to Horry.
A pivotal point for sure, I haven't a clue why Forrester writes Horatio into Marie's stereotypically feminine arms. I could dismiss this mis-match as evidence that Forrester, like SO many male writers, simply can't imagine a 3D woman but there is a little authorial voice that peeks out once in a while to vote against such an easy dismissal. Either way, for all his lack of insight into the feminine mind I am in love with, and facinated by, this new dimension of Horatio as a BIG OL' FAKER.
I'm loving Horatio Hornblower.
