58 pages • 1 hour read
Patrick O'BrianMaster and Commander
Patrick O'BrianFiction | 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 11-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary
The Sophie returns to Port Mahon and Aubrey writes an official letter concerning their victory over the Cacafuego and the loss of James Dillon and Henry Ellis. Aubrey is still recovering from his wounds and grieving the lost shipmates, but he arrives in Minorca hopeful that he will be promoted to post-captain and given command of a frigate. However, Admiral Lord Keith is not there, so Aubrey must report to Commandant Harte, who claims that he will need to go to Malta to make repairs to his ship. Aubrey meets with Mrs. Harte for another tryst, although he knows she is taking other lovers. Maturin learns from his landlord that Mrs. Harte‘s reputation has declined, everyone considering her promiscuous and unfaithful. The Sophie receives a new and less competent lieutenant, Mr. Dalziel.
After traveling to Malta for repairs, Captain Harte comes and informs Aubrey that he will not be promoted or given command of a frigate because the Cacafuego was not a genuinely commissioned Spanish warship. It will be sold cheaply to Algerians so that the crew receives neither much money or recognition. The crew knows this is a lie, but Captain Harte means to provoke Aubrey into reckless action that would ruin him in revenge for his infidelity with Mrs. Harte. Maturin attempts to comfort Aubrey with music, but Aubrey accidentally breaks the neck of his violin when he tries to play.
The Sophie is ordered to escort a ship called the Ventura to Gibraltar. While they are not allowed to seek out prizes, Aubrey manages to find some enemy merchant ships that he orders burned to the waterline while they lie at anchor. However, one of the ships contains a cargo of olive oil, resulting in a large fire visible from miles away. A pair of French warships spot the fire and begin to chase the Sophie. While Aubrey orders her guns and provisions thrown overboard to increase their speed, it is not enough. The French ship Desaix catches them and will destroy the ship unless Aubrey surrenders.
Chapter 12 Summary
The crew of the Sophie has been taken to Gibraltar by the French, who will eventually ransom them back to the English. Aubrey is well-treated by the French commanders, who allow him to keep his sword as a mark of honor. He has breakfast with Captain Christy-Palliere, who shows him paintings of Bath he acquired during his time as a prisoner of the English. Meanwhile, Maturin has breakfast with Dr. Ramis, a physician who shares an interest in natural philosophy. They discuss how animals express their emotion physically, while the captured men must try to repress their pain and appear unaffected.
English ships attack the port and battle with the French vessels. This is known as the first battle of Algeciras Bay. Several of the French warships are damaged, but the English ship Hannibal is captured. Aubrey watches from the Desaix while Maturin assists the surgeons in treating the wounded. Captain Ferris of the Hannibal is captured, and he begins to sob at the thought of a court-martial where he might lose his command.
Aubrey becomes overwhelmed, aware that he will also face a court-martial for losing the Sophie when he returns to the British. He and his crew eat together while watching the second battle of Algeciras. Aubrey tells Maturin that the officers will have the opportunity to find fault with his leadership at the trial. Maturin offers to plead guilty, humorously claiming that he will pretend he held the whole ship hostage by threatening to blow up the powder magazine. They are both concerned that their lives will be subject to the judgment of senior naval officers, who are often incompetent.
The battle ends and the British are victorious. Captain Keats of the Superb distinguishes himself in combat. Aubrey rushes to inform Maturin and finds him dissecting a hyena. They celebrate the victory with a drink. The British captains assemble, and the court-martial trial begins. Aubrey finds no fault with the crew and the crew finds no fault with his leadership. They testify that every effort was made to avoid capture. The captains find Aubrey not guilty, and he is restored as an officer of the British Navy.
Chapters 11-12 Analysis
The final chapters of Master and Commander depict the highest point and the lowest point of Aubrey’s career thus far, ending with a tense trial that restores his status back to its previous condition. After taking the Cacafuego, Aubrey is at the height of his professional reputation, and assured that he will receive financial and career rewards soon. As he walks through Port Mahon, he observes:
Looks of unfeigned respect, good will and admiration upon the faces of seamen and junior officers passing in the crowded street; and two commanders senior to him, unlucky in prizes and known to be jealous, had hurried across to make their compliments, handsomely and with good grace (341).
This makes it seem as though Aubrey has achieved his goals despite The Cost of Ambition shown in the previous chapters. However, Aubrey’s own vices tear this victory away from him. His widely known affair with Mrs. Harte causes the commandant to take revenge, denying him a promotion or the prize money for the capture of the Cacafuego. This sudden change in fortune is symbolically combined with the destruction of Aubrey’s other most cherished possessions: his violin and his ship. It is Aubrey’s character that leads him to lose that which he values most. He still feels wounded by Dillon’s comments that his motivations were purely commercial and so decides to burn a merchant vessel to the waterline, remarking that, “the most scrupulous mind could not but say that this is the most uncommercial enterprise imaginable” (364). This decision leads to the Sophie’s capture, which is the ultimate consequence, right on the heels of losing his beloved violin and his long-awaited promotion. Aubrey’s mistakes are not the result of incompetence, but rather his natural inclination toward women and acts of military daring. However, these traits become damaging under the right circumstances, turning his greatest success into a catastrophic loss.
After the capture of the Sophie by the French, the final chapter explores how one can handle such uncontrollable disasters. Maturin notices the value of stoicism practiced by the crew of the Sophie. During the chase with the Desaix, Aubrey does not panic or display any heightened emotion, ordering that the flag be lowered in a casual and matter-of-fact statement. After their capture, Aubrey enjoys a friendly breakfast with one of the French commanders. Maturin compares this behavior to animals, who display their emotions outwardly. He asks a colleague, “does it not seem to you that this stoical appearance of indifference in fact diminishes the pain?” (382).
As the British begin to attack the Franco-Spanish fleet at Gibraltar, this stoicism is contrasted with a blatant show of emotion, all within the context of the customs of sailors. Aubrey, who watches the battle from afar, only begins to worry when he witnesses Captain Ferris lose his ship. Ferris is outwardly terrified of facing a court-martial: “‘I struck my colours,’ he said in a wondering tone and at once began to sob, staring open-eyed at them—at one and then at the other” (389). Witnessing this emotional display makes Aubrey begin to fear his own inevitable trial. Maturin is initially unconcerned, telling him that his superior officers are fools and so he should not care what they think. This lack of understanding proves that even after all his time on the Sophie, Maturin does not grasp many elements of sea culture. Aubrey responds, “how would you like to place your life, your profession and your good name between the hands of a parcel of senior officers?” (402), emphasizing the danger of the court-martial trial.
Aubrey’s court-martial, however, reveals a solution to the problem: friendship and comradery. The theme Friendship Between Equals culminates in these chapters as Maturin sees Aubrey and his crew through their lowest points. When Aubrey experiences stress and loneliness when he watches the battle from shore, Maturin sits with him and keeps him company. Their bond allows Aubrey to share his troubles, and Maturin reassures him that he will not betray him to save himself. During the trial, Aubrey does not blame the crew or the officers of the Sophie for their capture by the French, and the other sailors likewise do not blame him. This causes the other captains to conclude that no one should be punished for the loss of the ship and Aubrey is reinstated to his position. Although Aubrey and his crew are not equals, they have developed a bond of trust and understanding, and their mutual support allows them a happy, united ending.
While O’Brian indicates that a man’s temperament and the laws he is obliged to follow will sometimes lead him into trouble, Master and Commander concludes that having supportive friends and comrades can help to alleviate the pain of loss.
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