Humour
in
Capt.
Marryats
Works
MAREK BLASZAK ( Opole )
CaptainMarryat’s critics have long remarkedon his use of humour in hisnu merous popularnautical novels. Louis Cazamian in a 1927 History of English Literature observes that“to thelivelyinterest of his tale he (Marryat) addsarich vein of humour” (284). Captain TaprellDorlingin his sketchesoffive outstan ding British sea officers published in 1929, includes Frederick Marryat, “the mostfamous of naval novelists” (181), whose“rollicking fun and sense ofthe ludicrous went far towardspopularisinghis books”(186). In a post-warreasses sment of Marryat’s naval careerand literary output, dated 1953, OliverWarner again emphasises that “what continuestomakehis (Marryat’s) works memorab le is their zest, fun, invention andoverflowing power of characterisation” (178). These statements have somehow been taken for granted, no attempts having been actually made to examine the writer’s use of humour.
It seems thatthe presentstudymaywell startwith some commentary ofabio graphical nature,forhumour can be defined asan intellectualandemotionalatti tude predisposing man to discern comical sides in people, situations, utterances, etc., releasing andstimulating wit (cf. Sierotwinski, 1986: 95). This kindofatti tude seems to have characterised Marryat’s whole life, from his boyhood thro ugh his naval service to his mature years as a popular writer. His daughter Flo rence recalls inthe Life and Letters of CaptainMarryat (1872)thathe learned at school with great facility though he often forgot histasks,and,“being of a genial temperament, he preferred play to lessons” (vol. I, 14). He was fond ofpractical jokes such as tying asleeping schoolmateto abed, or standingon his head witha book in his handto learn his lessonsmore effectively. He also ran away from school three times orsowith the intention ofgoing to sea. On oneof thoseocca sions his fathersent him backto school in acoach, but Frederick managed toslip
out of the vehicle, returned secretlyhome and used the money thathe had got from his parent for the journey to take his younger brothers to the theatre.
Havingjoinedthe RoyalNavy asa volunteer in1806, Midshipman Marryat, aged 14, began amost exciting, adventurous and successful service thatwas to last24 years. He firsttook partinthe long war against Napoleonic France and her allies mainly in the Mediterranean, then fought in the Atlantic against the United States, andafter that was engagedin the Burmese War in the Far East. He also pursued smugglers inthe Channelas well aspirates and privateers in the high seas all over the world. The years of intense and perilous fighting didnot deprive Marryatofhis specific sense ofhumour. During a hot naval encounter in AlmeriaBayin 1808, for example, he was stunned and leftfor dead among the bodiesofhisshipmateskilledwhileboardingalarge enemy privateer. Aseaman who tookthe insensibleMarryatforhis corpse, slightingly said of him: “Here is ayoung cock that has done crowing!”, to whichMarryat,who wasslowly reco veringconsciousness,faintly replied: “You’re aliar”. Needless to say, this made the whole ship’s company burst into hearty laughter. Inhis private log, fragmen-tarily quotedby Florence Marryat,the future novelist summed up his memories of theFrench campaign, recalling, amongothers, “the ludicrous situationswhich would occur in the extremest danger and create mirthwhen deathwas staring you in the face” (1872: 19-20). It was also during his service in the navy that Marryatbecame a skilful draughtsman and caricaturist.Between 1819-24he co--operatedwith GeorgeCruikshankwho laterillustratedthe novelsbyDickens, Thackeray and W. Harrison Ainsworth,and one effect of thiscollaboration was a series of caricatures issued as“TheProgress ofa Midshipman,or theCareerof Master Blockhead”, Marryat providingthe drawings and subtitles which were thenengraved byCruikshank (cf. Meyerstein 1935:285, Lloyd1939:23-4, Gau tier 1973: 411-422).
Frederick Marryat retired from theRoyal Navyin 1830 in the rank ofpost ca ptaintoenter on the career ofa magazine editor and man-of-letters. His private correspondence, partlyrevealed by Florence Marryat, shows that he preserved and continued to practisethe wittysense of humour that had characterised him asa sailor. Inaletteraddressedtohismother before setting out for the Continent in 1835, hemadea witty remark on the haste in which he left, demonstrating his predilection for linguistic puns which is often reflected inhis novels:“Notone day was ourdeparture postponed; with post horses and postillions, we posted, post-haste, to Brussels”(1872:1, 221).In the same letter he included a personal requestcast in the form of a wittystatement, consisting ofthree parts, the first two of whichprove that thethird partis true: “Is it possibleto make V -amem
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MAREK BLASZAK
berof theHorticultural? Heisveryanxious,and he deserves it; thepersonal kno wledge is the only difficulty; but I know him, and I am partof you, and therefore youknow him. Will that syllogism do?” (I, 224). On another occasion in 1837, Capt. Marryat wroteto a publisher arguing with him about their respective sha res inthe profits, and callinghimselfSindbadtheSailor who is willing to throw off the OldMan of the Mountain clinging to his back. Heconcludedthe letter sa ying thathis ideaof anticipatedbliss in Paradise was grounded on the conviction that there areno publishers there: “That idea often supports me after an inter view with one of your fraternity” (qtd. inFlorence Marryat 1872: II, 76-77). Capt. Marryat’s daughter also recalls one of theanecdotes involving her father and a celebrated friend ofhis, also anauthor. He had a very curious nose, bent in the middle from afracture,which made somebody inthe company observe: “C -G- isa capital fellow, afirst-rate fellow, there’s no denyingthat; butI can’t get over his nose”. The Captain’s quick reply was: “I’m notsurprised to hear you sayso,considering thereis no bridge toit” (I, 241). As we willsee, noses consti tute an important facial feature ofhis characters.
In 1832 Marryat boughttheMetropolitanMagazine in which he began tose rialise his novels as well as publish a miscellany of articles and other materials. Among the latter canbe found three funnyskits -respectivelyon a fashionable novel(1833), a book of travels (1834) anda romance (1835). They are cast in the formof a dialogue between a modernfop whois obliged to writein order to pay back his debts, and his worldly companion who advises him how to proceed. Some of the advice in thefirstcasegoes like this: “turn probability out of doors, (...) possibility outofthewindow”;add“patches ofphilosophy asunintelligible as possible because theystrike readers with veneration forthe author’stalents”; draw “Decorous heroes andheroines” who “whatever their circumstances must never lose their caste”; “make thevices glorious”; use “flippancy (...) on the le vel of diction”; and the like(Frederick Marryat OllaPodrida 187-192). As for a successfulbook of travels, it can be produced without going “farther than the Lincoln’s Inn Coffee House” bythose authors “who have never put theirfoot into the Calais packet-boat” (201-211). How to Write a Romance satirisesthe Gothic genre by wittily pointingoutits limitations and absurdities. Thus, its in separable requisites are said to include “a castle perched sohigh up in the air, that the eagles even intheir highest soar, appearbutas wrens below”; “subter raneous passages, to which thesewers of London are ameresong”; “such ahero ine- such a love- she has never seen hersweetheart,yet sheis most devotedly attached, and has suffered more forhis sake than anymortal couldendure”; the hero who is both “aprince and arobber”, andwho is “here, there,and everywhe
re. Hefillsall Europe with terror,admiration,andlove”; “grandscenes, amazin gly effective” set, for instance, in St. Peter’s atRome andfeaturing thePope and a band ofrobbers disguised aspriests; and a numberof secrets that are neverdi vulged at all (215-7).
We shall addthat in 1841 Fraser’s Magazine criticised Marryatfor condes cendingto publish one ofhisnovels in a weekly newspaper (the Era}, which pro voked him tosend in an ingenious reply: “You appear to set up astandardof pre cedency and rank in literature, founded upon the rarity or frequency of an author’sappearingbeforethe public, (...). Now,although it is a fact that the lar ger and nobler animals of creationproduce butslowly, while thelesser, such as rabbits, rats and mice,are remarkable for their fecundity, I do notthink thatthe comparison will hold good as to the breedingof brains”(qtd. in Florence Marry at 1872: II, 102-103).
Marryat’s eccentricity andsense of humour accompaniedhim in the last pha se of his lifewhen he leftLondonforhis small manorhouse and estate at Lang hamin Norfolk. He had 16 clocks installedin thehousewhichweremade to stri ke simultaneously while part of the garden was converted intothe shape of a poop (i.e.the raised part at the back endofasailing ship),so that he could imagi ne himself on board ofareal vessel. The Captain called his favourite bull Ben Brace afterthe hero ofa seanovelbyhis friend Captain Frederick Chamier. He alsorode a skittish pony called Dumpling. Hislove for children andofchildren’s parties became legendary; heromped withthem and wasa great favourite with hisown (he had 11 of his ownprogeny)aswell as with thoseof his intimatelite rary friends such as Dickens and Harrison Ainsworth.
Turning to Marryat’snovels insearch of humour, we must emphasise two po ints.One is that theyaboundincomicalscenesof all kinds,and theother that we can observe many different shades of humour. These are determined by the observer’s (author’s)attitude to theobject(s) that become(s)thebutt ofhis ridi cule, ranging fromunconcernedgeneral mirth, through kind-hearted forbearan ce and even mawkish leniency, tomalicious irony, sneer and heavysarcasm (cf. Sierotwiński 1986: 95). The representation of particularphenomena of life by magnifying their innerantagonisms and disproportions inorder to evoke comi cal effect, isrealisedinsatire which gives expression to the author’s critical atti tude towards those realities (cf. Głowińskiet al. 1962: 412-413). Shipley also di stinguishes between the genial and affirmative formsof humouron the onehand, and satire, mockery and ridicule on the other. He claims thathumour is “Now widely used as a generic term for everythingthat appeals toman’s disposition toward comic laughter” (1970: 150). Thevarieties of humour in Marryat’s no
Humour in Capt. Marryat’s Works
MAREK BLASZAK
vels have been noticed by critics; Harold Child, for example, asserts thatin his early workthere are “touches here and thereofthe lower humourof Smollett”, though “In the deft delineation of oddity ofcharacter he is worthy ofmention with Sterne or with Dickens” (1915: 250-251). Ernest Baker in his review of Marryat’s besttitlespasses judgements like “a mixture of broad fun and naval history”, “a tale enlivenedwith overmuch farce and horseplay”, “the outward and visibletraits of Smollett’sburlesque”, “grotesques inthe Smollett fashion”, or “extravagancestrying at Sterne’s humour”(1936: 100-107). These are all in teresting assumptions that need to be proved.
The analysis ofMarryat’s characters and plots reveals numerous parallels with the picaresque kind. His young heroes often playthe role ofadventurers and rogues who must keeptheirwits atthe readyinorder to survivein theop pressive world of aman-of-war whichtheyso recklessly enter. The writerrelis hesingenious jokes played by the ship’s company on greenhorn reefers (i.e.ine xperienced midshipmen) on their first appearing on board. PeterSimple in the novel underthe same title, who isbursting with pride onsuchan occasion,im mediately appealsto the purser’s steward fora cocked hat and dirk. Heis sent to look for Cheeks, themarine who is apparently inchargeof the store-room. He goes everywhere about the ship inquiring for Cheeks and is even sent up the mast where the marine is said to be standing sentry over the wind so that it does not change. Of course, his search proves futile, for Cheeks is the prototype of Mr. Nobody on boardof awarship;heisawidow’s man in other words, an ima ginary seaman borne on the ship’s books and receiving pay and prize money which are appropriated to Greenwich Hospital fordisabled ex-servicemen. On many otheroccasions Marryat’s teenageheroes are taughtmore painful lessons before theyeventually master alltricks of the sailor’strade.Inthe ordinary cour seof things,they begintoplaythem on the newrecruits, workingin some“im provements”andinventing more refined varieties. Tricks, pranks, jokes of apra ctical kind and life at the expense of others are elements of the picaresque emphasised by Harry Sieber in his studyof the genre (cf.Sieber 1977: 20-21). Marryat’s youngheroes follow this pattern onsalt water (as FrankMildmay or Percival Keene), freshwater (asJacob Faithful and PoorJack), and ondry gro und alike (as Japhet and Joseph Rushbrook).
Sometimesthey accompanya master, in which casethe author may be temp tedtochange their roles withthe aimof provoking extra laughter. This happens inPeter Simple when Chucks,theservant,takes over the role of “His Lordship” afterthe suddendeathof hisaristocratic employer during a sea voyage. In The ThreeCutters,the smuggler captain Jack Pickersgill exchanges his vessel for the
yacht of Lord B. who, in his eagerness to assist the Revenue cutter, attempts to takepossession of the smuggler. “My Lord” finds himselfsentashore ina boat while Pickersgill steps into hisshoes - notonly commandeering his yachtfor a few days, but alsochanginginto his clothes, making free with his wine and eata bles,and even enjoyingthecompanyofLord B.’slady passengers (whoarenot harmed in the least asthe smuggler proves every inch of a gentleman).The devi ce ofsuch an exchange had beenpractised in thepicaresque genre long before Marryat. In the first English tale of this kind published by Thomas Nashe in 1594, the roguish heroJackWiltonandhis aristocratic master changetheir roles during a tourof adventures through Italy.
Sometimes theCaptain’s use of humour is ofa more genialkind evocativeof Fielding’s version of the picaresque-the famous “comic epic poem in prose” (cf. theauthor’s Preface toJoseph Andrews).Domine Dobiensis inJacobFaith fulwho acts as the title hero’s pedagogue, is an excellentscholar, a master ofLa tinand Greek, benevolent,generous andtrustful, and therefore easily and often letdown by the selfish and interested world (like his great predecessor Parson Abraham Adams). Marryat’s situational humour also runs parallel to that of Henry Fielding,providing comicality ofa farcical,that is lowertype, oftenusing play on words.InNewton Forster, for instance, the identification of the fair sex with sailing ships,typical of sailors, leadstosome funny scenes ofconfusion in a conversationcarried on in the mixedcompany of a fewseafaring menand land dwellers:
“Good morning, Mr. Forster, how is your good lady?” “She’s safe moored at last”, interrupted Mr. Hilton. “Who?” demanded the curate, with surprise. “Why, the sloop tobe sure”.
“Oh! I thought you meant the lady - Ha, ha, ha!”
(...)
“take a chair; it’s all covered with dust! but that Betsy is such anidle slut!” “Newton handles her, as well as any man going”, observed Hilton.
“Newton!”screamed the lady, turning to her son, withanangryinquiringlook - “Newton hand
les Betsy!” continued she, turning round toHilton.
“Betsy! no; thesloop I meant, ma’am” (NewtonForster 41).
The readers ofJoseph Andrewswill remember atthis point the great comic scene of an interview in Book II, chapter 14, betweenParson Adamsand Parson Trulliber, in which theformer visits his “brother in the parish”to ask him for a loan ofmoney,and is takenby the latter - at thesuppositionof his wife- for a dealer in bacon whohas come tobuyhis hogs. The result of this misunderstan
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MAREK BLASZAK
ding is thatParson Adams isdragged, willy-nilly, into the hogs-sty where an un ruly beast throws him in the mire.
More oftenthan Fielding, however, Captain Marryat’s master of humour ap pears tohave been Tobias Smollett. He is mentionedby nameinthe text of Snar-leyyow orthe Dog Fiend whenthe author recollects severities ofthe naval servi ce, and especially tyranny of the officers and oppression oftheirsubordinates (ch. Ill, 18). Itdoes not seemto be acoincidence that oneof the characters in this novel bears the rare first name Obadiah, and that a numberof other seafaring folks are caricaturesin the manner of Smollett’s ex-soldier Obadiah Lismahago (who is made to resemble a grasshopper), and that immortal figure of fun- the retired Commodore Hawser Trunnion whotalks and behaves as if hestillwere on board of his vessel. Consequently, Lieutenant Cornelius Vanslyperken in Marryat’s novel appears to be:
(...) atall,meagre-looking personage, with very narrow shoulders and very smallhead. Perfect
ly straight up and down, protruding in no part, he reminded you ofsome parish pump,witha greatknob at itstop. His face wasgaunt, nose and chin showing an affection for each other, and
evidently lamenting the gulf between them which prevented their meeting. Bothappearedto
havefretted themselvesto the utmostdegree of tenuity from disappointment in love:asfor the nose, it had a pearly round tear hanging at its tip, as if it wept(Snarleyyow 10).
Smallbones, his steward resembles in turn
-(...) aghost; a thin, shambling personage,apparently about twentyyears old - a pale, cadavero usface,high cheek-bones, goggleeyes, with lankhair very thinly sown upona head, which,
like badsoil, would return but a scanty harvest. He looked like Famine’seldest son just arriving toyears of discretion. (...) his ears were very large, and the rims of them red with cold,and his neck wasso immeasurably longand thin, that hishead appeared to topple forwant of support (ibidem 12).
To complement the crewofHis Majesty’scutter Yungfrau,who aredistorted intomonstrouscaricatures, here isthe ship’s boatswain,one Jemmy Ducks:
Hewas indeed a very singular variety of human discrepancy as toform: he was handsome in face, with a manlycountenance, fierce whiskersand long pigtail, which on him appearedmore thanunusually long,as it descended towithin afoot ofthe deck. (...) But forsomereason, some
accident, it is supposed, in his infancy, his legshad never grown in length since hewas three ye
ars old:they were stout as well as his body, but not more thaneighteen inches from the hipto theheel; and he consequentlywaddled about avery ridiculous figure, forhewas likea man ra
zeedor cut down(ibidem 26).
Marryat’s othernovels feature severalothernautical characters dehumanised in a similar way: thecaptain of a flagshipat Gibraltar inFrank Mildmay looks like “atrotting elephant” (91), those who lookin the faceof thecommander of
the Windsor Castle in Newton Forster are immediately struck with his likeness to “abull-dog” (322), while the first lieutenantof H. M. frigate Unicorn in The Pirate resembles “the crane”(58).
Another humorous deviceamply used by CaptainMarryat after Smollett’sfa shion is language. His characters, like Commodore Hawser Trunnion, use sailors’jargonaway from itsnaturalcontext, which inevitably producesthede sired comic effect.Thus,CaptainTurnbullcomplains that his lady-like wifehas lumberedtheirdrawing-room with expensive furniture andornaments to such an extent that:
One might aswell besteering through an ice floeasto come to anchor here without running foulof something. It is hard a port orharda starboard every minute; and if your coat-tail jibes
(i.e.toput up sails in the direction of wind-MB), awaygoes something,and whatever itisthat smashes, Mrs. T. alwaysswearsitwas the most valuablethingin the room(JacobFaithful 129).
Marryat’s sailors always describe women in terms of sailing craft,distinguis hing details such as a“prettyfigure-head” and “neat rigging” for the head and hair,“swellingbows” for thebreast,“devilishwell-rounded counter”for the but tocks, and the like (ibidem 103). Even on his death-bed, Capt. Turnbull speaks of “tripping hisanchor”and sailing forthe“moorings” laiddown for him in hea ven (ibidem 367).For hisown part,Captain Marryat as the narrator uses nautical terms to comment on theprogress of hisnarrative. InNewton Forster he compa resthe chapters of the novel to “a convoy of vessels” which he must“seesafely into port”. Hisproblem as the “commanding officer” is that some of the vessels in thisconvoylagbehindthe rest sothat he must “tow” them, beating against the “foul wind” ofall kinds of difficulties (166, 287).
Commenting on the use of language for humorous purposes, we must also deal withpuns that once again bring to mindthe author ofHumphry Clinker who
employed thecomicdeviceofmis-spellings and malapropisms that has “agenu inely creative gusto in it”, contributingtomake Smollett’s characters round and convincing (cf.Allen 1978: 75).Marryat’s JacobFaithful and hisQuixotic pre ceptor, Domine Dobiensis, areboth fond ofpuns, differingas they are innature and quality. Thelatter“loved apun, whetherit was letoff in English,Greek, or Latin. The last two were made by nobody but himself, and notbeing understood, were of courserelishedby himselfalone. Buthis love ofa pun wasa seriousat tachment: helovedit with asolemnaffection - with him it was nolaughing mat ter” (JacobFaithful 22). The Domine refers toJacob as“My little naviculator” (it must be rememberedthat Jacob was bomand brought upon a Thamesboat), calling him “one of Father Thames’ cast-up wrecks, Fluviorum rex Eridanus”,
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and wittily advising him “To thy studies,be thyself-that is,be Faithful”(24). However little Jack can understand ofhis master’s refinedpuns, he isreadyto make up his own. Thus, when the Domine tells him to spellthe word c-a-t, the boy finds it to be “the pitch-pipe to cat-head” andanswers accordingly. In the samewayc-a-p spellscapstern, which provokes thepedagogueto make the fol lowing comment:
“Indeed, Jacob, thystern as well asthy head,are in danger, and I suppose thenw-i-n-dspells windlass, does it not?”
“Yes, sir”, replied I, pleased to find that he agreed with me.
“Upon the same principle, whatdoes r-a-t spell?”
“Rat, sir”, replied I.
“Nay, Jacob, r-a-t must spell rattan,andas thou hast missed thine own mode of spelling,thou shalt not miss thecane” (Jacob Faithful 32).
One ofthe characters inthe above-mentioned novelby Tobias Smollett is a servant maidWinifred Jenkins who marriesthe ostler-boy Humphry Clinker, re cognised intheend as agentleman’sson. Winifred now feels“removedto a hig herspear”, and she writes to a former fellow servant to inform her that “Provin-dich hath bin pleased to make great halteration in thepasture of ouraffairs. We were yesterday three kiple chined, by the grease of God, in the holy bonds of mattermoney, and I now subscrive myself Loyd atyour service” {Humphry Clin ker394-5).Now, in Capt. Marryat’s novel there isa similar fashionable would- be lady whoworkshardatgentility,and whosemisunderstandingofFrench ser vesas aself-exposure of her pretension, vanity and plebeian descent. The wo man in question isCaptain Turnbull’s wife in Jacob Faithful who gives a splen did party in order to impress her acquaintances. The menu is in French and among the guests is a distinguished Frenchcouple, Monsieur and Madame de Tagliabue. The following are a few samples ofMrs. Turnbull’s comic blunders at the party:
“Madame, do you soup? Or do you fish?”
“Merci, no soup - poisson”, (i.e. fish - MB)
“Don’t beafraid, madame; we’ve a Frenchcook;youwon’tbe poisoned here”, repliedMrs. Tu rnbull, rather annoyed.
(...)
“Let me see —hoh! Bidet du poms. Madame, will you eat some bidet du pomsI”
“Comment, madame, je ne vous comprends pas- “ “Ve”
“Monsieur Tagliabue, expliquez donc”; said the foreign lady, red as a quarter of beef.
laughing. “Madame Turnbull se trompoit, ellevoudrait dire Beignets depommes”. (i.e. apple
cakes -MB)(Jacob Faithful 133-135)
Another variety ofhumour thatwecan find in Captain Marryat’s novels appe arsto be of Sterne’sbrand. Indeed, following Shipley’sdiscrimination between humour and wit, thisvariety deserves the latter label as moreintellectual and less emotional thanthe former, andmorelikelytoevoke a smilethantoprovoke lau ghter (cf. 151).The present analysisconsequently focuses on Marryat’s portraits of priggish eccentrics who display undue attachmentto different trifling details. Thediscussed writer actually did not have toresort toexaggerationinpresenting his nauticalcharacters as “theways ofsea-going folk are notoriously eccentric” anyway (Lloyd 1939: 254).Itis striking that his young heroes often have philo sophic fathers andprosaic silly mothers,and that they themselves manifestpro pensity for mental speculation. Jacob’s fatheris thus“a perfect philosopher” ne ver parting with his pipe and elaborating his favourite “apophthegms” (Jacob
Faithful3). He helpsto usherhis soninto theworld, assisting his wife at child birth, and then performsthe baptismalrites by crossing him on the forehead with theend of his pipe and calling him Jacob.The parentof Newton Forster is anot her“eccentric person, one of those who had narrowly escaped beingclever; but therewas an obliquity inhismindwhich would not admitoflucid orderand ar rangement”(Newton Forster 18).At this point parallels with Walter Shandy be comeevident. Readers ofSterne’s novel will remember irony with which Tri stram describedhis own father as “a philosopher in grain,speculative and very systematical (...) irresistible, both inhis orations and disputations; (...) whether he was on the weak or strong side of the question, (...) Andyet, ‘tis strangehe had neverread (...)theancients; (...) nor the moderns;-and what ismoreastonis hing, he had neverinhiswhole life the leastlight or sparkof subtlety struck into his mind” (TristramShandy 3 8).There are more humorous, or rather witty paral lels to comefor Mr. NicholasForsterchristenshis sonNewton “out of respect for the great Sir Isaac” (Newton Forster 29). The wittiest father, however, in Capt. Marryat’s novelsappears to be Mr. Nicodemus Easy who is genuinely ob sessedwith names in the truly Shandean manner. When his ignorantwife sug gests the name Robertfortheir son, she is rebuked by her husband fornot loo king to consequences:
“You forget the county in which we are residing, the downs covered with sheep”. “Why, Mr. Easy, what can sheep have to do with a Christian name?”
“There it is; (...) Mydear,they have a greatdealtodowith thename of Bob. I will appeal to any
farmer in the county, if ninety-nine shepherds’ dogs out ofonehundred are not called Bob. Now observe, your child is outof doors somewhereinthe fields or plantations; you wantand
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up to you, allansweringtothe name of Bob, and waggingtheir stumpsof tails” {Midshipman
Easy 11).
The son is eventually christened John which is Biblical and royal, but most important of all it bringsup the association with the “honestand witty Jack Fal- staff” (12). It is interesting torefer atthis point to Boatswain Chucks in Peter Si mple who theorises on proper names.According to him, one-syllable names like Bess,Poll or Sue canbe goodonlyfor some portgirls, but they would degrade a true lady (like Seraphina). Thesame is trueof family names: in good society one can hardly comeacross such names as Potts, Bell or Smith - indeed, one “sel dombowed, sir, to anything under three syllables”(likeFortesque, Fitzgerald or Fitzherbert). Chucks would not be atrue seaman ifhis theorydid not include the names of sailing vessels. Thus, all petty craft such asgun-brigs bearnothing but low, common names such as Badger, Pincher, Thrasher, whereas “all our das hing, saucy frigateshavenames aslongasthe main-topbowling, and hard eno ugh tobreak your jaw -suchas Melpomeny,Terpischory, Arethusy, Bacchanty -fineflourishers, as long as theirpennants whichdip alongside in a calm” (Pe ter Simple 126).
To come back to Mr.NicodemusEasy, some ofhis otherobsessionsinclude craniology and phrenology. He actually diesbyphrenology, his headsqueezed in themachine ofhis own invention designed forthe study ofthe shape of the humanheadas away of determining one’s characterand abilities. His son Jack, a pluming philosopher known as “Liberty Jack”,gives the most absurdreasons ofall Marryat’s heroes forgoing to sea. Finding the whole earth “sonefariously dividedamong the few”, he hopes to find upon theocean an ideal environment where “natural equality and the rights ofman” are notabused(Midshipman Easy 42). The young man consequently gives up school which he detests for the above reasons, and goes to seato propagate his opinions. Thereare many comic situa tionsin which he gets entangled on boardof theHarpy, for example, when he ar guesthe point of equality with the sloop’sfirst lieutenantwho flies into a fury. Obviously, service in the Royal Navy painfullycures Jack of his nonsensical conceptions, for nowhere are the liberties ofindividual abused as completely and flagrantly as on board of a man-of-war. One more witty scrape involving the title hero is the famous duelby trigonometry worked outby the gunner of the
Harpy. Convinced that gunneryis a strict mathematical science, hedecides that the duel between Jack and histwo adversaries, Boatswain Biggs and the purser’s stewardEasthupp, can onlybe fought upon the principleof an equilateral trian gle, in whicheach ofthe three combatants has his shot atone, and at the same time receives the fire of another. The outcome of thisridiculous pistol duel is
that the boatswain loses hisbest upper double teeth plus the quidoftobacco that he was chewing, thepurser’s steward has theformer’sbullet“passed clean thro ugh his seat of honour”while Jack himself gets off safe and sound (cf. Midship man Easy ch. XVII).
As faras the characters’ appearance is concerned, Marryat seems to have im bibed Shandean obsession withnoses. Theowner of the wittiest in all hisnovels is the Domine:
(...) his predominant feature was his nose, which,largeas were theothers, bore them down into
insignificance. It wasa prodigy- aridicule;buthe consoledhimself - Ovid wascalled Naso. It
was not an aquiline nose, norwas itan aquiline nosereversed. It was not anose snubbed atthe
extremity, gross,heavy,or carbuncled,or fluting.Inall itsmagnitudeof proportions, it was an intellectual nose. Itwas thin, horny, transparent, and sonorous. Its snuffle was consequential, and itssneeze oracular. Thevery sightof it was impressive; itssound, when blown in thescho
ol-hours, wasominous. But thescholars loved thenosefor the warning which itgave: like the rattle of the dreaded snake; (...) {Jacob Faithful22-3).
Capt.Marryat even makesa feeble attempt at grasping Sterne’s specificsense of humourmanifest in his refinedand allusive indecency. The hero of Midship
manEasy is thus nursed by ayoung country-girl named Sarah, handsome and healthy-looking, but naive and apparently notover wise, whoadmits to having “had amisfortune”-“a very little one”, as she explains, “verysmallindeed, and (it)died soon after itwas bom” (15). Generally speaking,however, the discus sed author is too reticent about sexual conduct to develop this comic potential any further.
There is finally Marryat, the ingeniousand digressive narratoraffording some more parallels with the method of Laurence Sterne who treated his masterpiece as a kind of witty intellectual adventure,inthe course of which he couldrecreate his own mentality through countlessdigressions. As Walter Allen puts it, theau thor ofTristram Shandy“is constantlyamusedat thewaywardbehaviourofhis own mind in the act ofremembering, and constantly exploiting this wayward ness fortwoends: comedy andthedeliberate intention ofshocking thereader” (1978: 77-78). Frederick Marryat adoptssuch an attitude and tonein some of his novels.In NewtonForsterhe claims that “it is the natureofman todigress”and that “This isaworld of digression”, hopingthat“my digressionsin thisworkare as agreeable to myreaders,as my digressionsinlife have beenagreeableto my self’ (236-7). A fewchapters later the writeringeniously digresses on the inco mpatibility of fat and ambition. Hecomplains that he has now grown oldand fat (in reality hehad just turned fortyyearsof age), and finds something in fat which chokes and destroys ambition. The following exemplaaremeant to support his hypothesis: “Caesar was a spare man;Buonapartewas thin, aslongas he clim
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bed the ladder; Nelson was a shadow. The Duke ofWellington has not sufficient fat in his composition to grease his own Wellington-boots” (Newton Forster 287). In another novelMarryat spots an antinhis cabin, which makes him think of his grandmother who used to feed antswithbread and butter, he then recol lectsher funeral and an oldfamily vault which was full ofwater on that occa sion. This leads him to his uncle’s post-mortem hydrophobia and a new vault dug on thetopofahill farfromtheriver, then to his fair cousin’s burial and the uncle’s witty remark: “There, she will lie as dry aspossibletill the end of time”. The author next relatesan odd dream in which he witnesses his owndeath in ac tion, funeralserviceand the body’s descent into the depth of the ocean where it is devoured by sharks. Allthis is followedby some philosophic reflections on Young’sNight Thoughts and thenatureof change, illustrated bytherecollection ofa wethersheep taken on board ofafrigate and tamed to suchan extent that it began to chew tobacco and drink grog (cf. The King’s Own ch. XXXVII).
Marryat alsoenjoys demonstrating in a humorouswayhis superior position in the novel as an omnipotent narrator whose overall design may thwart the reader’s expectations. The readers of Tristram Shandy will remember the con versation by the fireplace between Walter Shandy and Toby, interrupted by a no iseupstairs. Walter inquires about it, buthis brother is not allowed to answer, the narrator informing the reader there are other important considerations to deal with. Asimilarthing happens in NewtonForster when the titlehero isattacked by two ruffianswhostretch him down quite senseless on the ground. Marryat the narratorwittily plays on the reader’s apprehension for the hero:
Now,my readers mayprobably feel some littledistressat the misfortune ofNewton, andhave some slight degreeof curiosityto know the groundsofthis severe treatment.I,on the contrary, amnever more pleased than when I find my principalcharacter ina state of abeyance,and leave himso withthe greatestindifference, becauseit suits my convenience.I also have nowan op portunity of returningto Mrs.Forster, orany other of the partieswho actasubordinate partin
my narrative; and, as Newton is down ontheground,and hors decombat, why, there let himlie - until I want him again (Newton Forster 62-3).
Commenting on Captain Marryat’s characters, David Hannay points to the blending offun and kindness, true humour and sympathy in them (cf. Hannay
1889: 92-93). This observation directs the presentanalysis towardswhat was to become knownas the Dickensian variety of humour whose peculiaritywas the mixture of comicality and tragic nature of acharacter, scene or situation, resul tinginthesynthesis ofthe comic and of the sublime (cf.also Janion 1987:9-10). Theexamination ofFrederick Marryat’s heroes shows thathewasable tooffer valuableinspirationin this field toCharlesDickens. In the first chapter of Jacob
Faithful, the juvenile hero loses both parents intragic circumstances, he is aged onlyeleven and becomesacomplete orphan; consequently,the proprietor of the lighter (akind of a boat) in which hisparentssailed,one Mr. Drummond, beco mesanxious aboutthe boy’s fate and brings him tohis ownhouse. The Drum monds aredetermined to help him somehow, though Jack apparently takes the whole situation “coolly”; he repeats a few of his philosophic father’s apo phthegms, whichhave been deeply impressed upon his childish memory, witho ut realising their meaning or application to his present situation:
“Haveyou any friends, my poor boy?” inquiredthe lady.
“No”.
“What! no relations on shore?”
“I never was on shorebefore in my life”. “Do you know that you are a destitute orphan?”
“What’s that?”
“Thatyouhave no father or mother”, said the little girl.
“Well”,repliedI, inmyfather’swords,having no answer more appropriate,“its no use crying;
what’s done can't be helped’.
“Butwhatdo you intend to donow?” inquired the proprietor, looking hardatme after my pre vious answer.
“Don’t know, I’m sure. Take it coolly”,replied I, whimpering.
“What a veryoddchild!”observed thelady. “Is heaware of the extent of his misfortune?”
“Better lucknext time, missus”, replied I,wiping my eyes with thebackofmy hand.(Jacob Fa ithful 12-3).
In the life story of Boatswain Chucks in PeterSimple,humour alternates with melodrama and pathos. Heis boma poorman and serves asa ship’s boy - “clou ted here, kicked there, damned by one, and sentto hell by another” (96). It isno wonderthatwhen his mastersuddenly dies on board of a Maltese xebeque, the boy puts on his lordship’smidshipman’s uniform anddisembarksat Gibraltar as his lordshiphimself. He firstwants to play the role only temporarily, but soon finds his new situation very agreeable.Thesham continuesfor some time inPo rtsmouth andLondon, leadingto a number of funny scenes, the boy alternately enjoying his rare moments ofhappiness andsuffering from the pangs of cons cience. Of course, he is eventually detected as an impostor and drafted into a man-of-war.His“longingto be a gentleman”(100) never forsakes him in hisca pacity as a boatswain, and he has a passionate love affairwith a proud Spanish donna during the ship’sstop in the port of Valencia. This timethe lady’sfamily take him fora person ofconsiderable rank, and Boatswain Chucks is not strong-willed enough toopen their eyes tohis actual condition and thus wreck his hap piness.Asin the previous case, heis exposed by the ship’s officers whotake this
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opportunity to have a good laugh at his expense. Theyactually crush him more thanhe deserves so that he evenwants to takehis life.Intheconclusion of this tragi-comicalstory, William Chucks assumes the commandof a boat in the cut ting-out raid on a privateer brig near the coast of Denmark. Approaching the enemy, he discovershe has takenaway by mistake - in thedusk ofthe prepara tion-the captain’sjacket. He wantsto take it offout of respect forhis captain, but the first lieutenant jokes thathe should wear it to make a good aim for the enemy (dueto a pair of shining epaulettes). The boatswain isvery pleased to standthe riskfor the sake of being considered an officer anda gentleman, and indeed is soon shotthrough the body “inhis borrowed plumes”.Badly wounded andwith littlechance ofsurviving, he refuses to be carried back tohisfrigate, sa ying: “’Why, haveI notfallen dressedlikeanofficerandagentleman?”’ said he, referring to the captain’sjacket and epaulettes. “’I’d sooner dienow with this dress on, than recover to put on the boatswain’s uniform. I feel quite happy’”
{Peter Simple 258).
Later inthesame novel, the narrator who is Midshipman Peter Simple relates the circumstances of captain Kearney’s death on the North American station. Known to be a notorious bouncer (jokerand liar) and indigent officer atthe same time - one who had nothing except hispay,Capt. Kearney dictates on his death bed his last willto Peter, in whichhebequeaths tohisrelatives and subordinates non-existentestates and valuables. “It was laughable”,the midshipman recalls, “yet I couldnot laugh: there was a melancholy feeling atsuch a specimen of in sanity, which prevented me” (286).
In one of his few land novels, CaptainMarryathasapoorsecondarycharacter who is a travelling tinker turned philosopher. His name is Augustus Spikeman and he considers himself “in the most enviable situation” as being “the nearest thing to a perfect gentleman” {Joseph Rushbrook, orthe Poacher 174). Thereis, indeed, something funny, sentimentalandpathetic in theDickensian way, in the story ofhis lifeanddifferent occupations as well as in his argumentation that a man who is nothis own master, has not actually got the indispensables that must complete a true gentleman. In thislight, the prime minister of Great Britain can not be considered a gentleman at least until he continues tohold his office. The tinker’s grindstone, inthe same light, provides such an indispensable: “I know no tradewhere you can gain so much with so little capital and so little labour. Then, I am not controlled by any living being;Ihave my liberty and independen ce (the sine quanon ofaperfect gentleman-MB); I go where I please,stop whe re I please, work when I please, and idle when I please” {Joseph Rushbrook
Sometimes Capt. Marryat intersperses his humour with a social component, antedating Dickens’s method in PickwickPaperswhich is both a comedy and social satire on the English society and its institutions (a good example is the mayoraltyelectionat Eatanswill). In Marryat’s King's Own there isan officer who takes advantage - in asmartand witty, but at the same time unfair way — of his command to grab naval funds forprivate use: “The name by which he had christened his domicilewasprobablygiven as a sort of salve to his conscience. Hecalled it the ‘Ship’; andwhen he signedhis nameto theexpense books of the different warrant officers, without specifying the exact useto whichthe mate rialswereapplied,the larger proportions were invariably expended, by the gene ral term, for ‘Ship’s use’” (270).
In several other works, the authorshowshow ignorant men who are fit for no sensible trade or profession of responsibility, make a quick career inthe navy owing to family connectionsand bribery. One of such anti-heroes is Jack Little brain (!), a fool of distinguished familysent to seaunder theprotection ofhisun cle, Admiral Sir Teophilus Blazers. Jackmakes a fool of himself onboard ofthe Admiral’s flagshiplying at Malta, while hissponsor promiseshisfamily in a let ter that it should be“very easy to get over the examinationnecessary toqualify him for lieutenant, as aturkey and a dozen of brown stoutsent in theboat with him on the passingday, as a presentto each ofthe passing captains,would pass him, even if he wereas incompetent as a cameltopass through theeye of a need le” (S. W. and by W. 3/4 W. 226).
In the conclusionof the article we must emphasisethat humour played avital part both inCaptainMarryat’s lifeandwork. The author used it in hisnovels on different planes such as characterisation, plot, language and narrativetechniques as well as depicted a numberof its qualitative varieties. Thelatterones include comicality of the lowertype with elements of farceand caricature characteristic of the picaresque genre, next,the more ambitiousandintellectuallydemanding kind ofwit immortalised by Laurence Sterne, and finally the mingling ofhumo ur with melodrama, sympathy and pathos. Perhaps FrederickMarryat’s greatest achievementas a humoristwas the discovery of the tragi-comical potential that points to the whims and inconsistencies inherent in human nature, making its presentation both more complex and complete.
Works
cited
-
texts
Dickens Ch., 1984, Pickwick Papers. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. Fielding H., 1979, Joseph Andrews. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
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Marryat F., 1998, Frank Mildmay, or the Naval Officer. Ithaca, New York: McBooks. Marryat F., The King’s Own, 1999, Ithaca, NY: Me Books,.
Marryat F., Newton Forster, or the Merchant Service. London: G. Routledge and Sons, (wit hout date).
Marryat F., 1984, Peter Simple,, Gloucester: Alan Sutton. Marryat F., 1853, Jacob Faithful,London: Richard Bentley.
Marryat F., Japhet in Search of a Father. London: G. Routledge and Sons, (without date). Marryat F., 1845,77ze Pirate and The Three Cutters, London: A. Fullarton and Co. Marryat F., Mr. Midshipman Easy, London: P. R. Gawthorn Ltd., (without date). Marryat F., 2000, Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend, Ithaca, NY: McBooks.
Marryat F., 1840,Poor Jack, London:, Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans. MarryatF., 1896, OllaPodrida, (contains: How to WriteaFashionableNovel,How to Write
a Book of Travels, How to Write a Romance, and a short story S. W. and by W. 3/4 W). London: J. M.Dent and Co.
Marryat F., 1853, Joseph Rushbrook, or the Poacher, London: Richard Bentley. Marryat F., 1999, Percival Keene, New York: Henry Holt and Co. Inc.
NasheT., 1978, The Unfortunate Traveller, or the Life of Jack Wilton. Harmondsworth, Mid dlesex: Penguin.
Smollett T., Peregrine Pickle, London: The Daily Telegraph, (without date). Smollett T., 1978, Humphry Clinker, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. Sterne L., 1996, Tristram Shandy. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd.
Literature
Allen W., 1978, The English Novel. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
Baker E., 1936, The History of the English Novel. 10 vols. Vol. 7. London: H. F. and G. Wit- herby Ltd.
Cazamian L. and Legouis E, 1927, A History of English Literature. 2 vols. Vol. 2 (by Louis Cazamian). London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd.
ChildH., 1915, Vol. 12 of The Cambridge History of English Literature. 15 vols. Gen. Eds. W. Ward and A. R. Waller. Cambridge: University Press.
Dorling Captain Taprell, 1929, Men o ’ War. Vincent, Cochrane, Marryat, Fisher, Beresford. London: Philip Allan and Co. Ltd.
Gautier M.P., 1973, Captain Frederick Marryat. L’Homme et L’Oeuvre. Paris: Didier. Głowiński M., A. Okopień-Sławińska, Sławiński J., 1962, Zarys teorii literatury, Warsza
wa.
Janion M., 1987, Wstęp (Introduction). Frederick Marryat. Okręt -widmo (The Phantom Ship).Translated into Polish by M. Boduszyńska-Borowikowa, Gdańska: Wydawni ctwo Morskie.
Lloyd Ch., 1939, Captain Marryat and the Old Navy, London: Longmans, Green and Co. Marryat F., 1872, Life and Letters of Captain Marryat, 2 vols., London: Richard Bentley and
So. '
Meyerstein E. H. W., 1935, Captain Marryat and the Ariadne. Reprinted from The Mariner’s Mirror, The Quarterly Journal of the Society for Nautical Research, Vol. XXL No. 3. July
Shipley J., 1970, ed. Dictionary of World Literary Terms. Forms, Techniques, Criticism, London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
Sieber FL, 1977, The Picaresque. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd.
Sierotwiński S., 1986, Slo-wnik terminów literackich. Wroclaw: Ossolineum. Warner O., 1953, Captain Marryat. A Rediscovery. London: Constable and Co. Ltd.
Humor
w
powieściach
kapitana
Marry ata
Artykuł podejmuje temat humoru w życiu i jego zastosowanie w powieściach kapi tana Marryata. Analiza wykazuje kilka wyraźnych odmian humoru w jego tekstach, poczy nając od niższego rzędu pikareski z tendencją do farsy i karykatury, poprzez bardziej in telektualną odmianę bliską 18-wiecznej koncepcji dowcipu, do wersji tragikomicznej będącej połączeniem humoru ze współczuciem i patosem.
