# Discussion of the novel, Master and Commander **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841 "2010-01-06T02:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/101 "2010-02-19T00:14:16Z")
I think slush specifically refers to the fat that floats to the top in cooking. Grease can be anything from drippings to industrial lubricant. Y’all hurry up and get to _Treason’s Harbor._ I want to talk about it. 🙂 I am a urinator. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/102 "2010-02-19T02:11:34Z")
Is that the next one, after _Fortune_? I ordered four more today and that’s one of 'em. _Fortune_ ended so abruptly! What do you think about Diana Villiers? I was half hoping she’d die, but after I thought about it, I think the reason I don’t like her is because I’m seeing her only through Stephen’s eyes. O’Brian gives us a little bit about what Sophie’s thinking, but never anything from Diana’s point of view. I know he’d never open up (unless he was high), but I’d love to read a thread from Stephen, asking for advice on their relationship. “There’s this woman, she’s everything I want, but she keeps running away from me. I’ve been a perfect gentleman. I haven’t pressed her for a commitment but she knows I’m there for her. What else can I do? Should I pursue her or wait for her to come to me? She’s got some history and her last boyfriend was a bit of a stinker. What should I do?” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/103 "2010-02-19T02:28:23Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Is that the next one, after _Fortune_? I ordered four more today and that’s one of 'em. _Fortune_ ended so abruptly! > > What do you think about Diana Villiers? I was half hoping she’d die, but after I thought about it, I think the reason I don’t like her is because I’m seeing her only through Stephen’s eyes. O’Brian gives us a little bit about what Sophie’s thinking, but never anything from Diana’s point of view. > > I know he’d never open up (unless he was high), but I’d love to read a thread from Stephen, asking for advice on their relationship. “There’s this woman, she’s everything I want, but she keeps running away from me. I’ve been a perfect gentleman. I haven’t pressed her for a commitment but she knows I’m there for her. What else can I do? Should I pursue her or wait for her to come to me? She’s got some history and her last boyfriend was a bit of a stinker. What should I do?” _Fortune of War_ ended with? Taking the Turkish ship that fired marble cannon balls, Barret points out that it is sinking and Jack should return to _Surprise_? Males, particularly males like Maturin and myself, who are not attractive to women pursue a love of our life for years. We are rarely successful, but we are persistent. I identify with Stephen, being a small unattractive male person. But i digress. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/104 "2010-02-19T02:55:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I think slush specifically refers to the fat that floats to the top in cooking. Grease can be anything from drippings to industrial lubricant. > > Y’all hurry up and get to _Treason’s Harbor._ I want to talk about it. 🙂 > > I am a urinator. Will I draw you my little cock? > [@AuntiePam](#): > > Is that the next one, after _Fortune_? I ordered four more today and that’s one of 'em. _Fortune_ ended so abruptly! > > What do you think about Diana Villiers? I was half hoping she’d die, but after I thought about it, I think the reason I don’t like her is because I’m seeing her only through Stephen’s eyes. O’Brian gives us a little bit about what Sophie’s thinking, but never anything from Diana’s point of view. Seeing her through Stephen’s eyes probably paints her in the best light possible, he dotes on the woman and no matter what she does he finds a way to justify it. I still spent most of the time hoping she’d die or disappear. I understand why she’s like she is. In modern times she’d have been a race car driver or stunt pilot or something equally daring and exciting and she’d have been able to make her own way. Back then she wasn’t able to live her life how she chose without a man to finance her way and she hated that. She has every right to be frustrated and angry about it. But it doesn’t excuse the way she treats Stephen, who happens to be the only man that ever treated her right. Bitch. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/105 "2010-02-19T03:36:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Hmph. > > [spoiler] > > The famous line “Don’t give up the ship!” was exclaimed by a loser. > Man’s lucky to have lasted that long, and not even fighting Jack, merely his wimp cousin.[/spoiler] > > 🙂 Humpf yourself.If “Kiss me, Hardy,” is the mark of a winner, give me the loser. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/106 "2010-02-19T04:11:08Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > [spoiler] She has every right to be frustrated and angry about it. But it doesn’t excuse the way she treats Stephen, who happens to be the only man that ever treated her right. Bitch. :mad: She is a modern woman trapped int e nineteenth century. Ther are spoilers to be had with Stephen and Dianna… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/107 "2010-02-19T04:38:50Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > _Fortune of War_ ended with? > > Taking the Turkish ship that fired marble cannon balls, Barret points out that it is sinking and Jack should return to _Surprise_? No, it ended when Jack, Stephen, and Diana escaped Boston and were on Captain Broke’s ship (the _Shannon_), which challenged the American _Chesapeake_ to fight, and won. There’s a rip-roaring battle that ends with Jack and Captain Broke thanking each other. The end. The books and battles are starting to run together. I’m not remembering the one in your spoiler, so maybe I haven’t read that one yet. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/108 "2010-02-19T04:46:18Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > But it doesn’t excuse the way she treats Stephen, who happens to be the only man that ever treated her right. Bitch. :mad: True. But she’d probably treat him worse if she knew him as well as we do. I adore the guy, but where Diana’s concerned, he’s flaky, maybe even a bit neurotic. On the other hand, he’s adjusting remarkably well to life at sea. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/109 "2010-02-19T15:13:04Z")
Wow, you’re really flying through these books, **AuntiePam**! The next one is _The Surgeon’s Mate_, which has a lot of Stephen and Diana in it. I can’t seem to find it, but we had a whole thread about Diana sometime last year, I think. I’m firmly in the “she’s a bitch” camp, myself. Just when you think she’s redeemed herself, she stabs him in the heart again. It’s hard to talk about her without mentioning spoilers. But there is a lot more of the Stephen-and-Diana saga to come. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/110 "2010-02-19T15:24:05Z")
Diana has had a rough time of it. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/111 "2010-02-19T15:36:21Z")
Diana is attracted to powerful men, the sort with enough disposable income to keep up with her champagne tastes, and with enough social clout to keep a notorious fallen woman and still command respect in high circles. On either account, Stephen is deemed insufficient. What Diana continually learns – to her sorrow – is that the men who DO meet her exacting standards also tend to be very possessive of her, and to have a jealous streak a mile wide. It takes many years of persistence, heartbreak, and – let’s face it – stalking for Stephen to overcome Diana’s inclinations. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/112 "2010-02-19T16:02:27Z")
I don’t think it is stalking so much as looking out for her welfare, but as Stephen would say, “Sure, you have a point.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841/113 "2010-02-20T01:11:53Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > The books and battles are starting to run together. I’m not remembering the one in your spoiler, so maybe I haven’t read that one yet. Oops, I’m two books ahead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-of-the-novel-master-and-commander/523841.md?page=5)