In yet another extension to this piece on Horatio’s locked jaw when it comes to relying upon other people ( the pressure he places on himself and his ferociously introverted nature ) it is briefly mentioned that it is due to his upbringing that he is so withdrawn when it comes to speaking outside of the line of action; this piece expands on that seemingly throwaway line because – frankly, the films give us nothing about who Horatio was before he boarded the Justinian and these are the areas of expansion that I tend to thrive in.

Horatio’s relationship with his father is a distant one – for many reasons – though not out of a complete lack of care on the part of the man in question. Geoffrey Hornblower was a doctor and a fairly respectable one at that – well to do enough, connected enough, to get his boy a high education and then ( on seeming whim ) a midshipman position at the age of SEVENTEEN at a time when all ships were docked as there was no war and SEASONED sailors were, as a general rule, being released rather than hired.

A man of distinction, no doubt, and a man of pride. Horatio is his only son, and it is probably easy to misinterpret him as being too indulgent – or perhaps too careless – to send his boy off to the Navy with not a whit of nautical experience under his belt but that would honestly be a disservice to Horatio and Geoffrey both.

The reason Geoffrey messed Horatio up so much all stems from the simple fact of guilt – misplaced in both of them – over the death of Horatio’s mother in childbirth. Geoffrey could never reconcile the fact he lost his own wife. That he could save ( and continued to save ) life after life, but was unable to save the one dearest to him, left him something of a shell of a human being.

Geoffrey poured his entire focus into work and reputation as opposed to raising his son; it was easier than facing the haunt of failure each and every day, after all. When he did play a part with Horatio it was as a stern taskmaster, a judgmental overseer, and a sharp critic. NOT out of cruelty, mind you, but out of a misplaced need to keep Horatio clear of his own mistakes and thus, his own heartbreaks.

Geoffrey was a man who wore his heart on his sleeve and was badly battered by it; grief crippled him in ways a child could not begin to comprehend – and in an era where mental health was a general unknown area of understanding, the man’s strident focus on his career over his familial duties were not marked as any way odd. After all; by bringing up his name in society, Geoffrey did well for himself and thus by his boy, so what was there to be put to question?

Now – though Horatio was something of a ghost to the man, Geoffreynever begrudged his son his life – he simply did not know how to express love toward him beyond ensuring all of his needs were met. That any desires he should have – after some questioning – found their way to fruition. One might even have gone so far as to call Horatio spoiled by his father’s monetary affection, but it came at the cost of anything resembling a true bond. Geoffrey’s consistent criticisms and reminders of the importance of reputation and the foolishness of heart instilled in Horatio a desperate need to prove himself capable – and worthy – in his father’s eyes.

Consequently, Horatio is the reserved mess we know – but on top of that is under the distinct impression that his life is something of a stolen one, and he owes it to the mother he never knew to make it a life worth living. He blames himself for her death, and believes that Geoffrey does the same. ( This is quite incorrect; Geoffrey holds himself entirely to blame )

It is for this reason that Horatio writes home constantly, informing the man of his successes and obscuring his failings in hopeful overture – but maybe receives one letter a year, tops. His annual correspondence never comes from his father but rather from his nurse, who keeps him up to date on things best she can – she’s not able to write herself, so she saves until she can pay someone to write it all down for her and send it off, thus why he gets such infrequent and rare news. His nurse is also the closest thing to a mother he knows, but I’ll save her for another day.