Jealousy

One of the fundamental themes of the novel is that of jealousy. Clarissa comes aboard the closed all-male society of Surprise and lives there for several months. She proves amenable to sexual intercourse or activity with nearly any suitor and after a few weeks is not only sleeping with her new husband, Midshipman Oakes, but also with two of his superiors, Davidge and West, as well as apparently other sailors. Aside from this she proves socially open and engaging and even as Aubrey, Maturin, and Martin come to know her they all secretly come to burn with desire for her. Needless to say this situation cannot long continue without complication, and the resultant jealousy and conflict forms the dominant narrative arc in the novel. Jealousy is exhibited in several ways. First, Maturin begins to dominate Clarissa's time in conversation while she is on the ship's deck; many other...