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Temeraire Discussion starter 2) The characters
Did William Laurence's story arc from up-and-coming navy captain to aviator on the fringe of society (but devoted to Temeraire) make sense to you? What about the secondary tier of characters, especially the other aviators? Did you feel that the reactions of representatives of society (such as Laurence's father and Edith, to whom he was going to be betrothed) seem credible in a Napoleonic context?
Comments
The characters all seemed to fit the standards of Napoleonic / Regency society, at least as far as I know them. The mix of class-based ranks and meritocracy is something I've seen in other fiction set in the time (it seems like a period of increasing professionalisation of the military). The other aviators seem to tell themselves that they're apart from the social norms of the time, acting far more laxly than other officers; however, there's still a very sharp distinction between the command ranks and the aircrew. In fact, Laurence barely seem to know any of his crew.
The connection between handler and dragon seems a more extreme form of the connection between a captain and his ship. As such, the social costs of that command are more extreme. The reactions of Laurence's family seem plausible.
Agree with Neil here across the board
Even the dragon?
Temeraire is the Noble Savage, who does not see the Emperor's new clothes at all, and remarks on it, but then he is a savage, however noble...
Insightful comment! Yes, Temeraire is the outsider to the Regency culture. How many of the other dragons are also outsiders, or are they part of the established order?
Alternatively, if you read the dragons as anthropomorphised wooden sailing ships, you get something that's already well-known in the time. Hornblower often does "rude" things, such as making blunt demands, leaving social gatherings too soon, and so on, but all with the justification that the demands of naval service over-ride the expectations of polite society.
"Time and tide wait for no man..." The Dragon service takes this a step or seven further. The other dragons were born into this culture, so it is a part of them, and only Temeraire sees it from the outside. Laurence can see the Dragon Riders from the outside, but not Regency culture itself, which he is wholly embedded within. So he becomes a bridge between Temeraire and the culture.
Part of Temeraire's outsider-ness is indeed his name. All the others have funky Latin names because their riders knew that this was the convention, but Laurence used his own naval conventions to give a decent ship name, which then immediately exposes both of them to the amusement or derision of others.