Posted by John on December 27, 2008 at 06:35:20 user John.
In Reply to: Daddy ? posted by CWinifred on December 27, 2008 at 03:04:18:
IMHO, Commander/Captain Walker is AR's creation. He seems just a bit too perfect to me. This is not to detract from CWinifred's view, which is probably more valid than mine. It occurred to me, however, even when I was a boy, that AR painted him as a child would see him. He was away at sea most of the time, sent cryptic telegrams, set his children on a map-making task and generally left the upbringing of his four to Mother and the nurse, as well as their respective schools. Because he wasn't at home all the time, the children really had no time to spot the weak points in the armour of a naval officer. I suspect a significant part of their view of their father was gleaned from the memories of the elder two which had probably gone through the filtering process of selective memories. I can't recall Susan actually saying much about him. John seems to have had the most active memories of him. It's certainly true there was a bit of hero worship there. And what boy (or girl) wouldn't have looked up to such a strong romantic figure?