Jack Shaftoe
Encyclopedia
Jack Shaftoe is one of the three primary fictional character
s in Neal Stephenson's
2,686-page, Clarke Award
-winning epic trilogy, The Baroque Cycle
.
Born in 1660 to a poor London family, Jack, the youngest of three half-brothers, becomes a mudlark
at the age of five, abandoning this then-common criminal enterprise shortly thereafter when his eldest half-brother Dick is drowned during a failed raid on a Dutch galjoot in the Thames. After several years working as an impromptu assistant to men about to be hung by Jack Ketch
from the Triple Tree in Tyburn
, Jack leaves England to become a vagabond in continental Europe. Much of The Baroque Cycle
concerns Jack's adventures in (among other ports-of-call) England, France, Germany, Austria, The Barbary Coast
, Egypt, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Mexico between the years 1683 and 1714.
In its 2004 review of The Confusion
, The Guardian
called the character of Jack Shaftoe "magnificent...a swashbuckling hero with a foul mouth and few morals." The Village Voice
has translated one of the more commonly-used fictional sobriquets used to describe Shaftoe, l'emmerdeur, as "he who fucks shit up."
at a time when it was still untreatable. Nevertheless, he is depicted by Stephenson as a daring, charismatic, clever, and resourceful man. While he's possessed by an almost pathological impulsiveness, denominated by his brother Bob "The Imp of the Perverse," Jack also exhibits a surprising capacity for loyalty, mercy, and even, at times, mawkish sentimentality.
During the fifty-four years of European history traced by The Baroque Cycle
, Jack loves only one woman, Eliza de la Zeur, the rescued harem-slave turned English Duchess/French Countess (though Jack fathers two children in the early 1680s, Danny and Jimmy, by Irishwoman Mary Dolores, who dies shortly thereafter). Jack spends much of the period between 1683 and 1714 either fighting for his life or attempting to earn, from a great distance, the love and respect of Eliza; often these endeavors are concurrent. His late 17th-century/early 18th-century exploits as a street urchin, mercenary soldier, vagabond, errand-boy, merchant, galley-slave, pirate, petty despot, spy, coiner, and terrorist in the employ of King Louis XIV are the subject, in the world of Stephenson's epic, not only of much of the text proper but also of widely-popular picaresque novel
s read by various characters in the story.
Shaftoe is a distant ancestor of a number of characters appearing in Stephenson's earlier novel, Cryptonomicon
, including Bobby Shaftoe, Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe, and America "Amy" Shaftoe.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s in Neal Stephenson's
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
2,686-page, Clarke Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
-winning epic trilogy, The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle is a series of novels by American writer Neal Stephenson. It was published in three volumes containing 8 books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizeable cast of characters living amidst some of the central events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in...
.
Born in 1660 to a poor London family, Jack, the youngest of three half-brothers, becomes a mudlark
Mudlark
A Mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, especially in London during the late 18th and 19th centuries.Mudlarks would search in the muddy shores of the River Thames during low tide, scavenging for anything that could be resold and sometimes, when occasion offered,...
at the age of five, abandoning this then-common criminal enterprise shortly thereafter when his eldest half-brother Dick is drowned during a failed raid on a Dutch galjoot in the Thames. After several years working as an impromptu assistant to men about to be hung by Jack Ketch
Jack Ketch
John Ketch was an infamous English executioner employed by King Charles II. An immigrant of Irish extraction, he became famous through the way he performed his duties during the tumults of the 1680s, when he was often mentioned in broadsheet accounts that circulated throughout the Kingdom of...
from the Triple Tree in Tyburn
Tyburn
Tyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
, Jack leaves England to become a vagabond in continental Europe. Much of The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle is a series of novels by American writer Neal Stephenson. It was published in three volumes containing 8 books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizeable cast of characters living amidst some of the central events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in...
concerns Jack's adventures in (among other ports-of-call) England, France, Germany, Austria, The Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
, Egypt, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Mexico between the years 1683 and 1714.
In its 2004 review of The Confusion
The Confusion
The Confusion is a novel by Neal Stephenson. It is the second volume in The Baroque Cycle and consists of two sections or books, Bonanza and The Juncto. In 2005, The Confusion won the Locus Award, together with The System of the World....
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called the character of Jack Shaftoe "magnificent...a swashbuckling hero with a foul mouth and few morals." The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
has translated one of the more commonly-used fictional sobriquets used to describe Shaftoe, l'emmerdeur, as "he who fucks shit up."
Characterization
Shaftoe is illiterate, having received no formal education, and slightly mad, having contracted syphilisSyphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
at a time when it was still untreatable. Nevertheless, he is depicted by Stephenson as a daring, charismatic, clever, and resourceful man. While he's possessed by an almost pathological impulsiveness, denominated by his brother Bob "The Imp of the Perverse," Jack also exhibits a surprising capacity for loyalty, mercy, and even, at times, mawkish sentimentality.
During the fifty-four years of European history traced by The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle
The Baroque Cycle is a series of novels by American writer Neal Stephenson. It was published in three volumes containing 8 books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizeable cast of characters living amidst some of the central events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in...
, Jack loves only one woman, Eliza de la Zeur, the rescued harem-slave turned English Duchess/French Countess (though Jack fathers two children in the early 1680s, Danny and Jimmy, by Irishwoman Mary Dolores, who dies shortly thereafter). Jack spends much of the period between 1683 and 1714 either fighting for his life or attempting to earn, from a great distance, the love and respect of Eliza; often these endeavors are concurrent. His late 17th-century/early 18th-century exploits as a street urchin, mercenary soldier, vagabond, errand-boy, merchant, galley-slave, pirate, petty despot, spy, coiner, and terrorist in the employ of King Louis XIV are the subject, in the world of Stephenson's epic, not only of much of the text proper but also of widely-popular picaresque novel
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
s read by various characters in the story.
Shaftoe is a distant ancestor of a number of characters appearing in Stephenson's earlier novel, Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The novel follows the exploits of two groups of people in two different time periods, presented in alternating chapters...
, including Bobby Shaftoe, Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe, and America "Amy" Shaftoe.
See also
- Main Characters of the Baroque Cycle