oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2002
- Posts
- 56,017
Good to know, Og, I will make sure Madam Gigi gets on the pusser's best side. Are there any more details like that you could share, what age group a passenger ship's pusser would be, for instance? Were they usually younger, unmarried men, especially back in 1857, or older, more distinguished gentlemen? I am trying to be somewhat accurate.
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It would depend on the size of the ship. A purser on a large passenger liner, even in 1857, would be a very senior officer probably married, perhaps even a grandfather.
A purser on a small ship could be younger but as it was/is an important post for the shipping line he would be a responsible person probably acting as the company's agent when in port.
Note: Merchant Navy is always 'Purser', NOT 'pusser'.
As the purser is responsible for the passengers, a romantic entanglement with a passenger could be seen as a breach of trust, rather like a teacher with a pupil. That could lead to tensions between love and duty, if that's what you want in your story.
Another officer responsible for the running of the ship itself, not attending to passengers' needs, perhaps a third or fourth officer, would be more likely to be the right age, unmarried and expected (and encouraged) to pay attention to single female passengers as a dance partner or flirting at the dining table when their navigational duties permitted.
Young single females would not be seated at the Captain's Table. That would be reserved for VIPs, shareholders in the shipping company and rich businessmen (and their wives). However, to have any interaction with any of the ship's officers, your heroine would have to be travelling First Class.
The Captain, the First Officer and the Purser, had to be masters of social diplomacy when interacting with the passengers.