Ramblings on libraries and life upon the wicked stage

In Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Pirates of Penzance, the young tenor Frederic has a sense of duty which is so ludicrously over-developed that it drives half of the plot and causes him to change sides for various reasons several times over.  He is one of the most ridiculous characters in the G&S canon due to his over-dutifulness (and when you consider the rest of their ladies and gentlemen, that’s no mean feat).  The combined zenith and nadir of this character trait comes when the Pirate King finds a legal loophole that suggests poor old Frederic must remain his apprentice until the age of 84. 

I abhor your infamous calling; I shudder at the thought that I have ever been mixed up with it; but duty is before all — at any price I will do my duty.

Foolish boy!  But anyway.  This isn’t a post about G&S, or pirates, or even the lovely Cornish town of Penzance.  It’s about duty, and the way in which I am thankful for my own sense of duty. Continue reading →