Marion Guthrie
| |
|---|---|
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| Vital statistics | |
| Title | Merchant |
| Gender | Female |
| Status | Alive |
| Ships | None |
| Relationships | Joseph Guthrie (Husband) Richard Guthrie (Son; deceased) Eleanor Guthrie (Granddaughter; deceased) |
| Appearances | First: XXXV. |
| Portrayed by | Dame Harriet Walter |
Marion Guthrie is the wife of Joseph Guthrie, a wealthy merchant from Boston, and the grandmother of Eleanor Guthrie. The matriarch of a powerful enterprise, Marion may well hold the key to Nassau’s future.
Biography[]
Background[]
At some point, Marion married Joseph Guthrie, a Boston merchant who began his career hiring out ships to privateers. With Marion's help, they built the Guthrie Trading Company, amassing wealth and influence. Marion was the true brains behind the business, however she portrayed herself as merely a doting wife in order to keep up appearances[1].
She had several sons with Joseph, among them Richard, who married a woman with whom he had a daughter, Eleanor. At some point, Richard, who had long been held in low regard by the rest of the family, moved his wife and daughter to New Providence Island. On the outside, it appeared that he was merely selling and transporting sugar and other goods from the West Indies, when in truth he was fencing the stolen plunder of the pirates of Nassau[2].
Season Four[]
Eleanor Guthrie explains to her husband, Governor Woodes Rogers, how her grandfather began the family business. She then offers to go to Philadelphia, where her grandparents spend the winter negotiating with their suppliers for the spring, in order to ask them to send them money, so Rogers could pay his debts and purchase supplies and mercenaries so they can defeat the pirates. She believes that while wealthy, Richard and Eleanor made the family name synonymous with scandal in London , but Governor Rogers's inclusion in the family could purchase them influence and legitimacy in the eyes of London society[3].
After the Spanish, invited by Rogers, sack Nassau, resulting in Eleanor's death, Max proposes to Jack Rackham that they go to Philadelphia and secure the help of Eleanor's grandparents in ousting Rogers rather than continuing Flint's war. While the Walrus sails south to the Maroon Island, Jack and Max sail the Lion north to Philadelphia[4].
The Lion arrives in Philadelphia, and Jack goes to the Charles Grace Library to tell Marion's husband of Eleanor’s death, and also to win him as a partner in revitalizing Nassau, while imprisoning Woodes Rogers for causing her death. While waiting in the common room, Jack is approached by Lydia, who realizes that he is a pirate and begins asking him questions, much to his delight, but annoys him when she begins repeating false stories she read in a newspaper about Charles Vane. Rackham tells her to put down the newspapers and read a book to find the truth, prompting Marion, who is sitting nearby working on needlepoint, to scoff. Rackham is then summoned to meet Joseph. Although Joseph Guthrie rejects Jack’s offer and shows him the door, Marion overhears the conversation and meets with him outside.
As they walk, Marion explains that her husband was meeting with some of wealthiest men in Pennsylvania as well as critical suppliers to her husband's business, who all think character is of paramount importance in a potential partner. Therefore, Joseph had to reject Jack's proposal to depose the Royal Governor of New Providence in a revenge plot. Jack tries to persuade her to help him gain another audience with Joseph but Marion stops him and tells him that Joseph's commercial interests have grown twelvefold in the past three years and by some estimates represents the ninth largest family fortune in the Americas, before asking if that sounds like it was built by a man who would reject an opportunity as promising as Jack's out of concern for what the neighbors would think. Jack then realizes that Marion is the real mastermind behind the business.
She sees merit in his proposal but will need convincing, and remarks that she has yet to see Jack's merit. Jack explains that he and his partners have intimate knowledge of Nassau's inner workings, and in all the years the pirates have done business with the Guthries, he is the first to arrive at their door, proving he is of a different sort than the rest.
Jack returns to the library that evening with Max. Jack and Max explain that she has been running Nassau's businesses for some time, and until Woodes Rogers interfered, it had been sound. She gives her financial ledgers to Mr. Oliver, who oversees operations for the Guthries. While looks over them, Marion tells them the story of Richard and the tomcat. When Richard was young, there was a tomcat that lived in the woods behind their house. The cat would scratch at the windows all night, and Richard would go out to feed it. Joseph, believing Richard's kindness to be a weakness, and would flog him and kick the cat. However, every night, the cat would return, Richard would feed it, and Joseph would beat them. They were all incapable of changing. The cat was a slave to its hunger, Richard to his decency and Joseph to his rage.
Oliver then asks Max why she does not use slave labor in any of her businesses, remarking that it doesn't seem very wise. Max explains there are too many former slaves in Nassau who found freedom with the pirate crews, and that it costs less to pay wages than to replace defectors and hire guards. Marion notes that this isn't the only reason, and Max acknowledges that she has been bought and sold, and refuses to be a master nor slave. Max goes on to compare the story with the cat and Richard to the endless cycle of violence and failure that has plagued Nassau, acknowledging that Eleanor came close. However, they all failed to see that at a certain point someone has to say enough and drown the cat. Marion is amused by this answer, but asks her what she'll do if the cat fights back. Marion agrees to the deal, however to prove themselves to Marion Jack has to kill Captain Flint[1].
With the deal struck, Max stays behind in Philadelphia, and the two have many meetings about their plans for Nassau. The two go for a carriage ride to the docks, where Marion shows Max the east bank of the Delaware River across from Springett Island, a pirate den. She explains that the governor promises every year that he will chase them off, but the pirates remain. Marion goes on to say that there are seven major shipping concerns in Philadelphia, and in less than a decade, more goods will move through the city than any other English-speaking port outsideLondon, and that there will be civilization in Philadelphia. Marion then asks Max where the pirates will be, and Max replies that they will be on the east bank across from Springett Island. Marion asks why, testing Max, and Max says it is because the shipping concerns charge a premium for the risk the pirates present, which she assumes the governor also benefits from. She admits that while there is theft, everyone benefits from it and therefore would want to end it.
Marion then asks Max if Eleanor was happy, explaining that it is hard to know some things from across an ocean, and that she had long held onto a fantasy that one day Eleanor would seek her out and the two would walk along the Charles River and Marion would teach her about the things a woman could accomplish in their world. She remarks that it's the wrong river and wrong woman, but it's impressive to get this close to a fantasy at all. Marion then says that they are partners at this point, but the one question that remains is who is going to lead their venture.
That night, Marion takes Max to a function at the Charles Grace Library, and reveals there is a catch. Max must marry someone easily manipulated with little ambition, but a man from society none the less to act as Governor. Marion points out Edward Houghton in the crowd on the floor below. Guthrie describes him as not very intelligent but still decent. He is the only male heir to his family's banking operation, however his family would like to get him away from the business. He is not a very skilled investor, having only modest gains to show and numerous losses. Max is confused for its obvious that Marion does not want him to lead Nassau. She wants Max to lead Nassau, and thinks that Houghton would listen to Max if she were his wife. Guthrie says that Max needs a man to fill the role as puppet-governor. It need not be Edward, but there are plenty similar to him. Were Max to marry him, it would have many benefits. He has money, powerful, reform-minded parents and opens doors to many connections. In addition, in a place like Nassau, Max would be able to find ways to avoid her "marital" duties. Guthrie further explains that after the long and difficult road Max has travelled, she needs to make this sacrifice to succeed. However, Max refuses, not wanting to potentially ruin any chance of repairing things with Anne.[5]
Jack returns to Philadelphia after his confrontation with Rogers on Skeleton Island, to bring word that Captain Flint is no longer a concern to them. He’s not dead, but retired. Mrs. Guthrie isn’t exactly pleased with the outcome, but Max and Rackham assure her that Flint is now not a martyr to the cause and will never be heard from again. This story diffused the fighting spirit of most of Flint's allies, allowing John Silver to extend the treaty Woodes Rogers offered Madi to the assembled pirates and Maroons. In exchange for surrendering, they all receive pardons and the promise of safety. The pirates and Maroons agree to the treaty, thus ending the Pirate and Maroon War. With that, all that is left is for Marion to purchase Rogers's debt, force his default and incarceration and then install a new governor who will honor the terms of the treaty.
Max acknowledges that they neither killed Flint, and did not agree to marry a suitable candidate for governor, but she and Jack offer assurances that the pirate threat is over and she has an idea for who should be the new Governor of New Providence Island; Augustus Featherstone. Before they conclude the meeting, Jack asks for a favor: to help write the affidavits submitted to the court at Woodes Rogers's trial, in order to participate in Rogers's humiliation. Marion agrees to the deal, Rogers is imprisoned, Featherstone installed as governor, and piracy all but disappears from New Providence[6].
Personality[]
Marion Guthrie projects the image of a genteel and docile wife, often seen sitting silently with her needlepoint. However contrary to appearances, she’s actually the real brains behind the Guthrie business. While the business appears to be strictly legitimate and Eleanor’s alliance with the pirates of Nassau is officially disapproved of, Marion is far from averse to such underhanded dealings.
While she is a shrewd and calculating businesswoman, she also has a sentimental side. She secretly approved of Eleanor’s accomplishments, and was also impressed by Max, whom she seemed to view as a surrogate for her granddaughter.
Trivia[]
- Harriet Walter is married to Guy Paul, who plays her husband Joseph Guthrie in Black Sails.
- Harriet Walter has the fewest appearances for a main character, appearing in only three episodes in the season, which is usually the benchmark to be considered a recurring role.
Image Gallery[]
Appearances[]
| XXIX. | XXX. | XXXI. | XXXII. | XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. | XXXV. | XXXVI. | XXXVII. | XXXVIII. |