* HARRY DS GOODSIR

+ arctic marine biodiversity ❆

(primarily historical, slightly fictional)

historical:

henry "harry" duncan spens goodsir disappeared while on the doomed 1845 Franklin Expedition. He was the assistant surgeon on the ship, and was therefore referred to as "Mr. Goodsir," but many of the crew affectionately addressed him as "doctor." He was a pleasant and well-liked man aboard the ship, and many of the letters refer to him as a favorite among the crew. He even enlisted many of the men to collect specimens for him on the journey to the arctic.

Goodsir was an avid naturalist and ended up stationing himself in Sir John Franklin's quarters where he could best operate the microscope. Dr. Stanley was also collecting bird specimens at the time, and leaving them in the same room. Goodsir's general attitude towards Stanley (the actual doctor aboard the ship), was that he didn't do enough and spent most of his time reading novels in bed.

Goodsir was also reported to have spoken "cannily" and walked on his toes, which makes me think.. ERM... he was a bit not normal #history's-most-neurodivergent-coded-man. Despite the difficulty of the expedition, he managed to publish multiple papers on Arctic fauna through the mail. He's a committed guy!

His body is believed to have been recovered–although initially thought to be Dundy, further examination led researchers to believe that it was, in fact, Goodsir's body, who likely died of an infected tooth.

Dundy (or Le Vesconte if you aren't Fitzjames), wrote this about him:

"... I can admire the zeal of those who labour to d[isclose] the wonderful secrets of nature."

fictional: harry goodsir

SPOILER ALERT: He's dead. Just kidding, that's obvious, but this section will NOT be spoiler free for The Terror. It's been out since 2018 though so at this point you should just get over yourself and watch it. ♡♡

"The Terror" did as good a job as it could to create compelling and historically accurate characters, so outside of contextual changes, the imagined Goodsir is very similar to the one that we see through his letters and descriptions. Despite that, I believe that he deserves his own section because I have many things to say.

Goodsir in the show is characterized as an odd, effusive, and kind person. He's taken by the landscape and the beauty of the Arctic in a way that not many else in the show are. Canonically written and acted to be neurodivergent-coded (he's autistic to me), he rambles a lot about his interests and is the most eager to learn and take care of people. He's easily the most empathetic and outwardly soft person on the show.

His relationship with Silna (an Inuk woman who gets stuck with them) is left ambigious, but reads like a sibling one. They spend the majority of their time onscreen together, and he even makes a dictionary of the words that she teaches him. They're one of my favorite relationships in the show because they're the least messed up, in some ways. Silna is also very reticent to interact with the other men (rightfully so, they basically kidnap her), but Goodsir stands apart.

There are a lot of really interesting metas about him and in particular his role in the commentary on colonialism in the show. He is taken by the landscape but believes wholeheartedly that it will benefit from English rule. He watches as things fall apart due to the decided incompetence of the British Royal Navy in this situation and is astonished at the behavior of his crewmates.

Here are a few of the aforementioned metas: Oh, Goodsir..., Goodsir's Fashion, TW for discussion of suicide ->The Implications of His Death .

"We find Goodsir a most superior man (he is scotch) & such an indefatigable naturalist & good companion that he is a great favourite with all."

areas of study