Character Relationship Map: Mare Nostrum

Characters

• Don Esteban Ferragut (prologue) (played by Álex Nova) — protagonist

  Ulysses' lawyer father who initially wants his son to pursue a legal career instead of becoming a sailor.

• Don Esteban's Son - Ulysses (prologue) (played by Kada-Abd-el-Kader) — supporting

  Young Ulysses as a boy, fascinated by his uncle's sea tales and the legend of Amphitrite, setting the stage for his future life at sea.

• Freya Talberg (played by Alice Terry) — supporting

  An Austrian spy who falls in love with Ulysses. After being betrayed by her superior, she is captured and executed by a French firing squad.

• Ulysses Ferragut (played by Antonio Moreno) — supporting

  A Spanish sailor and shipowner whose life is defined by his love for the sea, tragic loss of his son to a U-boat, and ultimate vow to avenge him by sinking the enemy submarine.

• Count Kaledine (played by Fernand Mailly) — minor
• Ferragut's Wife - Dona Cinta (played by Mademoiselle Kithnou) — supporting

  Ulysses' wife who persuades him to sell his ship for their son's sake, though the outbreak of war ultimately alters their plans.

• Ferragut's Son - Esteban (played by Mickey Brantford) — supporting

  Ulysses' young son who leaves home without permission to find his father but is tragically killed when his passenger ship is torpedoed by a German U-boat.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Ferragut's Son - Esteban → Don Esteban Ferragut (prologue) (son)
• Ferragut's Wife - Dona Cinta → Don Esteban Ferragut (prologue) (wife)
• Don Esteban's Son - Ulysses (prologue) → Don Esteban Ferragut (prologue) (son)
• Ulysses Ferragut → Freya Talberg (Romantic Lovers) — Their mutual love becomes central to Ulysses's moral conflict and Freya's tragic fate.

  Ulysses falls in love with Freya after meeting her in Pompeii. Freya later admits that she has fallen in love with him as well.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Ulysses Ferragut → Count Kaledine (Conflict Adversaries) — Their association shifts from covert cooperation to direct hostility.

  Ulysses transports Count Kaledine to a secret Mediterranean rendezvous, but later chases him through the streets after a brief struggle and helps brin...

Story Analysis

A maritime tragedy follows Ulysses Ferragut from youthful devotion to the sea through love, guilt, revenge, and a final sacrificial victory.

Plot Progression

1. The Sea-Born Ambition — Ulysses grows up surrounded by maritime legends and chooses the sea over a legal career. He purchases the Mare Nostrum and builds a prosperous life as a shipowner.
2. War and Forbidden Love — World War I transforms shipping into a highly profitable enterprise. In Pompeii, Ulysses meets Freya, falls in love with her, and learns that she is an Austrian spy.
3. The Cost of Secrecy — Ulysses transports Count Kaledine during a covert Mediterranean operation. The U-35 later sinks the Californian, killing Ulysses's son and turning his fascination with war into a vow of revenge.
4. Love Denied at Dawn — Freya condemns the sinking and asks Ulysses for protection. Driven by grief and an imagined judgment from his son, Ulysses refuses, and Freya is captured and executed.
5. The Final Sea Reckoning — Ulysses captures Kaledine and converts the Mare Nostrum into an Allied vessel carrying munitions. After the U-35 torpedoes the ship, Ulysses sinks the submarine with the deck gun and disappears into t...