What are the motifs in Hornblower and the Atropos by C.S. Forester?

Personal character development is a recurring idea. Hornblower, the protagonist and principle character, undergoes a great deal of character development in the novel. He begins the novel in the company of his wife and child and views Maria as rather cloying and irritating. Throughout the novel, he thinks often of her, however, and thinks with fondness of his young son and newborn daughter. Returning home at the conclusion of the novel, he is dismayed to discover his two children sick with smallpox. He makes the resolution at the end of the novel to remain by Maria's side and offer what comfort he can.