History AFatherToHisMen / Literature

* Creator/SunTzu's ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'' suggests a "Stern Father" approach to leading one's men. One commentator relates a story of a general who personally cared for an ill soldier. When the soldier's mother heard of it, she burst into tears: her husband, who served the same general, never abandoned the man afterward and died in battle as a result--and now her son was going to be the same way. Chapter X also contains the line (from the Lionel Giles translation):

-->''The commander's grief was absolute. He had loved Sejanus like a son.''

* Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} series ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' had Colonel-Commissar Gaunt of the Tanith First-and-Only in this role, but Colm Corbec, Gol Kolea, and to a lesser extent Viktor Hark all exhibit signs of this.
** In ''The Guns Of Tanith'', several people try to persuade Gaunt this it is beneath his dignity to involve himself in the question of whether a Ghost trooper accused of rape and murder is guilty. He counters with the fact that the troopers actually win his battles, and a general is impressed by such views, [[GoodIsOldFashioned which he hasn't heard in some time]].
** Some subordinates also show it. In ''Straight Silver'', Raglon is deeply guilt-stricken when his first mission as a sergeant results in half his troopers dying. When Gaunt's reassurance reveal that Raglon is hiding something, and Gaunt digs for it, Raglon tries to put him off with, "I was in command, sir" before telling Gaunt that Costin had been drunk, and then tries to save Costin from Gaunt.
** In ''His Last Command'', Wilder also fits under this trope, suffering somewhat because good as he is, he is not Gaunt. And Mkoll, seeing a scout whom he met only recently knocked through [[CoolGate a Chaos warp gate]], says NoOneGetsLeftBehind--and jumps through. Despite its being [[EvilIsDeathlyCold cold]] and ''[[AlienGeometries wrong]]'' on the other side, and the other scout's freaking out, he gets him back to safety.

*** In Mitchel Scanlon's ''Descent of Angels'', when Brother Amadis tells Zahariel he had saved his friends, Zahariel tells him he was protecting his squad, and then tries to fight off collapse on the ground he had to get the squad back. Amadis assures him that he will take care of it, as Zahariel's done enough.

* In Creator/SandyMitchell's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novels, Literature/CiaphasCain does his best to pose as this (and later, to pound into the heads of cadets that this is elementary self-preservation). Apparently, he's completely successful; both Sulla and Tayber, in the excerpts from their works, effuse about his [[TheMenFirst boundless concern for his subordinates]].)
** However, whether Ciaphas Cain is a true father to his men or not is a matter up to debate, though considering how many times his biographer notes he followed this trope when being coldblooded would be more rational, signs point this being true.

* The trope is mentioned in one of the ''{{Literature/Flashman}}'' novels, which the Cain series is strongly based on. On the eve of the Mutiny, an Indian sepoy says that his old commanders said their soldiers were like children to them (in a good sense), not like the arrogant idiots now in command.
* Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Horus Rising'' opens with the Warmaster sends one of his men, Sejanus, to parlay with a planetary emperor, and Sejanus is murdered.

** In Mitchel Scanlon's ''Descent of Angels'', when Brother Amadis tells Zahariel he had saved his friends, Zahariel tells him he was protecting his squad, and then tries to fight off collapse on the ground he had to get the squad back. Amadis assures him that he will take care of it, as Zahariel's done enough.
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''The Killing Ground'', Barbaren remembers with scorn his predecessor as colonel, who thought bringing his men back alive was important.
* In Creator/JamesSwallow's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/BloodAngels novel ''Red Fury'', when the Flesh Tearer Noxx gets Kayne into a situation where he [[DuelToTheDeath can challenge him]], Rafen, being Kayne's sergeant, breaks his fingers and says that since Kayne can not face him, he will take his place.
* In Creator/BenCounter's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''[[Literature/SoulDrinkers Chapter War]]'', at the climax Sarpedon tells Eumenes that the position of Chapter Master is not a prize for the [[{{Pride}} proud]] but a position of responsibility. Then they DuelToTheDeath.
%%* ''Literature/TheGeneral'': Raj Whitehall tears himself up inside over his losses and turns into a raging PapaBear when his men are slaughtered.

* Creator/SunTzu's ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'' suggests a "Stern Father" approach to leading one's men. One commentator relates a story of a general who personally cared for an ill soldier. When the soldier's mother heard of it, she burst into tears: her husband, who served the same general, never abandoned the man afterward and died in battle as a result--and now her son was going to be the same way.

* Taro Fujita and Jinzaburo Kunikida are this to their pupils on ''Literature/ShoShanYLaDamaOscura''.

* In the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', Dujek is portrayed as this. Like Adjunct Lorn points out, "''He's not just a man. He's ten thousand men and in a year's time, he will be twenty-five thousand men''". Whiskeyjack as well, to the Bridgeburners.

* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''[[Literature/{{Warlock}} Forerunner Foray]]'', one guard comes to tell Turan of serving with him as they bring him and Ziantha to safety.

* Lampshaded in ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' when Duke Leto Atreides risks his life and the priceless spice to save his men, someone comments that a man such as that would inspire fanatical loyalty. It's implied that this is why the Emperor wants him dead, because he fears Leto will use his popularity to depose him.

* In the {{Warchild Series}} Captain Azarcon is considered like this, practically adopting his crew and encouraging them to pursue education beyond what's needed for the job. He looks after his crew.

* From Creator/RobertAHeinlein, there's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Hills_of_Earth Rhysling's]] infamous song "The Captain is a father to his crew", which should never be sung in mixed company.

* ''Not'' the case with HoratioHornblower, who attempts to maintain proper distance and reserve between himself and his crew. They worship him anyway, because he's absolutely fair to them, and utterly brilliant in battle.

* Dalinar Kholin and Kaladin from Literature/TheStormlightArchive. Also, Dalinar is attempting to train his son Adolin to be this.

* In Creator/DavidDrake's ''Northworld'' trilogy, Hansen blames himself for the deaths of '''anyone''' who fought on his side -- because either they died following his orders, in which case he got them killed, or they died '''not''' following his orders, in which case he got them killed by not being able to make them see that what he ordered was the right thing to do.

%%* [[TheGeneral Raj Whitehall]] fits this trope to a tee. He tears himself up inside over his losses and turns into a raging PapaBear when his men are slaughtered.

* [[AubreyMaturin Jack Aubrey]] is all over this trope.

* In the ''Literature/{{Rihannsu}}'' novels Ael t'Rllaillieu often refers to her crew as her children. She also notes that many Romulan [=COs=] ''aren't'' this trope, hewing more towards the BadBoss type by ruling through fear.

* Aral Vorkosigan in the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' by LoisMcMasterBujold, specifically how he treats his men during the two pre-Miles books, ''Literature/ShardsOfHonor'' and ''Literature/{{Barrayar}}''. He's explicity said to love Koudelka "like a son", bending the rules to keep him on as a secretary when he would have been medically discharged. If one applies this metaphor to Bothari... a little Oedipal complex? That's sorta scary how well it fits, especially his incident during the Escobaran war...

* Aral [[Literature/VorkosiganSaga Vorkosigan]], specifically how he treats his men during the two pre-Miles books, ''Shards of Honor'' and ''Barrayar'', by LoisMcMasterBujold. He's explicity said to love Koudelka "like a son", bending the rules to keep him on as a secretary when he would have been medically discharged. If one applies this metaphor to Bothari... a little Oedipal complex? That's sorta scary how well it fits, especially his incident during the Escobaran war...

----

** Bujold loves this trope: she also used it in ''[[Literature/{{Chalion}} Paladin of Souls]]'' - Lord Arhys is just such a man, and it is outright stated that his patron god (the Father, natch, one of the [[CrystalDragonJesus five gods]]) feels the same way about him. So much so, in fact, that his soul is taken up by the Father despite never having fathered a child.
** He did have a daughter by his first marriage.

* SunTzu's ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'' suggests a "Stern Father" approach to leading one's men. One commentator relates a story of a general who personally cared for an ill soldier. When the soldier's mother heard of it, she burst into tears: her husband, who served the same general, never abandoned the man afterward and died in battle as a result--and now her son was going to be the same way.

* In AndreNorton's ''Literature/IceCrown'', one of Imfray's men, after the rescue, recounts the time Imfray saved him from a rock fall.
* In AndreNorton's ''[[Literature/{{Warlock}} Forerunner Foray]]'', one guard comes to tell Turan of serving with him as they bring him and Ziantha to safety.

* An almost inadvertant example of this trope is Metellus Pius (aka 'the Piglet') of Colleen [=McCullough=]'s ''MastersOfRome'' series. He fusses and clucks over his troops more like a mother than a father to make sure they are in fighting trim when the time for action comes. At first his motives are purely practical but the glow of his men's gratitude and affection gradually changes that. In the end he cares for 'his boys' as they care for him.

* Subverted in ''TheForeverWar'' by Joe Haldeman. The protagonist tries to fulfil this trope when he becomes a major but fails, partly because he's not suited to the role but mainly due to TimeDilation he's a relic from the past who doesn't understand the language and culture of contemporary humans.

* In DavidDrake's ''Northworld'' trilogy, Hansen blames himself for the deaths of '''anyone''' who fought on his side -- because either they died following his orders, in which case he got them killed, or they died '''not''' following his orders, in which case he got them killed by not being able to make them see that what he ordered was the right thing to do.

* In ''Human'' Aleksander Svetoslav is an [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Opyri]] Prince who embodies this trope to both the other Opyri of his House, and also the humans of the mundane assets his House inherits after House Ustrel is wiped out by [[VampireHunter hunters]].

* SunTzu's ''TheArtOfWar'' suggests a "Stern Father" approach to leading one's men. One commentator relates a story of a general who personally cared for an ill soldier. When the soldier's mother heard of it, she burst into tears: her husband, who served the same general, never abandoned the man afterward and died in battle as a result--and now her son was going to be the same way.
* Sima Yi from ''RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' has shades of this.

* Lord Suffolk in ''TheEnglishPatient'' is like this, especially for Kip, who considers the English sapper unit to be his real family. This is a definining feature in his [[HeroicBSOD backstory]].