Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Though Melvilleââ¬â¢s Moby Dick
Though Melvilleââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠has been amply explicated as an allegorical novel engaged in metaphysical and philosophical themes, the richness and density of Melvilleââ¬â¢s narrative scope in Moby Dick demands close scrutiny, not only for its forthright allegorical connotations, but also for its arcane and esoteric connotations, which provide a variety of meta-fictional comments and divulgences regarding the novelââ¬â¢s radically experimental narrative form.à à ââ¬Å"As almost anyone who has ever looked closely into Melville's novel knows, Moby-Dick is an incredibly rich and complex work with as intricate a set of symbols, image patterns, and motifs as is to be found in a work of literature anywhere in the world.â⬠(Sten 5) Particularly peculiar to many readers of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠are the generous discourses on cetology and whaling included in the novel. ââ¬Å"An abrupt change of direction in Moby-Dick takes place at the thirty-second chapter. From the sharp, swift description of New Bedford and Nantucket and from the narrative speed of the adventures of the seaport, we move suddenly into bibliographical considerations of a pseudo-scholarly nature.â⬠(Vincent 121) Though the cetological references in ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠may, at first appear to be naggingly incongruous with the hitherto established adventure-tragedy, as we will see in the following discussion, the narrative form and structure of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠is, in fact, can be shown to comprise a literary facsimile of the cetological science as Melville understood it in his time-period. While it would be misleadingly simple to describe the narrative form of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠as ââ¬Å"a whale,â⬠this description, with slight modification, can be justified by a close reading of the novel and by an inquiry into the compositional ideas and influences that inspired Melville during the novelââ¬â¢s composition.à The aforementioned modification is this: that the narrative form of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠is constructed to evoke the anatomical composition of cetaceans insofar as the Moby Dick ââ¬Å"Great White Whaleâ⬠comprises the central allegorical symbol in the novel, and, therefore, also symbolizes the creative urge of the artist from initial inspiration to final completion: ââ¬Å"the extracts are the epic materialââ¬âââ¬Å"fragmentary, scattered, loosely related, sometimes contradictoryâ⬠ââ¬âout of which Melville's epic poetry was made.à (Sten 4) It is essential that ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠be regarded as possessing a solid, harmonious structure, despite the initial oddness and experimentalism of its surface level appearance. Nowhere is there ââ¬Å"waste in Moby-Dick; every concrete detail serves a double and triple purpose[â⬠¦] No detail is unleavened[â⬠¦]à even such a chapter as ââ¬Å"The Specksynder,â⬠at first seemingly irrelevant, contributes to the designed effect of the whole novel. (Vincent 125) To understand the utter necessity of Melvilleââ¬â¢s inclusion of detailed cetological material in ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠it is useful to appraise some of the immediate influences on his thought and artistic philosophy during the time of the novelââ¬â¢s initial composition and extensive revisions. As is well known, two of the most profound influences on Melville during the composition of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠were William Shakespeare and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Despite the gulf of centuries between these two writers, both were recent discoveries for Melville at the time of his writing ââ¬Å"Moby Dick.â⬠Foremost among Melvilleââ¬â¢s appreciations for each of these writers was his conviction that each of them had accomplished a confrontation with endemic evil in their works. ââ¬Å"To understand the power of blackness at work in Melville's imagination, we need to note that even while he was composing Moby-Dick, this omnivorous reader, the novelist, was discovering the plays of Shakespeare, especially King Lear, {â⬠¦} and the allegorical fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Tuttleton) Shakespeareââ¬â¢s influence on Melville exerts itself in the inclusion of actual playscript in the course of the novel, frequent asides and soliloquies, and most profoundly, on the tragic scope and figure of Captain Ahab. Hawthorneââ¬â¢s influence claims a much stronger relationship to the novelââ¬â¢s symbolic and allegorical structures. In fact, Hawthorneââ¬â¢s own pioneering allegorical techniques may have provided the single most influential power on Melvilleââ¬â¢s conception of ââ¬Å"Moby Dick.â⬠If Hawthorne had shown Melville that ââ¬Å"one American was expressively aware of the evil at the core of life,: he had also provided a narrative strategy suitable for Melvilleââ¬â¢s own literary confrontation with evil, ââ¬Å"a perception toward which Melville had been groping for seven years of authorship and of self-scrutiny, but which he had not completely realized nor dared to disclose.â⬠(Vincent 37) This narrative strategy relied most heavily on Hawthorneââ¬â¢s allegorical techniques. By investing traditional elements of storytelling with deeper, more symbolically complex meanings, Hawthorne achieved an idiom which is both moralistic and confessional in nature. An example of Hawthorneââ¬â¢s allegorical technique is his novel ââ¬Å"The Scarlet Letter.â⬠In this novel, a struggle between spiritual faith and evil temptation comprises a central theme.â⬠This struggle is represented allegorically in the story by a careful employment of symbolism, character development, and plotting. Lacking an established literary idiom which was wide enough to directly confront the duality of his own ambiguous feelings toward Puritanism and human morality, Hawthorne developed an intricate set of symbols and allegorical referencesà simultaneously conceal and explicate the confessional elements of the story. Individual objects, characters, and elements of the story thus function in ââ¬Å"dualâ⬠roles, providing, so to speak, overt and covert information. In constructing a self-sustaining iconography within the confines of a short story, Hawthorne was obliged to lean somewhat on the commonly accepted symbolism of certain objects, places, and characteristics. The allegorical method, by articulating thematic ideas which challenge ââ¬Å"cut and driedâ⬠explanations of such profound realities as faith, morality, innocence, and the nature of good and evil, allowed Hawthorne to delve into issues of the utmost personal profundity, but to express them within a language and symbolic structure that anyone could understand. By reaching through his own personal doubt, guilt, and religious ambivalence to find expression for the irony and injustice of Puritanical dogma, Hawthorne was able to embrace ambiguity, rather than stolid religious fervor, as a moral and spiritual reality. By using the symbolic resonances of everyday objects, places, and people in his fiction, Hawthorne was able to show the duality ââ¬â the good and evil ââ¬â in a ll things, and in all people, thus reconciling the sheer division of good and evil as represented by the edicts of his (and Americaââ¬â¢s) Puritanical heritage. Melvilleââ¬â¢s admiration for Hawthorneââ¬â¢s successful development of a narrative form capable of expressing profound spiritual and philosophical themes of inspired him to elevate the first draft of his whaling adventure story, which hitherto had closely resembled his popular ââ¬Å"travelogueâ⬠writings, such as ââ¬Å"Typee.â⬠à Moby-Dick took six years to complete. ââ¬Å" It was not until a signally successful reputation had been established that Melville was ready, as he put it, to ââ¬Å"turn blubber into poetry.â⬠(Vincent 15) What Melville intended was to craft his erstwhile adventure story, along with his comprehensive notes and observations and researches into cetology and whaling into an allegorical novel on par with what he esteemed Hawthorne to have done in his own novels and short stories. Upon completion of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠Melville made his artistic debt to Hawthorne quite clear. ââ¬Å"The godfather of Moby-Dick was guaranteed additional fame when Melville gratefully dedicated his whaling epic to Hawthorne ââ¬Å"In Token of my Admiration for his Genius.â⬠â⬠(Vincent 39) Melvilleââ¬â¢s most obvious gesture toward Hawthorne-inspired allegory is, of course, the development of Moby Dick himself: the whale as the pervading, all-important and central symbol of the novel. This central symbol connects deeply with the archetypal symbolism of the ocean, representing form emerging from watery chaos or the primeval unconscious: ââ¬Å"In Moby-Dick this inner realm is of course represented by the sea, a universal image of the unconscious, where all the monsters and helping figures of childhood are to be found, along with the many talents and other powers that lie dormant within every adult. Chief among these, in Ishmael's case, is the complicated image of the Whale itself, which is all these things and more and also serves as the ââ¬Å"heraldâ⬠that calls him to his adventure. (Sten 7) Regarded in this light, the cetological details of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠acquire an additional power and connotative dimensions, as the initial ââ¬Å"call to adventureâ⬠and the primary form which rises from the sea of the unconscious, the whale symbol stands not only for the complex physical universe (form) but also as the explicative symbol for the narrative construction of the novel itself. ââ¬Å" The cetological center recognizes the truth of Thoreau's dictum: ââ¬Å"we are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us.â⬠[â⬠¦] The cetological center of Moby-Dick is the keel to Melville'sà artistic craft.â⬠(Vincent 122)à à Even as technical descriptions of the whaleââ¬â¢s anatomies are given in the novel, the non-scientific, anecdotal experiences of whales at sea as narrated by Ishmael, forward the marriage of whale-symbolism to the novelââ¬â¢s narrative form. Upon his discourse of the ââ¬Å"spirit-spout,â⬠Ishmael remarks: ââ¬Å"advancing still further and further in our van, this solitary jet seemed forever alluring us on.â⬠This relates to the lure of inspiration, of the need for self-expression, for the first intimations of the ensuing artistic expression. The signal-spout of inspiration leads the artist (writer) toward his form. But it is first, formless: simply a haze of imaginative impulse and intuition: a signal on the horizon.à Ishmael further notes that ââ¬Å"that unnearable spout was cast by one self-same whale, and that whale, Moby Dick.â⬠This latter connotation indicates that inspiration flows form the eventual harmonious conclusion; that is urge and objective are one, but that the objective form is also merged tightly with theme. As Ishmael gains a closer, more intimate apprehension of whales, the development of his character and spiritual insight are correspondingly elevated. The more detailed are the cetological experiences and catalogues, the more wholly expressive and self-possessed and sure becomes Ishmael. ââ¬Å"Moby-Dick is, among other things, an encyclopedia of cetological lore having to do with every aspect of the whaleââ¬âthe scientific, zoological, oceanographic, mythic, and philological. And it recounts Ishmael's slow recovery from melancholia{â⬠¦} These thematic elements are interspersed with chapters detailing Captain Ahab's pursuit of the white whaleâ⬠(Tuttleton). Still deeper correspondences between the cetological material and Melvilleââ¬â¢s narrative form are established in Ishmaelââ¬â¢s descriptions of the whales ââ¬Å"blubberâ⬠and ââ¬Å"skinâ⬠which he posits as being indistinguishable. This is reflected in the narrative structure of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠where it is equally as difficult to apprehend where the ââ¬Å"skinâ⬠(overt theme and storyline) of the novel ends and the ââ¬Å"blubberâ⬠(cetological and whaling discourses and catalogues) begin. Melville makes it perfectly clear that the ââ¬Å"blubberâ⬠is an as indispensable part of his novel as it is for the whaleââ¬â¢s body. ââ¬Å"For the whale is indeed wrapt up in his blubber as in a real blanket or counterpane; or, still better, an Indian poncho slipt over his head;â⬠therefore, too, is the expository material, the ââ¬Å"blubberâ⬠of the novel wrapped around its central, allegorical aspects. The realism of the cetological details in ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠is impressive. Many critics account it as a reliable source as any known from Melvilleââ¬â¢s time-period on cetology or whaling. This realism provides a concrete grounding for the novelââ¬â¢s adventure and theatrical demonstrations, as well as for the highly concentrated symbolism that forwards Melvilleââ¬â¢s powerful themes. Again, like a whale, Melvilleââ¬â¢s narrative form is massive and sprawling, but capable of dynamic flow and incredible speed. Seen in this regard, the cetological materials are not only deeply necessary to give the novel ââ¬Å"ballast;â⬠they also provide for its eventual ââ¬Å"soundingâ⬠or ability to probe great depth of theme and profundity. The detailed cetological aspects of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠may, indeed, prevent the reader from an easy, and immediate grasp of the novelââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"meaningâ⬠or even its astounding climax. Just as the whaleââ¬â¢s hump is believed by Ishmael to conceal the whaleââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"true brainâ⬠while the more easily accessed ââ¬Å"brainâ⬠know to whalers is merely a know of nerves, the secret ââ¬Å"coreâ⬠of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠can only be pursued with patience and close, deep ââ¬Å"cuttingâ⬠due to the organic and harmonious nature of its narrative form. By keeping in mind the previously discussed aspects of the relationship between ââ¬Å"Moby Dickââ¬â¢sâ⬠comprehensive cetological materials and their symbolic relationship to the novel itself, its form and themes, Ishmael, while discoursing on theà desirability of whale meat as fit food for humans, offers an ironic gesture toward the novelââ¬â¢s probable audiences. ââ¬Å"But what further depreciates the whale as a civilized dish, is his exceeding richness. He is the great prize ox of the sea, too fat to be delicately good.â⬠The radically experimental form of ââ¬Å"Moby Dickâ⬠is a successful form which owes a debt to its conception to the allegorical techniques of Nathaniel Hawthorne. By building on Hawthorneââ¬â¢s idiom, Melville achieved a rigorously complex, but exactly realized idiom, one which still challenges the sensibilities and sensitivities of readers and critics to this day. Works Cited Sten, Christopher. Sounding the Whale: Moby-Dick as Epic Novel. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1996. Tuttleton, James W. ââ¬Å"The Character of Captain Ahab in Melville's ââ¬ËMoby Dick.'.â⬠World and I Feb. 1998: 290+. Vincent, Howard P. The Trying-Out of Moby-Dick. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1949. à à Ã
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment