Home Literary Studies 14. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851)
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14. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851)

  • Donald E. Pease
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Handbook of the American Novel of the Nineteenth Century
This chapter is in the book Handbook of the American Novel of the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

From the time of its publication in London in 1851 the heterogeneous aspects of Moby-Dick - its intimidating bulk; its assemblage of variegated, often incongruous themes, genres, disciplines, discourses; its irreconcilable orders of signification - have confronted readers with sorting difficulties. This essay explores efforts to arrive at a satisfactory interpretive perspective on the novel’s anomalous elements undertaken by six generations of readers. The essay is divided into three parts. It begins with an account of the extraordinary social and political forces informing the novel’s context. The second section consists of a close reading of the scene of writing embedded within Moby-Dick wherein the narrator represents the novel as a work in progress in need of responsible readers for satisfactory completion. The third section recounts the four distinct phases of interpretive commentary on Moby-Dick since its rediscovery in the 1920s, focusing in particular on how each phase highlights a different character or relationship and deploys a distinct literary genre to guide and circumscribe readers’ interpretations.

Abstract

From the time of its publication in London in 1851 the heterogeneous aspects of Moby-Dick - its intimidating bulk; its assemblage of variegated, often incongruous themes, genres, disciplines, discourses; its irreconcilable orders of signification - have confronted readers with sorting difficulties. This essay explores efforts to arrive at a satisfactory interpretive perspective on the novel’s anomalous elements undertaken by six generations of readers. The essay is divided into three parts. It begins with an account of the extraordinary social and political forces informing the novel’s context. The second section consists of a close reading of the scene of writing embedded within Moby-Dick wherein the narrator represents the novel as a work in progress in need of responsible readers for satisfactory completion. The third section recounts the four distinct phases of interpretive commentary on Moby-Dick since its rediscovery in the 1920s, focusing in particular on how each phase highlights a different character or relationship and deploys a distinct literary genre to guide and circumscribe readers’ interpretations.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel in the Present: An Introduction 1
  5. Part I
  6. 1. Sentimentalism 17
  7. 2. Romance and Gothic 34
  8. 3. Realism and Naturalism 58
  9. 4. Race and Citizenship 74
  10. 5. Media and Print Culture 91
  11. 6. Transnationalism and Transculturation 108
  12. 7. Nature and Environment 130
  13. Part II
  14. 8. Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland; or, The Transformation. An American Tale (1798) 157
  15. 9. James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale (1823) 174
  16. 10. Lydia Maria Child, Hobomok, A Tale of Early Times (1824) 197
  17. 11. Catharine Sedgwick, Hope Leslie, or, Early Times in the Massachusetts (1827) 215
  18. 12. Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) 230
  19. 13. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) 248
  20. 14. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) 266
  21. 15. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (1852) 281
  22. 16. William Wells Brown, Clotel; or the President’s Daughter (1853) 298
  23. 17. John Rollin Ridge, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (1854) 315
  24. 18. Martin Delany, Blake; Or, the Huts of America (1859–1862) 338
  25. 19. Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons (1862) 358
  26. 20. John William De Forest, Miss Ravenel’s Conversion From Secession To Loyalty (1867) 378
  27. 21. Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868) 399
  28. 22. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, The Silent Partner (1871) 418
  29. 23. Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (1881) 434
  30. 24. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) 455
  31. 25. Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward 2000–1887 (1888) 474
  32. 26. William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890) 490
  33. 27. Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895) 508
  34. 28. Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) 525
  35. 29. Kate Chopin, The Awakening (1899) 543
  36. Index 559
  37. List of Contributors 575
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110481327-015

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel in the Present: An Introduction 1
  5. Part I
  6. 1. Sentimentalism 17
  7. 2. Romance and Gothic 34
  8. 3. Realism and Naturalism 58
  9. 4. Race and Citizenship 74
  10. 5. Media and Print Culture 91
  11. 6. Transnationalism and Transculturation 108
  12. 7. Nature and Environment 130
  13. Part II
  14. 8. Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland; or, The Transformation. An American Tale (1798) 157
  15. 9. James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale (1823) 174
  16. 10. Lydia Maria Child, Hobomok, A Tale of Early Times (1824) 197
  17. 11. Catharine Sedgwick, Hope Leslie, or, Early Times in the Massachusetts (1827) 215
  18. 12. Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) 230
  19. 13. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) 248
  20. 14. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) 266
  21. 15. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (1852) 281
  22. 16. William Wells Brown, Clotel; or the President’s Daughter (1853) 298
  23. 17. John Rollin Ridge, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit (1854) 315
  24. 18. Martin Delany, Blake; Or, the Huts of America (1859–1862) 338
  25. 19. Elizabeth Stoddard, The Morgesons (1862) 358
  26. 20. John William De Forest, Miss Ravenel’s Conversion From Secession To Loyalty (1867) 378
  27. 21. Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868) 399
  28. 22. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, The Silent Partner (1871) 418
  29. 23. Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (1881) 434
  30. 24. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) 455
  31. 25. Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward 2000–1887 (1888) 474
  32. 26. William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890) 490
  33. 27. Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895) 508
  34. 28. Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896) 525
  35. 29. Kate Chopin, The Awakening (1899) 543
  36. Index 559
  37. List of Contributors 575
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