The ldeal of and the Reality of America:

Ahab and the Images of Ancient Rome

in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; or， The Whale

187

Toru Nishiura

One of Herman Melville's masterpieces， Moby-Dicl己waspublished in

1851. We can regard Chapter 41 of this novel，“Moby Dick" as one of the

core chapters of this work: the chapter title has the same as that of the

novel， and the chapter is filled with meaningful words. In Chapter 41，

the narrator， Ishmael lists the rumors about the white whale， Moby

Dick， and the information on the past of Ahab， the captain of the

Pequod. Moreover， Ishmael tries to unveil Moby Dick， and investigate

the mentality of Ahab. Preliminarily Ishmael remarks，“This is m uch ;

yet Ahab's larger， darker， deeper part remains unhinted" (185)，1 and

then somewhat suddenly starts to narrate about the ruins of Rome. The

motive of this essay is to clear the image of ancient Rome in Chapter 41

of Moby-Dick. This essay tries to examine one of the characteristics of

Ahab， the relationship between him and the images of ancient Rome，

and explore the meaning of it. It seems that the passage on ancient

Rome in Chapter 41 has not been fully discussed yet. In this essay， 1 find

a new interpretation of Ahab.

In Chapter 41 of Moby-Dick， Ishmael's description of ancient Rome

is as follows:

Winding far down from within the very heart of this spiked Hotel

de Cluny where we here stand -however grand and wonderful，

now quit it; -and take your way， ye nobler， sadder souls， to those

188

vast Roman halls of Thermes; where far beneath the fantastic tow-

ers of man's upper earth， his root of grandeur， his whole awful es-

sence sits in bearded state; an antique buried beneath antiquities，

and throned on torsoes! So with a broken throne， the great gods

mock that captive king; so like a Caryatid， he patient sits， uphold~

ing on his frozen brow the piled entablatures of ages. Wind ye

down there， ye prouder， sadder souls! question that proud， sad king!

A family likeness! aye， he did beget ye， ye young exiled royalties;

and from your grim sir巴onlywill the old State-secret come. (185-

86)

The note of. the Norton edition of Moby-Dick explains that “this spiked

Hotel de Cluny" in quotation above is the “Medieval building in the

Paris Latin Quarter， built above two-thousand-year-old Roman ruins"

(157). As earlier studies on this passage， William B. Di11ingham， Richard

H. Brodhead， and John Wenke advocate theirowntheories.2 These theo・

ries， however， discuss the narrative of Ishmael or the consciousness of

Ahab in the chapter， and do not focus upon the image of ancient Rome.

In .his study， Exiled Royalties.. Melville and the Life We lmagine， Robert

Milder gives the main chapter，“Exiled Royalties" in which he also

treats the quotation above. In the chapter，“Exiled Royalties，" Milder

picks out the words， the “nobler， sadder souls，" the “exiled royalties，" the

“captive king，" the “spiked Hotel de Cluny，" and the "root of grandeur，"

and says，“[Thomas] Carlyle had broached a similar idea in S，αrtor

Resartus when he declared that ‘in every the wisest Soul lies a whole

world of internal Madness， an authentic Demon-Empire; out of which，

indeed， his whole world of Wisdom has beeri creatively built together，

and now rests there， as on its dark foundations' does a habitable flowery

Earth-rind'" (98). In his book， Milder discusses Ahab in the “captive

king" passage， in the relationship with Romanticism and Romantics，

Carlyle， George Gordon Byron， and othersfrom the psyehological per-

spective， and Milder's wide-ranging study stimulates us to research

succeedingly. These are the preceding studies on Chapter41 of Moby-

189

Dick. This essay focuses upon the image of ancient Rome in the passage

in the relationship with Ahab， and it is a different point from the pre-

C巴dingstudies. In the passage quoted above， both the words and th巴

contents are quite difficult to understand and the passage does not

seem to fit in withthe context. Therefore， we can presume that Melville

intended to convey some important message to the readers. This essay

starts with the examination of the significant words in the quotation in

detail.

The phrase in the quotation above，“his root of grandeur， his whole

awful essence" seems to be the description of Captain Ahab. In that

part， Ishmael uses the metaphysical expression and it causes the readers

to be confused， but it is natural to think that Ahab is described here

because of the following phrase，“throned on torsos." In this novel， it is

repeatedly mentioned that Ahab is with one leg and therefore the “torso"

naturally reminds us of him. Moreover， when we see the phrases， the

“captive king" and the “proud， sad king，" we remember Ahab again. In

Chapter 16，“The Ship，" Ishmael explains that th巴nameof the Pequod's

captain，. Ahab is derived from the king in the First Book of Kings in the

Old Testament. In Chapter 30，“The Pipe，" Ishmael cal1s Ahab who is

sitting on the chair which is made of whale bones as “a Khan of the

plank， and a king of the sea， and a great lord of Leviathans" (129).

Moreover， in .Chapter 34，“The Cabin-Table，" the ordinary eating scene

of Ahab and his mates is described， and Ishmael cal1s Ahab as“King

Ahab" (150) because of his absolute authority on the ship. We can find

other parts where Ahab is compared to a king， and the image of a king

that Ahab has is emphasized repeatedly in thenove1. Thus， the passage，

“his root of grandeur， his whole awful essence sits in bearded state; an

antique buried beneath antiquities， and throned on torsos，" describes

the important characteristics of Ahab.

To consider the relationship between Ahab and the Roman statue

in Chapter 41， let us refer to Chapter 28，“Ahab." In this chapter， the

narrator and concurrently one of the sailors of the Pequod， Ishmael de-

picts Captain Ahab who appears before him for the first time. ln the

190

scene， Ishmael says，“His [Ahab'sJ whole high， broad form， seemed

made of solid bronze， and shaped in an unalterable mould， like Cellini's

cast Perseus" (123). In the same chapter， Ishmael states that“[sJo pow-

erfully did the whole grim aspect of Ahab affect me" and “Ahab stood

before them with a crucifixion in his face; in aII the nameless regal over-

bearing dignity of some mighty woe" (124). Thus， in Chapter 28， we

find sev巴ralwords that have the same meanings as ones in Chapter 41:

“[hJ is whole high broad form" and “his root of grandeur，"“the whole

grim aspect of Ahab" and “your grim sire，"“with a crucifixion in his

face" and “he patient sits，" and “the nameless regal overbearing dignity

of some mighty woe" and “question that proud， sad king!" Therefore，

the characterization of Ahab in Chapter 28 helps us to confirm that the

Roman statue represents Ahab in Chapter 41.

There is a phrase，“the great gods mock that captive king" in the

quotation from Chapter 41. We can understand that this passage is on

Ahab more deeply by examining these words. The word，“captive" re-

minds the readers of Ahab's talk about Moby Dick in Chapter 36，“The

Quarter-Deck." In this chapter， he says，“How can the prisoner reach

outside except by thrusting through the wall? To me， the white whale

is that wall， shoved near to me" (164) to the chief mate， Starbuck and

the readers. The “captive king" in Chapter 41 is identified as Ahab who

calIs himself “the prisoner." Moreover，“the great gods" in the “captivε

king" passage is related to the characteristics of Ahab， and also the

essence of the whole work. To interpret the “gods" in MelviIle's works，

let us refer to a study on Moby圃Dickand other works. In his discussion

onMoby♂ick， Arimichi Makino pays attention to the words of Hamlet

by WiIliam Shakespeare's Hamlet， "The time is out of joint" 0.5. 186)，

and states the following opinion.

In other words，“the heavenly logic" that is to be the indicator of

persons' behavior has given the authority and the responsibility

into the hands of th巴“gods"who carry out God's will and interpret

it rationaIIy and arbitrarily on earth， clergymen， admirals Cdictato-

191

rial persons)， lawyers， politicians， the persons who have priority to

common sense， and others， because “God" who originated “the heav-

enly logic" keeps silence. As a result，“God" and “the system of

God" have degenerated into the ones that reinforce the secular

power on earth which is greedy for “money."

This situation is the truth of the world which intuitive Shake-

speare who created Hamlet and Lear expresses by the words，“[tJhe

time is out of joint" and the truth of“America" from Melvil1e's point

of view. The Hamlet of America， Pierre tries to practice the original

doctrine of Christianity but is oppressed by the earthly power that

abuses Christianity， fails， and dies between “the heavenly time" and

“the earthly time." On the other hand， in his self-destructive strug-

gle， the Lear of America， Ahab suggests .that Heaven and earth are

severed but connected at the joint between them， that is，“the heav-

enly time" and “the earthly time" are out of joint， but they are con-

nected deceptively by the arbitrary interpretation by the “gods，"

the persons in power on earth who are agents of God， and it has

become the “wall" that makes the persons who pursue the truth

“prisoners." Therefore the deceitful phantom， Moby Dick that ap-

pears with its looks like an agent of God before Ahab inevitably

changes into “Leviathan，" the monster that has abnormal features

and inside. (153-54)

If we check the situation where the “gods" become the wall that en-

closes Ahab and makes him a prisoner thus， we will find that Ahab and

the images of ancient Rome represent the chief theme of this novel.

We can see the relationship between Ahab and ancient Rome also

in other parts of Moby-Dicた Forexample， in Chapter 108，“Ahab and the

Carpenter，" Ahab says，“1 am so rich， 1 could have given bid for bid with

the wealthiest Pratorians at the auction of the Roman empire" (472). In

Chapter 130，“The Hat，" a sea hawk that is approaching the Pequod cir-

cles over Ahab， snatches his hat， and goes away. In this part， a king of

ancient Rome， Tarquin is compared with Ahab:“An eagle flew thrice

192

round Tarquin's head， removing his cap to replace it， and thereupon

Tanaquil， his wife， declared that Tarquin would be king of Rome" (539).

Moreover， in Chapter 87，“The Grand Armada，" Ishmael says，“For a long

time， now， the circus.running sun has raced within his fiery ring， and

needs no sustenance but what's in himself. So Ahab" (381). In these

sentences， Ahab and ancient Rome are not related directly. However， in

just the prior paragraph， th巴 battlebetween Ahab and Moby Dick is

mentioned. therefore， when we read the quotation above， we evoke the

image in which Ahab and Moby Dick fight in the Colosseum in ancient

Rome. It seems that Melville hints of the Colosseum and an arena in

ancient Rome by the words，“circus" and “ring."g

In Moby-Dick， Ahab is compared and related to various persons and

things. The number of comparisons is large， and ιmoreover， w巴 still

might discover more new ones in our future studies. Therefore， here 1

willlist the comparisons that are relatively easy to find and understand.

The name， Ahab itself is derived from the king who appears from Chap-

ter 16 to 22 of the First Book of Kings as Captain Peleg and Ishmael

explain in Chapter 16 of Moby.Dick. In Chapter 31，“Queen Mab，" Ahab

appears in Stubb's dream， the second mate of the Pequod， as “a pyramid"

(131)， and in Chapter 44，“The Chart，" Ishmael described old Ahab:“God

help thee， old man， thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he

whose intense thinking thus makes him a Prometheus; a vulture feeds

upon that h巴artfor ever; that vulture the very creature he creates"

(202). Moreover， in Chapter 99，“The Doubloon，" Ahab looks at the coin

that is nailed to the mainmast of the Pequod， and says，

thing ever egotistical in mountain-tops and towers， and al1 other grand

and lofty things; look here， -three peaks as proud as L ucifer. The firm

tower， that is Ahab; the volcano， that is Ahab; the courageous， the un-

daunted， and victorious fowl， that， too， is Ahab; all are Ahab" (431). In

the dialogue between him and Starbuck in Chapter 132，“The Symphony仏"

Ahab calls himself，“Guinea-coast slavery of solitary command!" (543).

These comparisons seem to be meaningful severally， .and therefore we

are always given variable images of him. Among them， however， the

193

re1ationship between Ahab and ancient Rome is one of the issues that

we shou1d regard as most important， because Ahab is skillfully con-

nected with ancient Rome again and again as we have seen.

To exp10re the meaning of the connection between Ahab and an-

cient Rome， 1et us refer to Bartleby， a main character of Me1ville's short

story，“Bartleby， the Scrivener" that was published in 1853， on1y two

years after the pub1ication of Moby-Dick. Also in “Bartleby， the Scriv-

ener，" we find some allusions to ancient Rome: The lawyer， the em-

ployer of Bartleby has a bust of Marcus Tullius Cicero in his office， the

main stage of the short story (21)， and Bartleby is compared to Gaius

Marius in the ruin of Carthage (27-28). Inhis essay， Tsutomu Yasuda

ana1yzes such points and identifies Bartleby as an ancient Roman.

Yasuda states that in “Bartleby， the Scrivener，"“the images of ancient

Rome which Me1ville uses on purpose are not negative ones at all" (47)，

and refers to one of Me1ville's lectures，“Statues in Rome." Then Yasuda

quotes，“Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!" (45)， the narrator's cry uttered in

the end of this short novel， and concludes that“it seems that into the

words， Melvi11e put his praise for Bartleby who finishes his short life as

humanity 1ike a nob1e ancient Roman" CYasuda 49). In a series of

Me1ville's works， it is possib1e to regard Ahab and Bart1eby as the char-

acters of the same kind， because they have “the common points， the

alienation from the earthly socia1 system， the independent pursuit of

truth， and the rebellion against the phantomlike‘wall''' CMakino 141).

Therefore， as Bartleby who can be identified as an ancient Roman， it is

possible to consider that Ahab has the characteristics of ancient Rome.

To think of the relationship between Ahab and ancient Rome， 1et us

consult the record of“Statues in Rome，" a 1ecture by Me1ville. He vis-

ited Rome in 1857， and saw various buildings and works of art CParker

324-27). In the same year， he went back to the United States， and of-

fered the lecture， "Statues in Rome" (Parker 349-73). Of course，“Statues

in Rome" is the manuscript of the lecture that the audience can under-

stand easily then and there. On the other hand， Moby-Dick is a long and

profound nove1 that includes metaphysical themes， persons and events

194

of a11 ages and countries， and Melville's great technique of writing. For

that reason， we might question whether we can trust the description of

“Statues in Rome" as a reference when we discuss Moby-Dick. On “Stat・

ues in Rome，" however， William 1. Vancesays，“His [Mel ville司 unchar-

act巴risticsimplicity of faith and banality of statement may have owed

something to the popular genre he was attempting to master; yet one

cannot doubt that he fundamenta11y believed in his basic message，

which was simply in favor of a civilization that fosters the impractical

rewards of the beautiful" (363). Therefore， 1 think that we can trust

Melville's words in “Statues in Rome" though they are plain and might

seem to be slightly pretentious.

In the 1巴cture，Melvil1e states the significant theme that is common

to his most important novels. He offers his opinion on the statue of

Laocoon:

In a niche of the Vatican stands the Laocoon， the very semblance of

a great and powerful man writhing with the inevitable destiny

which he cannot throw off. Throes and pangs and struggles are

given with a meaning that is not withheld. The hideous monsters

embrace him in their mighty folds， and torturehim with agonizing

embraces. The Laocoon is grand and impressive， gaining half its

significance from its sym bolism -the fable that it represents; other-

wise it would be no more than Paul Potter's “Bear Hunt" at Amster-

dam. (403)

The characteristics of Laocoon in Melville's explanation above agree

with that of Ahab in Moby-Dick to a remarkable degree.“[T] he inevita-

ble destiny" of Laocoon reminds us of that of Ahab. In Chapter 134，

"The Chase -Second Day" of Moby-Dick， Ahab says to Starbuck，“This

whole act's immutably decreed. 'Twas rehearsed by thee and me a bil-

lion years before this ocean ro11ed. Fool! 1 am the Fates' lieutenant; 1

act under orders" (561). Laocoon who is “writhing with the inevitable

destiny which he cannot throw off" seems to be the motif of Ahab who

195

is“the Fates' lieutenant" and his acts have been “immutably decreed."

1n Moby-Dick， the description that implies that Ahab and the Pequod

have to submit to fate is repeated:“The hideous monsters" in the ac-

count of Laocoon's statue also can be identified with the white whale，

Moby Dick， and the situation where “[tJ he hideous monsters" torture

Laocoon is c10sely associated with that in which Moby Dick torments

Ahab.

Especially the image of the tied man，“[tJ h巴hideousmonsters em司

brace him in their mighty folds， and torture him with agonizing em-

braces" and Ahab seem to be crucia1. The imagery of tied Laocoon

reminds us of the “captive king" in Chapter 41 of Moby-Dick. 1n the

same paragraph of Chapter 41， the “torsoes" also can be associated with

tied Laocoδn in that both of them have lost the use of their limbs.

Moreover， they link to Ahab who has lost his leg， and the situation

which he is in: He says，“How can the prisoner reach outside except by

thrusting through the wall? To me， the white whale is that wall， shoved

near to me" (164). Besides， the imagery of Laocoon looks similar to that

of the main characters in Melville's works except Moby-Dick.5 Thus， the

figure and the story of Laocoon seem to be ones of Melvi11e's important

things in his creative activity. Apart from that， in“Statues in Rome，"

there are several significant images that appear also in Moby-Dick as

this essay will discuss. From the above， it seems that Melville had the

idea of Laocoon when he created the character of Ahab in Moby-Dick.

Therefore， it is not unsuitable to refer to“Statues in Rome" when we

consider the images of ancient Rome and Ahab in Moby-Dick.

At the end of the lecture， Melville states that“[tJhese marbles， the

works of the dreamers and idealists of old， live on， leading and pointing

to good. They are the works of visionaries and dreamers， but they are

realizations of soul， the representations of the ideal. They are grand，

beautiful， and true， and they speak with a voice that echoes through the

ages" (408). The opinion of Melville is very helpful to understand the

description of ancient Rome in Chapter 41 of Moby-Dick. They have the

common point that both of them are explanations on the statue(s) of

196

ancient Rome， and moreover， we can find the words that have a similar

meaning in both ，d巴scriptions:“grandeur"and “grand." Through 'the

whole lecture，“Statues in Rome，" Melville praises the statues of ancient

Rome considerably， therefore the statues of ancient Rome that are re・

lat巴dwith Ahab also can be regarded as thos巴thatMelville gave a posi-

tive meaning to.

In “Statues in Rome，" Melville not only expresses his opinion about

the statues of ancient Rome， but tries to consider them in connection to

the world he lived in. For example， in this lecture， he takes up the

statue of Julius Caesar and explains that it “gives a countenance of a

businesslike cast that the present practical age would regard as a good

representation of the President of the New York and Erie Railroad， or

any other magnificent corporation" (400-401). About “the bust of

Seneca，" Melville states that“[iJ t is ironlike and inflexible， and would

be no disgrace to a Wal1 Street broker" (401). If we remember the words

in the same lecture quoted above，“they [these marblesJ speak with a

voice that echoes through the ages" (408)， we can acknowledge Melvi11e's

attitude that he tried to apply his idea on the statues o.f Rome into the

problems of the United States in the 19th century.6

There is another point to argue in “Statues in Rome" to clarify

Ahab and the images of ancient Rome in Moby-Dick. In the lecture， the

Colosseum is mentioned some times. For example， after he finished

conveying his idea on the statues， Melvi1le narrates that“[tJhus to un-

derstand the statues of the Vatican it is necessary to visit often the

scenes where they once stood -the Coliseum， which throws itsshade

like a mighty thunder cloud， the gardens， the Forum， the aqueducts. the

ruined temples -and remember all that has there taken place" (406-

407). From this passage， we would understand there was a close asso-

ciation between the statues and the Colosseum in Melville's mind. Con-

sidering this， in the part of Moby-Dick where Melvi11e mentions the

Colosseum， we can think that the statues of ancient Rome also are

hinted. This essay has pointed out that Ahab is compared to the statue

of Perseus by Cellini in Chapter 28 of Moby-Dick， and it has close

197

relationship to the statue of ancient Rome of Chapter 41 of the same

novel. Melville mentions the statue of Perseus also in his “Statues in

Rome." These matters make us think that the connection between

Ahab and ancient Rome is c10ser and more important.

Melvil1e published Moby心ickin 1851， and he gave his lecture，“Stat-

ues in Rome" in 1857; there is an interval of six years between them.

However， his attitude toward the statue of Ahab in Chapter 41 of Moby-

Dick and his view about the statues in “Statu師 inRome" have common

points as this essay has discussed. Furthermore， in 1853， between the

publication of Moby-Dick and the lecture of “Statues in Rome，" Melville

published “Bartleby， th日Scrivener"in which ancient Rome has an inter-

esting meaning in the relationship with the main character， Bartleby as

well. If we take these things into account， it wil1 seem that Melvill巴's

thoughts about the statues of ancient Rome were consistent at least in

this period.

In Melville's lecture，“Statues in Rome，" the statues and the United

States in the 19th century are connected， and described. On ancient

Rome and the United States in its early days， Vance says，“The Roman

Republic fi11ed the imagination of CJohn] Adams and [Thomas] Jeffer-

son during the same decades that American artists were first seeing the

actual ruins of the Empire" (xxiii). Moreover Vance states that“in the

first half of the nineteenth century more than a few senators saw them-

selves as successors of Cicero not only as orators but as supreme patri-

ots， the wise and eloquent saviors of their country in moments of crisis"

(17). Quoting these accounts， Konomi Ara explains in her essay on

“Bartleby， the Scrivener" as follows:

It is .no accident that the ancient world of Greece， Rome， and Egypt

appear in New York in “Bartleby， the Scrivener." The Republic of

America in its early days had abandoned its mother country， the

Kingdom of Great Britain， and had to establish a new nation. In

addition， it'was not permitted to be one that is similar to the King-

dom of Great Britain. It had to be a new country that would

198

certainly cherish a different ideal. It is difficult to form and carry

through a plan from nothing. The suitable models for them were

ancient Greece， Rome， and Egypt that had been prosperous. (105)

We have already discussed the fact that Bartleby and Ahab have the

features of ancient Rome. When we read Moby-Dick， we are given the

impression that Ahab is a fanatical and dictatorial captain， but it also is

possible to consider that he embodies the ideal of the United States as

one of his various characters.

To discuss that， 1 will analyze the other part of Moby-Dick that de-

scribes Ahab. In Chapter 26 and 27，“Knights and Squires，" Ishmael

introduces the tree mates of the Pequod， Starbuck， Stubb， and Flask， and

their harpooneers， Queequeg， Tashtego， and Dagoo. At the end of Chap-

ter 27 Ishmael explains about Ahab and all the sailors of the Pequod:

“An Anacharsis Clootz deputation from all the isles of the sea， and all

the ends of the earth， accompanying Old Ahab in the Pequod to lay the

world's grievances before that bar from which not very many of them

ever come back" (121). We can find “an Anacharsis ClootzjCloots depu-

tationjcongress" also in Melvi1le's other work， The Confidence-Mαn， His

Masquerade that was published in 1857. Paying attention to the words，

“an Anacharsis Cloots congress" (9) in The Confidence-Man， Shoko

Tsuji expresses her views:

In The Confidence-Mαn， the work whose stage is a steamship on the

Mississippi， Melvil1e shows us the "[nJatives of all sorts， and for-

eigners." The ship passengers are likened to “an Anacharsis Cloots

congress" (9)， and that is an inter巴stingmatter to explore the link

between Melville and the race problem. The same comparison is

made in Moby-Dick， the work published five years prior to The Con-

fidence-Man， and in Billy Budd， Sailor that was written more than

twenty years after The Confidence-Man， and became his posthu-

mous work.“Anacharsis Cloots" is a Prussian nobleman who was

a real person in the period of the French Revolution. There were

199

persons who have various nationalities， and were driven into the

slum settlement. In the revolution， he took them in their folk cos-

tumes to the assembly， calling them the “embassy of the human

race." He demanded solidarity with these people of various coun-

tries， and the demand was approved. In summary， Melville seems

to use the metaphor，“an Anacharsis Cloots congress" as the symbol

of a group in which not only there are different races and. nationali-

ties， but all members are united on a basis which goes beyond rac巴s，

and are truly equal. Moreover we see how long Melville continued

to have an interest in the coexist巴nceof p巴oplewho had different

nationalities and races because we can find the metaphor in his

three works that were written at different periods. (17)

If Ahab in Moby-Dick has the characteristic of Cloots， we can presume

that Melville put the ideal of the human race into Ahab. Of course，

Cloots himself has nothing to do with ancient Rome. However， if Ahab

has the features of Cloots that represent the ideal of mankind， the as-

sumption that Melville hints at the ideal of the United States in the

description where ancient Rome and Ahab are connected will be rein-

forced.

In other parts of Moby-Dick， we can recognize the ideology that

Ahab represents， a kind of the ideal of the United States. On Ahab and

the harpooneers of the Pequod who are different races from him， Yukiko

Oshima gives her opinion:

There is rapport between harpooneers and Ahab， who knows the

racial Others in their Native settings; he has “been in colleges， as

well as among the cannibals" (79). Shortly after the quarter-deck

speech， reversing the ship's otherwise rigid hierarchy as well as

racial strata， Ahab makes the reluctant white mates serve the

harpooneers as “cup-bearers to my three pagan kinsmen there-yon

three most honorable gentleman and nobleman， my valiant har-

pooneers" (166). The harpooneers， in turn， have been faithful to

200

Ahab; even when the others come to fear the captain's growing mad-

ness，“a certain magnetism shot into their [iム theharpooneers']

congenial hearts from inflexible Ahab's" (518)， and when Ahab

later “seemed distrustful of his crew's fidelity; at least， of nearly all

except the Pagan harpooneers" (538). (256-57)

The characteristics of Ahab cited above overlaps with the one which is

hinted in the description of ClootzjCloots: Both of them represent the

unity beyond the racial differences. Therefore， the portrayal of Ahab

and the harpooneers also supports the theory that Ahab embodies the

ideal of the United States.

We have seen the connections between Ahab and ancient Rome，

ancient Rome and the ideal of the United States that Melville dreamed，

and Ahab and the ideal of the United States in the 19th century. As we

have discussed， these three matters are mingled with each other in

Moby-Dick and appeals to the readers. It seems that the view that Ahab

embodies ancient Rome can be applied to the episode of Narcissus in

Chapter 1， "Loomings" of Moby♂ick. 1n this chapter 1shmael talks on

Narcissus:“And still deeper the meaning of that story of Narcissus， who

because he could not grasp the tormenting， mild image he saw in the

fountain， plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image， we

ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. 1t is the image of the ungraspable

phantom of life; and this is the key to it all" (5). 1t is not difficult to

regard Ahab as a transformed Narcissus in this chapter. Ahab also

continues to pursue the white whale， Moby Dick and finally drowns in

the last chapter. Then Moby Dick can be seen as the figure of Ahab in

the surface of the water as Motoyuki Shibata says (19)， and we can

think that both of them are the same thing. In this essay， we have dis-

cussed the “gods" in Moby-Dick，“the truth of‘America'" that the “gods"

rule， and the fact that“the truth of ‘America'" becomes the white whale，

Moby Dick and encJoses' Ahab as the wall (Makino 153-54). If Moby

Dick represents an aspect of America， Ahab， the originally same exis-

tence as Moby Dick also can be considered as the other aspect of

201

America. The other aspect is ancient Rome that this essay has dis-

cussed， the ideal of America.

The name of Ahab's ship， the Pequod is very suggestive and many

critics have discussed it. Laurie Robertson-Lorant clearly states the

significance of the ship's name and the association between it and the

background in which Melville wrote Moby-Dick:

The Pequod sports ghoulish trophies of whale hunts， and her name

evokes the Pequot War， in which aboutfive hundred men， women，

and children of the P巴quottribe were exterminated. She is “a can-

nibal of a craft， tricking herself forth in the chased bones of her

enemies." Her tiller is fashioned from the jawbone. of a whale， and

her owners interview prospective crew members in a makeshift

office that looks like a wigwam. Such associations make it plain

that Moby-Dick serves as Melville's attempt to redeem America's

blood-guilt by writing New World history “the other way" -a way

that conflicts with Puritan histories like Cotton Mather's Magna[i，α

Christi A mericαnα， with the heroic legends about Melville's own

grandfathers， with the jingoistic stump speeches his brother

Gansevoort made for the Democratic Party in 1844， and with the

racist legal system Judge Shaw was forced to uphold after the Com欄

promise of 1850. (281)

As Robertson-Lorant insists， it is certain that Melville wrote the history

.of America the other way and it was one of his greatest concerns in his

writing Moby-Dick. Therefore it is also probable that he used the same

technique in other descriptions in this work. 1t seems that he presents

the association between Ahab and ancient Rome in the same intention

as the name of Ahab's ship and that of the extinct Native American

group. As the history of Pequotjthe Pequod is“the other way" of “writ-

ing New World history，" ancient Rome， the ideal of the New World

seems to represent another possibility of America that Melville sug-

gests.

202

It is not difficult to think that Ahab partIy represents another

phase of the United States， because in Moby-Dick， he is narrated with

the things that ar倍 associatedwith America several times. In Chapter

117，“The Whale Watch，" in the conversation between Ahab and

Fedallah， the Parsee who is a crew of Ahab's boat， Fedallah says，“ButI

said， old man， that ere thou couIdst die on this voyage， two hearses

must verily be seen by thee on the sea; the first not made by mortal

hands; and the visible wood of the last one must be grown in America"

(499). The words of Fedallah realize in Chapter 135，“The Chase -Third

Day." At the last and fierce battle between the Pequod and Moby Dick

in the last chapter， the white whale attacks the ship， and the damaged

ship is going down. At the moment， Ahab sees his ship and understands

the words of F巴dallahin Chapter 117:‘“The ship! The hearse! -the

second hearse!' cried Ahab from the boat;‘its wood could only be

American!'" (571). The significant prophecy of Fedallah that comes

true later draws the readers' attention and makes them think about its

meaning. From the ship that is made of American wood， we conjecture

the relationship between America and Ahab， the captain of the ship. In

these account， Melville might have tried to convey the hint that Ahab

has the characteristics of“America."

In this essay 1 quoted the passage in which the eagle takes Ahab's

hat in Chapter 130 of Moby-Dick to emphasize the relationship between

Ahab and ancient Rome. The eagle impressively and symbolically ap-

pears again in this work. In the last scene of the last chapter， when the

Pequod is sinking，“[a] sky.hawk" (572) again approaches the ship.

Then the bird's wing is accidentally hit by the hammer of Tashtego

who is also sinking with the Pequod， and the bird goes to the bottom of

the sea as welI. Carolyn L. Karcher makes a comment on the bird:

“Appropriately， the Pequod goes down with that primal American，

Tashtego the Indian， nailing her flag to the mast and capturing in its

folds the bird that symbolized America's expansive ambitions -the sky-

hawk， or eagle" (89).7 Also in this scene， we see the relationship be-

tween the United States and Ahab， that is， the conflict between the

203

reality of America of those days and Ahab， his ship，“the Pequod，" and a

“primal American， Tashtego."8

This essay does not simply intend to emphasize that Ahab repre-

sents the ideal of the United States. In the last chapter of Moby-Dick， the

Pequod sinks and Ahab and a11 the crewmen also go under except

Ishmael at the end of the three day battle. Ahab dies， and therefore we

cannot totalIy glorify him. Of course， fundamentally， Ahab is a tyrant

and insane as told in this work repeatedly. Then， what idea did MelviIIe

put into the death of Ahab? Let us refer to Melville's lecture，“Statues

in Rome" again. In this lecture， he says，“Governments have changed;

empires have fa11en; nations have passed away; but these mute marbles

remain-the oracIes o[ time， the perfection of art" (408). Ahab passes

away， but MelviIle does not seem to present his death negatively. In

“Epilogue" which foIlows after the last three chapters， Ishmael who “did

survive the wreck" (573) narrates the sinking of th巴Pequodand his

drifting. In the beginning of “Epilogue，" he quotes the passage of the

01d Testament，“And 1 only am escaped alone to teIl thee" Oob 1. 16).

Thus the readers come to know the story of Ahab and the Pequod

through the narrator， Ishmael as people who appreciate ancient Rome

through the statues. We can regard the work， Moby-Dick and the mar-

bles of ancient Rome are of the same kind in that both of them speak to

us about the glorious aspect of persons who perished.

As stated above， in Moby-Dick， Ahab is sometimes described in con-

nection with ancient Rome. Especia11y in the part of Chapter 41 where

Ishmael says，“the great gods mock that captive king" (185)， the words，

the “captive king" embodies the essence of Ahab's role in this novel. In

other words， the white whale， Moby Dick personifies “the great gods"

who “mock" Ahab， the “captive king" and the whale represents the “wa11"

that encIoses him. In MelviIle's short story，“Bartleby， the Scrivener，"

Bartleby and ancient Rome are connected in some descriptions. There-

fore it is not unlikely that Ahab who has some important common

points with Bartleby also possesses the features of ancient Rome. In

view of the episode on Narcissus in Moby-Dick and ancient Rome that

204

was one of the ideals of the United States， it seems that MelviIIe created

Ahab as the character who represents the ideal of the United States that

is opposed to the reaIity of the United States that Moby Dick embodies.

Notes

• The earlier version of this paper was presented at the 51st General Meeting of the American Literature Society of Japan'on October 13，2012， at Nagoya Uni-versity， Nagoya.

1 In this essay， th8 quotations from Moby-Dick are from thc Northwestern-Newberryedition，

2 See Dillingham 8-9， Brodhead 190， and Wenke 134-35.

3 Dennis Berthold also quotes the words，“1 could have given bid for bid

with the wealthiest Pratorians at the auction of th巴 Romanempire，"

“Tarquin，" and “Cellini's cast Perseus" (Melville， Moby-Dick 472， 539， 123)，

and discusses the relationship between Ahab and ancient Rome (118-31). However， Berthold focuses upon the point that Ahab is an authority，

therefore his view is different from the argument of this essay.

4 In the same chapter， Chapter 134， Ishmael d巴pictsthe destiny that pursues Ahab and the Pequod:“The hand of Fate hadsnatched all their souls" (557). Except Chapter 134， we can find the fate that attends Ahab and the

Pequod in Chaptcr 41 (187) and Chapt巴r132 (545).

5 In the following work after Moby-Dick， Pierre; 0れ TheAmbiguities， we can

find th巴sameimage as Laocoon. In Book XXV of Pierre，“Lucy， Isabel， and

Pierre; Pierre at His Book; Enceladus，" the hero， Pierre sees Enceladus， a

giant in his dream. His dream， however， reaches a strange conclusion:

“Pierre saw Enceladus no more; but on the Titan's armless trunk， his own duplicate face and features magnifiedly gleamed upon him with prophetic discomfiture and woe" (346).

6 Other critics also have observ巴dthis point. Vance says，“Melville next applies the experienc巴 ofideal beauty and truth to the America-in-

progress. Americans are attempting to build a utopia according to some

false and naive ideal of their own， he implies， while th巴 utopiaof the an-cients was exprcss巴dmore wis巴lywhere it could actually be realized -in

ideal art" (364). Yasuda remarks that“intcrestingly， Mclville praises the

virtue of the ancicnt Romans simultaneously with his trenchant criticism on the Christians of the mid-19th century" (47).

7 Except Karcher， Charles H. Foster， Alan Heimert， and Yukiko Oshima regard the bird as the symbol of the United States. See Foster 33， Heimert

504， 507-508， and Oshima 258.

8 Yukiko Oshima points out the close association between Tashtego and

205

Ahab especially in the scene of the sinking Pequod in the last chapter. She says，“The text's racial undertone reverberates in the way Tashtego's sense of victimization and motivation for vengeance overlaps those of Ahab" (257-58) and "Tashtego does what Ahab would have done by him-self had that been possible" (258).

Works Cited

Ara， Konomi.“Batorubi no ‘Aru Shinpiteki Naru Mokuteki': Bakovicchi-teki，

and/yet Han-'kyowakoku'・teki."ldeorogi to Amerikan Tekusuto. Ed. Insti欄

tute of Cultural Science， Chuo University. Research Series 24. Tokyo: Chuo UP， 2000. 89-135. Print.

Berthold， Dennis. American Risorgimento: He門nanMelville and the Cultural

Politics of ltaly. Columbus: Ohio State UP， 2009. Print. Brodhead， Richard H.“Melville; or， Aggression." Melville's Evermoving Dαω'n:

Centennial Essays. Ed. John Bryant and Rob巴rtMi1der. Kent: Kent State UP， 1997. 181-91. Print.

Dillingham， William B.Melville's Later Novels. Athens: U of Georgia P， 1986. Print.

Foster， Charles H.“Something in Emblems: A Reinterpretation of Moby-Dick." The New England Quarterly 34.1 (1961): 3-35. ]STOR. Web. 7 March 2014.

Heimert， Alan.“'Moby-Dick and American Political Symbolism." American Quarterly 15.4 (1963): 498-534. ]STOR. Web. 7 March 2014.

Karcher， Carolyn L. Shadow over the Promised Land: Slavery， Race， and Vio・lence in Melville旨America.Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP， 1980. Print.

Makino， Arimichi. Sekaiωo Oou Shiroi Genei: MeruviruωAmerika Aidioroji. Tokyo: Nan' un悶do，1996. Prin t.

Melville， Herman.“Bartleby， the Scrivener." The Piazza Tales 13-45. 一一一一一.The Confidence-Man， His Masquerade. Ed. Harrison Hayford， Hershel

Parker， and G. Thomas Tanselle. The Writings of Herman Melville 10. Evanston: Northwestern UP; Chicago: Newberry， 1984. Print.

一一一一• Moby-Dick. Ed. Hershel Parker and Harrison Hayford. 2nd ed. New York: Norton， 2002. Print.

一一一一~.Moby-Dick; or， The Whale. Ed. Harrison Hayford， Hershel Parker， and G. Thomas Tanselle. The Writings of Herman Melville 6. Evanston: North-western UP; Chicago: Newberry， 1988. Print.

一一一一一一.The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces 1839-1860. Ed. Harrison Hayford， et a1. The Writings of Herman Melville 9. Evanston: Northwest-ern UP; Chicago: Newberry， 1987. Print.

一一一一一.Pierre; 0η The Ambiguities. Ed. Harrison Hayford， Hershel Parker，

and G. Thomas Tanselle. The Writings of Herman MelvilIe 7. Evanston: Northwestern UP; Chicago: Newberry， 1971. Print.

一一一一一.“Statuesin Rome." The Piazza Tales 398-409.

206

Milder. Robert. Exiled Royalties: Melville αnd the Life We Imagine. New York:

Oxford UP. 2006. Print. TheNeωOxford Annot，αted Bible. Ed. Michael D. Coogan. et al. Augment巴d3rd

ed. New York: Oxford UP. 2007. Print. Ohima. Yukiko.“The Red Flag of the Pequod/Pequot: Native American Pres-

ence in Moby-Dick." Melville ':Among the Nations勺Proceedingsof an Inter-

national Conference; Volos， Greece， july 2-6， 199欠Ed.Stanford E. Marovitz and A. C. Christodoulou. Kent: K巴ntState UP， 2001. 254-66. Print.

Park巴r，Hershel. Herman Melville: A Biograρhy， Volume 2， 1851-1891. Ba1timore: Johns Hopkins UP. 2002. Print.

Robertson-Lorant. Laurie. Melville: A Biograthy. Amherst: U of Massachusetts p， 1996. Print.

Shakespeare， William. Hamlet. Ed. Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor. London: Arden Shakespeare. 2006. Print.

Shibata. Motoyuki. Amerikan Narushisu: Meruviru kara Miruhauza made Tokyo: U of Tokyo P. 2005. Print.

Tsuji. Shoko.“Jinrui Rengo no Yukue:‘Shinyo Sagishi' ni Okeru Jinsyu Mondai." Sky-sαωk 15 (1999) : 17-37. Print.

Vance， William L.America's Rome: Volume One Classical Rome. N巴wHaven: Yale UP， 1989. Print.

Wenke， John. Melville's Muse: Literary Creation and the Forms of Philosoρhical

Fiction. Kent: Kent State UP. 1995. Print. Yasuda， Tsutomu.“Aozameta Shori: Meruviru no ・Batorubi'ni Okeru Kodai

Roma no Imeji." Amerika Bungaku 62 (2001): 43-50. Print.