Wednesday, November 26, 2014

How is the theme of misanthropy relevant to Melville's Moby-Dick?

Misanthropy – the hatred of other people – is a major
theme in Melville’s Moby-Dick and seems particularly associated
with Captain Ahab and his dark, shadowy harpooners. The theme is even touched on in the
opening paragraph of the novel, although here the treatment of it is mainly comic. Thus,
Ishmael describes some of his motives for heading to
sea:



Whenever
I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in
my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and
bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such
an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from
deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off --
then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I
can.



The reference to
“methodically knocking people's hats off” suggests that Ishmael does have a temper, but
it also implies his ability to make fun of himself, and therefore it implies the
humility and good humor that are so much in evidence in so much of the rest of the
presentation of his character. One of the most lovable things about Ishmael is that he
never takes himself too seriously, and, because he doesn’t, he is incapable of the kind
of misanthropy that afflicts Captain Ahab.


Ahab’s coldness,
his sternness, his willingness to risk the lives of his crew in the pursuit of his
obsession, all suggest that he is misanthropic to a significant degree.  He is brimming
with pride, the root of all other sins, and pride by definition raises the possibility
of misanthropy. Yet it is not so much other people whom Ahab hates as it is Moby Dick,
and it is not so much Moby Dick whom he hates as it is what Moby Dick represents: fate,
bad fortune, an indifferent or malevolent universe, and/or even an unloving
God.


Throughout the novel, Melville juxtaposes the
misanthropy of Ahab with the benevolence and charity of such characters as Ishmael and
Queequeg. Ironically (or perhaps not so ironically), Ahab’s hatred leads to his
self-destruction. By the end of the novel, his bitterness and anger lead not only to the
loss of his life but even, to some extent, to the loss of his soul. In pursuing his
effort to destroy Moby Dick, he ultimately destroys himself (and, unfortunately, also
most of his crew).

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