In the 19th century, authority at sea was absolute. The captains had the say in everything, and this unchecked power was a matter of life or death. Being able to lead means understanding your people’s capabilities, and in a whaling ship, the boat’s life are the shipmates, like organs in a body. As the brain, Ahab from Moby-Dick knows this, but instead, he uses his position to satisfy his vengeance and obsession. When Starbuck questioned Ahab’s pursuit, Ahab saw it as a motivation. He calls himself “demoniac” and “madness maddened,” revealing his self-awareness as part of his insanity rather than a barrier. Ahab turns his madness into justification for his actions as captain.

Ahab’s self-awareness enables his rationality to make obsessive decisions, turning his authority as captain into an outlet for vengeance. In chapter 37, Sunset, Ahab was sitting alone in his cabin, staring out the windows, when he pondered, “They think me mad—Starbuck does; but I’m demoniac, I am madness maddened! That wild madness that’s only calm to comprehend itself!” (Melville, p. 183). The sentence “They think me mad—Starbuck does…” shows Ahab acknowledging how people see his craziness, but instead of denying it, he redefines it. By saying, “I’m demoniac, I am madness maddened!” he is claiming a higher, almost supernatural-like, form of madness. Melville’s choice of using repetition and the word “demoniac” shows how Ahab consciously justifies his abuse of authority with madness. He portrays how someone under emotional obsession can be dangerous regardless of clarity. In the phrase, ”That wild madness that’s only calm to comprehend itself,” that calmness is not sanity but a moment of control inside insanity. Ahab acknowledges the chaos he controls rather than resists. He understands he became the embodiment of absurdity, insanity, vengeance, and obsession, and he lets it all define him. Such madness isn’t blinding Ahab; it sharpens his vision. He clearly sees what he’s doing and he still chooses destruction.

What does that have to do with life or death? Simple: if madness himself is the brain, the rest of the body is obliged to follow it. You are reading this essay because you want to understand my insight, and just now you may have been wondering what authority, obsession, and self-awareness have to do with anything, or maybe you just came here to find something to talk about in the reply section. Whatever your reason for being here, you wouldn’t have been able to if your fingers, blood, and/or nervous system refused to obey. The same goes with captains: their team, or in the context of Moby Dick, their crew would not be able to do anything without a voice to follow. However, there would be a little voice in the mind that goes against their wishes. For Ahab, that little voice of reason is Starbuck. When Ahab thought, “They think me mad–Starbuck does,” he isn’t rejecting the warning. This is the first domino to fall before the ship’s fate: as the more these two bicker, the higher chance the ship would split before Moby Dick the whale is back in the action. This reveals how obsession overrides reason and sets the crew to an inevitable downfall. The type of captain matters far more than being charismatic, and much like the captains, leadership in the historical and modern context are just as vulnerable to emotions.

During that time, royalty and those that could taste that similar power were often indulging in said power. Melville’s warning still resonates today: a leader driven by obsession leads their followers to ruin. Our politics, our social circles, our families, our social media circles like influencers, there is a reason why there are followers. For Captain Ahab, his followers are the crew of the Pequod, and with one incentive, he managed to convert regular sailors and whalehunters into soldiers to do his bidding. This is what Melville criticizes about authority: awareness without restraint, paired with obsession, is just another form of power that can destroy the very people meant to be protected.