In page 532 of chapter 113, The Forge, we see the full manifestation of Ahab’s obsession for revenge and the lengths that he is willing to go to assuage his madness. The text says of Ahab, “No, No–no water for that, I want it of the true death-temper…Three punctures were made in the heathen flesh, and the White Whale’s barbs were even tempered. ‘Ergo non Baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!’ Deliriously howled Ahab, as the malignant iron scorchingly devoured the baptismal blood.” There is a very overt subversion of Christian tradition that critiques the institution of power. Its effect is that it calls out the institution of christianity as self righteous. This is a valuable commentary especially in a moment in time in which christianity is being used both to argue against the practice of slavery and for the continuation of slavery.

It is significant that Ahab opposes the tempering of the harpoon with water. Water is symbol of cleansing and purifying, in the tradition of baptism it symbolizes the cleansing of a persons sins. Ahab, however, is not interested in having a weapon clean of sin; that is not the purpose of the weapon. Instead he wants a pact of violence symbolized in blood. This could have been the full extent of the act but Ahab does not want the harpoon tempered with his blood. He wants it done so with pagan blood. This could be a deliberate affront to the institution of christianity which automatically see inherent evil in paganism but the book makes it clear that this is not necessarily Melville’s stance on the subject. Though Ishmael considers himself a Christian man, his best friend on the ship is the pagan Queequeg. What we have seen throughout the text is that these three harpooners come from distinct cultures that are not inherently evil, they are simply different. It is Ahab’s direct action of tempering the harpoon in pagan blood that ascribes malice to the whole act. The reader could also read this as an act of exploitation. Ahab picks them out because they are the best harpooners in the ship and he wants his instrument imbued with the blood of the most gifted and so he makes a demand of their blood. In fact, the text says “the malignant iron schorchingly devoured the baptismal blood.” Blood is also a symbol for life or the soul so in a sense, Ahab is devouring these men for their bodily skill in whale hunting. Similarly, the black and brown body is being exploited and devoured in American land for the thirst of wealth and power.