When it comes to writing these blog posts, I read and most of the required reading and then go back and talk about a chapter or line that stood out for me, but this has so much to unpack and dissect with its allusions, nods to Shakespeare, and what the hell are Mother Carey’s chickens? Don’t worry, I looked it up, and it makes even more sense. BTW, if you don’t know what they are, it is simply a good omen from the Virgin Mary that calm seas and winds would be provided, and no disastrous storms are in the future. Let’s be honest, Ahab has enough to worry about, then some godforsaken storm. 

Perth has gone mad, Pip has gone mad, and Ahab knows he’s mad, but is somehow keeping it at bay for now. “Thou should’st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can’t thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can’st not go mad?—What wert thou making there?” Okay, I really hate Shakespearean talk, but here we see Ahab slightly annoyed that someone in Perth circumstances hasn’t gone completely insane, but In contrast, in my eyes, he has entered borderline depression. This scene reminds me of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, where Perth is the Ghost of Christmas Future, a haunting figure that shows Scrooge the potential consequences of his actions, and Ahab is staring directly at this future if the great whale doesn’t get caught. Two characters battling their own demons, one internal and the other God like. All of Ahab’s senseless muttering is evidence of his madness, but in these last few chapters, Ahab has become a pretty likable character in a strange, sadistic way. Ahab is also similar to Hamlet. Mellville and his love of Shakespeare… He’s seeing the ghost… but he doesn’t quite believe what it says. He has not given in to the world of the phantom and fantastical; he must have solid evidence and attend to practical concerns. He’s forming plans and plotting to get his way, not merely pursuing what he believes is in his true heart.

Lastly, I love this line, “Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli.” This line, which translates to ‘I do not baptize you in the name of the father, but in the name of the devil,’ is a powerful rejection of conventional authority. It’s almost as if Ahab knows that Moby Dick is a God, and to confront this God, you have to reject conventional authority and be defiant, fighting fire with forged fire. Ahab has now rejected any faith and has accepted his madness and forged a path that can not be undone. (Pun intended)

I’m eagerly looking forward to what unfolds next.