Bros On A Boat
Herman Melviles , Moby Dick, explores many ideas and themes. These themes can appear in one chapter and resurface later multiple times through out the novel. These themes cover practically everything relating to the human condition as well as give insight to the whaling industry. One powerful theme that the reader can gather simply from the way the book ends is the power of brotherhood. The thing that saves Ishmael in the end is his relationship with his fellow man. Ishmael uses Queequegs coffin as a life raft and is rescued by a passing whaling ship. Melvile even dedicated this novel to his good friend Nathanial Hawthorne. This theme of brotherhood however goes even deeper than simple fraternal bonding and looking out for your fellow man. In Moby Dick, Melville gives subtle hints that there can be a deeper relationship between men. There is a subtle theme of homosexual imagery that appears throughout the novel. This homosexual imagery and undertones can be seen in multiple chapters. Melville may not have been a homosexual himself but this idea is defiantly present in Moby Dick.
The first hints these homosexual undertones can be seen when examining the relationship between Queequeg and Ishmael. The circumstances under which Ishmael and Quequeg first meet can be seen as awkward comedy by some, but when examined closer there is clear homosexual imagery. At the beginning of chapter four Ishmael says, Upon waking next morning about daylight, I found Queequegs arm thrown over me in the most loving and affectionate manner. You had almost thought I had been his wife (52). While it is easy to see the humor in this, the use of the words loving and affectionate imply that Ishmael was not at all uncomfortable in this predicament, there is also the way Ishmael describes himself as a wife. The marriage metaphors continue through out the chapter, Ishmael describes Quequeegs arm as a bridegroom clasp, the tomahawk is a Hatchet-faced baby, Queequeg is holding Ishmael in a Matrimonial sort of style. These comparisons to marriage are homosexual because this marriage is between two men.
In chapter ten Quequeg and Ishmaels marriage is finalized. After some time has passed Ishmael decides to smoke with Quequeeg; He says, He seemed to take to me quite as naturally and unbidden as I to him; and when our smoke was over, he pressed his forehead against mine, clasped me round the waist, and said that henceforth we were married; meaning, in his countrys phrase, that we were bosom friends; he would gladly die for me, if need should be (81) In this passage Queequeg and Ishmaels relationship as lovers is finalized. They are essentially married, he would gladly die for me, if need should be can be translated as Till death do us part. If this wasnt enough, Melville ends the chapter with, Thus, then, in our hearts honeymoon, lay I and Queewueg, a cozy loving pair.(82).
Chapter eleven entitled Nightgowns continues to develop Ishmael and Queuequegs relationship as well as provide more homosexual imagery. The title, Nightgowns carries some significance itself. Nightgowns are typically worn by women and considered feminine. When a man wears a nightgown it can be perceived as emasculating. Quequeg and Ishmaels behavior in this chapter is also feminine and emasculate. The opening lines of the chapter describe them in bed, it reads, We had lain thus in bed, chatting and napping at short intervals, and Queequeg now and then affectionately throwing his brown tattooed legs over mine, and then drawing them back; so entirely sociable and free and easy were we (83). Quequeeg and Ishmael continue to push the boundaries of a typical male friendship. It is not uncommon for heterosexual men to share a bed , but to wrap ones legs around another man and get that much joy out of it? This type of behavior seems a little too comfortable. The way Ishmael talks about Queequeeg, its as if he is describing a lover. At this point Melvile has made it clear that Ishmael and Queequeg are beyond the typical male friendship. Ishmael and Queequeg are a married homosexual couple.
The homosexual imagery continues in chapter eleven, In the third paragraph it reads, Be it said, that though I had felt such a strong repugnance to his smoking in the bed the night before, yet see how our stiff prejudices grow when love once comes to bend them. For now I liked nothing better than to have Queequeg smoking beside me, even in bed because he seemed to be full of such serene household joy then. I no more felt unduly concerned for the landlords policy of insurance. I was only alive to the condensed confidential comfortableness of sharing a pipe and a blanket with a real friend. (84) While they are together Ishmael continues to drop his inhibitions by agreeing to smoke with him in bed despite his previous worries about the landlords insurance policy. In addition to this, the act of smoking in bed is another form of sexual imagery . Queequegs pipe can be interpreted as a phallic symbol. The homosexual undertones are strong in these few beginning chapters. Later in the novel Ishmael and Queequegs relationship starts to settle down as they are preoccupied with working on the ship and perusing Moby Dick. There is one more chapter where Ishmael drops his inhibitions again and gets lost in another homoerotic experience.
In chapter ninety four, A Squeeze of the Hand Ishmael describes the process of squeezing the spermaceti back into liquid form. He gets so taken up by this process that he has a homosexual type experience. In paragraph five it reads, Squeeze! Squeeze! All the morning long; I squeezed that sperm till I myself melted into it; I squeezed that sperm till a strange sort of insanity came over me and I found myself unwittingly squeezing my co-laborers hands in it, mistaking their hands for the gentle globules. Such an abounding, affectionate, friendly, loving feeling did this avocation beget; that at last I was continually squeezing their hands, and looking up into their eyes sentimentally; as much as to say, Oh! My dear fellow beings, why should we longer cherish any social acerbities, or know the slightest ill humor or envy! Come; let us squeeze hands all round; nay let us all squeeze ourselves into each other; let us squeeze ourselves universally into the very milk and sperm of kindness. (484) Ishmael is so enthralled in this experience that he starts to grab and squeeze his shipmates hands. Ishmael is infatuated with the male body. He has a moment of obsession with the male body by grabbing on to and holding hands with the other men on the ship. The spermaceti itself is homoerotic in that its name is very similar to the male reproductive cell. This chapter is another example of how dropping ones inhibitions and embracing the senses can lead to homosexuality.
In Moby Dick Melville is challenging the social norms of the time that says men should not be sexually attracted to each other. Melville may not have been a homosexual himself but in this novel he is subtly hinting the importance of the male relationship. For Melville, there was something important about the male relationship that needed to be recognized. The characters in the novel are practically all male. What saves Ishmael in the end is his relationship with Queequeg and the compassion of the men passing by on the Rachel. The bond of men is often a taboo subject in western literature. Melville handles the subject with skill and subtly. It is not an overbearing theme in the novel but rather a small wave in a vast sea of ideas and themes. Its another idea that Melville wants his readers to consider.
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