1. Introduction
The publication of Melville’s Moby-Dick or, The Whale in 1851 caused a vast range of attitudes toward the book, approaching the novel in various ways. Among those, central motives of creation and quest played an important role in interpreting the author’s masterpiece
as a work that sought to reach new fundamental religious insights
by challenging the Calvinist tradition of Melville’s time.
This paper is an attempt to show how far Melville’s Moby-Dick succeeded in attacking the Calvinist principles of a theocratic and evil view of the world, constructing a literary scene of scepticism and bigotry that crosses the normal boundaries in its quest for what is beyond the universal system.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Melville and the religious milieu of his time
3 Scepticism and bigotry in Moby-Dick
4 Ishmael and the Calvinist elements
4.1 Ishmael – a Biblical name.
4.2 Ishmael – an outcast.
4.3 Calvinism versus scepticism
4.3.1 Father Mapple and the sermon
4.3.2 Ishmael’s response to the sermon
5 Ahab and the Calvinist elements
5.1 Ahab – a biblical name
5.2 Ahab’s cosmic fury and bigotry
5.3 Ahab and the sermon
6 Ishmael and Ahab – a comparison
7 Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This academic paper aims to examine how Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick functions as a critical engagement with Calvinist theology. It explores the central conflict between the predestination-focused worldview of the 19th-century Calvinist tradition and the individualistic, often rebellious quests for religious truth undertaken by the novel's two main protagonists, Ishmael and Ahab.
- The influence of Calvinist doctrine on Melville’s personal development.
- The role of biblical allusions in character construction.
- The philosophical antithesis between religious submission and spiritual defiance.
- The use of nature and the sea as symbols for theological inquiry.
- Comparison of Ishmael’s and Ahab’s reactions to the "divine malice."
Excerpt from the Book
Ishmael – a Biblical name.
“Call me Ishmael” (“The Loomings”, p.3) – as such Melville introduces the spiritual voyager of the book. The Biblical allusion of the name becomes apparent immediately: Yishma’el, “God shall hear” was the name which Hagar bestowed on her son. Hagar was the slave of Abraham and his aged wife Sarah; Abraham impregnated Hagar because he feared that Sarah was too old to conceive though God promised to Abraham that a child would be born to Sarah. God’s prophecy became true: years later Sarah herself was expecting a child. She named him Isaac and, afraid of having to share the heir God had promised, Hagar and Ishmael were driven out of God’s elected family and thus took up the role of outcasts. Both got lost in the desert and when Ishmael was in danger of dying of thirst, his life was saved by a miraculous spring (Gen. 16; 1-15). Alluding to the Book of Genesis, Melville virtually predicts the voyage’s outcome: the wreck of the Pequod and the entire crew is lost in the end, only Ishmael survives.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter outlines the interpretation of Moby-Dick as a work challenging 19th-century Calvinist traditions and establishes the paper's goal of analyzing this religious critique.
Melville and the religious milieu of his time: It details the historical religious landscape of the early 19th century in America, focusing on the tension between Unitarianism and orthodox Calvinism and how this shaped Melville’s own spiritual crisis.
Scepticism and bigotry in Moby-Dick: This chapter introduces the two protagonists, Ishmael and Ahab, as representatives of a spiritual crisis characterized by intense scepticism and the rejection of a traditional religious order.
Ishmael and the Calvinist elements: This chapter analyzes Ishmael's identity as a biblical outcast and his complex relationship with Calvinist dogma through his reaction to Father Mapple’s sermon.
Ahab and the Calvinist elements: This section explores how Captain Ahab embodies a violent rejection of Calvinist predestination, viewing his own fate as an unjust decree by a malicious deity.
Ishmael and Ahab – a comparison: This chapter contrasts the two characters' motivations, showing that while both seek religious truth, Ishmael remains an observer of life's incoherence while Ahab descends into a destructive quest for revenge.
Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes Melville's artistic success in portraying the impossibility of reconciling limited human reason with the unknowable nature of a Calvinist Providence.
Keywords
Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, Calvinism, Religious Crisis, Ishmael, Captain Ahab, Predestination, Biblical Allusions, Father Mapple, Spiritual Rebellion, Theodicy, Unitarianism, Literary Scepticism, Providence, 19th-century American Literature
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines Melville's Moby-Dick as a direct challenge to the Calvinist principles that defined the religious and moral landscape of 19th-century America.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Key themes include the struggle between predestination and free will, the search for a benevolent versus a punitive God, the nature of religious authority, and the existential consequences of religious bigotry.
What is the central research question?
The work investigates to what extent Melville uses his characters, Ishmael and Ahab, to attack the Calvinist view of a theocratic world and the concept of a vengeful, absolute God.
Which scientific or analytical methods are applied?
The author uses a literary-theological approach, analyzing biblical allusions, historical religious contexts of the 19th century, and character development within the framework of Calvinist doctrine.
What topics are covered in the main body of the paper?
The body analyzes the biographical influences on Melville, the symbolic weight of the characters' names, the interpretation of Father Mapple’s sermon, and the divergent ways Ishmael and Ahab confront divine authority.
Which keywords best characterize the research?
The most relevant keywords are Moby-Dick, Calvinism, Melville, predestination, religious crisis, and spiritual rebellion.
How does the author characterize Ahab’s relationship with God?
Ahab is presented as viewing God as a cosmic adversary who is personally responsible for his suffering; therefore, his defiance of the whale is synonymous with a direct assault on the Calvinist God.
What is the significance of Ishmael being a survivor?
Ishmael survives not because he finds religious truth, but by chance, allowing him to serve as a witness to the incoherent reality and the unending search for meaning in human existence.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Kirsten Vera van Rhee (Autor:in), 1994, Melville's 'Moby-Dick, or The Whale' - an Attack on Calvinism, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/176967
