Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.
By reviewing the critical literature on Melville and Transcendentalism and then undertaking a close reading of Moby-Dick (1851), this paper argues that the novel reflects, among other things, an ongoing debate between the novelist and Transcendentalist philosophy. While in later works, Melville seem...
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European Association for American Studies
2010-06-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/8467 |
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| author | Ramón Espejo Romero |
| author_facet | Ramón Espejo Romero |
| author_sort | Ramón Espejo Romero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | By reviewing the critical literature on Melville and Transcendentalism and then undertaking a close reading of Moby-Dick (1851), this paper argues that the novel reflects, among other things, an ongoing debate between the novelist and Transcendentalist philosophy. While in later works, Melville seems to express a more robust condemnation of the Concord movement and its dangerous idealism, Moby-Dick occupies less firmly-defined territory. The Transcendentalist urge of an Ahab to be himself is a counterpoint to Ishmael’s more idiosyncratic deployment of self-reliance, communion with the oversoul, and various other concepts easy to trace back to Emerson or Thoreau. The conclusion seems to be that a negotiation is necessary if Transcendentalism is to be heeded at all, precisely the kind of negotiation Ishmael undertakes throughout the novel, one which spares him from the maelstrom created by a more radical approach to self-acceptance and self-fashioning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-92d90b42b5a74531bfa2afc9f3fa8550 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2010-06-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-92d90b42b5a74531bfa2afc9f3fa85502025-01-06T09:11:08ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362010-06-015110.4000/ejas.8467Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.Ramón Espejo RomeroBy reviewing the critical literature on Melville and Transcendentalism and then undertaking a close reading of Moby-Dick (1851), this paper argues that the novel reflects, among other things, an ongoing debate between the novelist and Transcendentalist philosophy. While in later works, Melville seems to express a more robust condemnation of the Concord movement and its dangerous idealism, Moby-Dick occupies less firmly-defined territory. The Transcendentalist urge of an Ahab to be himself is a counterpoint to Ishmael’s more idiosyncratic deployment of self-reliance, communion with the oversoul, and various other concepts easy to trace back to Emerson or Thoreau. The conclusion seems to be that a negotiation is necessary if Transcendentalism is to be heeded at all, precisely the kind of negotiation Ishmael undertakes throughout the novel, one which spares him from the maelstrom created by a more radical approach to self-acceptance and self-fashioning.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/8467MelvilleMoby-DickTranscendentalismRalph Waldo EmersonHenry David Thoreauliterary influence |
| spellingShingle | Ramón Espejo Romero Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. European Journal of American Studies Melville Moby-Dick Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau literary influence |
| title | Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. |
| title_full | Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. |
| title_fullStr | Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. |
| title_short | Negotiating Transcendentalism, Escaping « Paradise » : Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. |
| title_sort | negotiating transcendentalism escaping paradise herman melville s moby dick |
| topic | Melville Moby-Dick Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau literary influence |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/8467 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ramonespejoromero negotiatingtranscendentalismescapingparadisehermanmelvillesmobydick |