Just a quick thought, as I, too, am behind in the reading. Is the natural world out to get us? We already know the ocean is against our sailors (see the "malicious waves" of the Lee Shore, and also every other chapter). But it doesn't seem to be just the water. From chapter 28: "For, as when the red-cheeked, dancing girls, April and May, trip home to the wintry, misanthropic woods..."
Thoughts?
An interesting question. Is Ahab's pursuit of the White Whale then man vs. nature? But Ahab himself is something of a hybrid, with a leg made from whale bone.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought here: I went back to look at the part about the "misanthropic woods" and it's rather ambiguous. The entire bit is this: "For, as when the red-cheeked, dancing girls, April and May, trip home to the wintry, misanthropic woods; even the barest, ruggedest, most thunder-cloven old oak will at least send forth some few green sprouts, to welcome such glad-hearted visitants; so Ahab did, in the end, a little respond to the playful allurings of that girlish air."
ReplyDeleteSo there is some kindness in the misanthropic woods.