Gender Identities in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick
The novel has two names, the first being Moby Dick published London in October 1851 and, after that, The Whale, published in New York a month later. Moby Dick is the best literary work of Herman Melville and a dedication to Nathaniel Hawthorne. The narrative revolves around a character named Ishmael, who narrates the story from a first-person perspective. Moby Dick revolves around a whaling vessel known Pequod and its captained by Ahab, who is obsessed with finding and intent on killing a whale known as Moby Dick. The reason for Ahab’s anger is that the Whale had severed the captain’s foot, causing the amputation of the leg from the knee. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The story is one that evokes varied feelings and brings to the fore the tribulations of the seafarers, the beauty of the sea, and the madness that comes with the high seas. While Ahab is resolute about his revenge, it is apparent; he is no keen to listen to prophecy from a crew member about his death, which he assumes. Eventually, Moby Dick is spotted and, for three straight days, engages Ahab violently and end up damaging the Pequod and destroys the ship and kills everyone aboard save for Ishmael. Ironically, Ishmael used a coffin prepared for Queequeg as a lifeboat to safety until when he is picked by another boat and lives to tell the story. It is evident that Moby Dick is a novel comprising of 135 chapters and carries a diverse narrative, and various essayistic portions interact. One of the ways that Moby Dick presents its complexity in the narrative is through the subject of gender identity, especially when viewed in the light of masculinity and sexual identity.
GENDER IDENTITIES
Gender identity, according to Hyde (173) and Young (714), refers to personal conception about oneself, whether be it male or female and in rare cases as both or neither. It is interesting to note that gender identity and gender roles are linked and considered as an outward manifestation of one’s personality that reflects the assigned gender identity. Therefore, in almost all instances, gender identity is a self-identification that is confirmed by what other people perceive as the assigned gender role. It is therefore evident that when a person identifies himself as a male, then that becomes the gender identity; however, the role becomes apparent when he can do, dress and display traits that considered as typically male. Therefore, these traits indicate that a gender role in most instances is an outward expression of gender identity; however, there is a need for congruity between gender identity and gender roles.
Gender identity is one of the long-running themes in Moby Dick, considering that it is also a male-dominated novel. It is on the hind knowledge that a significant portion carries the narration of whaling, which at the time women were not allowed to engage in whaling business, which Melville has accurately captured. Further, women cover a minor portion of the characters, this being that women are to be subservient to their husbands. It is evident that while there are characteristics that are allocated to women, as early as the 19th century, Melville was alive on the subject around gender identity and genders role.
Assigning feminine gender roles to male characters such as Ishmael Melville dissuades the notion that genders have binary roles, especially between males and females. The assigning of gender roles is an indicator that males can have a relationship with each other. This section covers more on the subject of gender identity in Melville’s Moby Dick.
Treatment of Gender- Melville’s work, Moby Dick, brings out how the subject of gender has been casually treated and remains unrecognized (Ellis, 2). Therefore, this treatment indicates that how Melville treats the gender subject lends credence to the current debate around masculinity and its composition thereof. In detail, one can establish that the study and understanding of masculinity are limited, and its validation is on its relation and applicability to feminine roles. While Melville does not entirely abandon the need for female characters, to a great extent, he has assigned female roles to some of his male characters.
William Baurecht avers that at the beginning of the voyage aboard the Pequod, Ishamel, gives a vivid description of a man as one whom all men cast their priced robes (Melville 103). This assertion emanates from Ishmael carrying the masculine ideology and its attending ethos that causes the dramatization (Baurecht 53), however this position changes later in the voyage. While it is easy to apportion gender identity and gender roles, Melville was fascinated by Ahab’s masculinity, in that Ahab focused on the Whale irrespective of what other seafarers may have wished for, eventually causing the death of all aboard including himself save for Ishmael.
Sexuality– The role of women in Moby Dick is minimal; this limited role brings out the subject revolving around sexuality in Moby Dick. The 19th-century viewpoint on sexuality did not explicitly draw a defining line of men who were attracted to men or men attracted to women. However, Melville did not shy away from addressing these gender identities. This Melville manages to draw and map feminine characteristics through gender role assignment to address issues such as homosexuality and sexual orientation. Through the marriage and relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg, Melville addresses the subject of sexuality even when the majority would have kept their silence.
Further, the depiction of masculine sexuality is Melville provides a sneak-peek into male-male romance, intimacy, and sexuality of the nineteenth century. This friendship indicates that the sexual relationship between males and another male was prevalent mainly in long sea voyages and also within a military setup where interaction between males and females (Ferguson, 1142) was limited, thus leading to assigning a typical feminine gender role on a man.
This depiction of gender identity and its role in terms of male to male sexual contact was prevalent does not imply that the society had accepted. It was still classified as a sin and a violation of the social norms; in extreme society and set up, it was considered as Satanism or witchcraft. No term defined such a relationship, whereby they would either be described as ‘friendship’ or ‘sodomy,’ thus creating a huge variation between the two terms, considering terms such as gay and homosexuality were coined much later.
Feminine Roles– The author doesn’t give much credence as to the famine roles. The act of ignoring feminine roles is evident by the few female characters used in developing the Moby Dick storyline and further exacerbated by the preferential treatment between different races. While there are minimal feminine roles in Moby Dick, one such function occurs is the characterization in terms of their relationship with Nuku-Hivan practices of dress whereby the use of tattoo plays a central role. The manifestation occurs when Niku-Hivan displays her posterior that was tattooed. This display happens to the amazement of the people aboard the whaling vessel. While the Nuku-Hivan queen may not have an issue in exposing her nakedness, the wife to the white missionary is disrobed by Nuku-Hivan men in a bid to determine her sex. The locals are angered by the discovery that apart from her clothes that she is male, and thus they demand they leave the island.
The subject of assigned roles comes up between the Nuku-Hivan people who cannot understand why a man should dress and take up feminine roles, yet this is a practice and habit carried aboard the vessel (Ellis, 2). Thus, to some extent, Melville conveys a narrative that indicates there may be no big deal with natives looking into a woman’s rear. Further, Melville demonstrates that for them, tattoos are identification marks, for women, and if one had them irrespective of their gender would be considered feminine.
Division of Labor– aboard the Pequod, worked was distributed just like it would have been in farms with some work assigned based on gender. Melville subtly alludes to the gender-specific division of labor in his statement;
“The soot is brushed from the lower rigging. All the numerous implements which have been in use are likewise faithfully cleansed and put away. The great hatch is scrubbed and placed upon the try-works, completely hiding the pots; every cask is out of sight; all tackles are coiled in unseen nooks; and when by the combined and simultaneous industry of almost the entire ship’s company, the whole of this conscientious duty is at last concluded, then the crew themselves proceed to their ablutions” (Melville, 468).
The above section implies that there are certain types of jobs that are masculine aboard the whaling vessel; there are some that are s considered as a lighter duty. These lighter duties would have suited a feminine role. Thus, while the ship may have carried aboard only men, the classification of duties is that there are lighter jobs, just like in farmlands where lighter jobs would be considered as feminine while moving the heavy job is masculine. Therefore, there would be a switch which then enables the change over from doing a job considered as masculine to that which is allocated to another gender (Wilson, 63)
Dependence: Dependence is an aspect used by Melville to denote the place of women as the other gender in the entire narration (Deitermann, 8). Considering that the masculine term ‘he’ appears over 2000 times and ‘man’ or ‘men’ over 800 times, the feminine term ‘woman’ or ‘women’ being counted as little as 35 times in the entire book. This under using of feminine characters appear as the direction Melville takes in lending credence to dependence in gender roles. In most instances, Melville has used terms such as “sailors’ wives or widows” (p. 43), and this implies that women are abandoned in the entire narration as they are in real life. In the whole narration mentions only two women; they are Mrs. Hussey and Aunt Charity- Captain Bildad’s sister. Further, they have been given lowly ranked jobs being servants. Thus, the identity given to women affirms how he terms and views women by stating ….” by a crowd of old annuitants; widows, fatherless children, and chancery wards; each owning about the value of a timber head, or a foot of plank, or a nail or two in the ship” (p. 73).
GENDER IDENTITY CRITICISM
Gender identity criticism is one that has little or no attention at all. While it may be easy to engender issues in terms of masculine or feminine, the criticism is not just about women but instead on the entirety of gender and sexuality. Further, it is about gender identity, which gives rise to gender identities considered as queer such as gays, lesbianism, among others. While Melville may have relied more on the masculine gender in Moby Dick, the patriarchal and super masculinity, as depicted, indicated an imbalance in social structure and is one-directional.
It is essential to acknowledge that women have covered great lengths to be almost equality, however even with such balance, women and those considered as queer have been left exposed to shame, ridicule, and mistreatment. This argument goes further than just the debate around gender issues and identities.
It is a long-held belief and perspective that gender is a social construct, and as such, it is reflected in the modern society as it was in Moby Dick, where preference was given based on a specific gender. Considering that Queequeq had issues with Ishmael at first and later, the ‘friendship’ became mutually beneficial. Just like feminism, gender identity and gender roles are intertwined in the web of essentialism and constructionism. Therefore, this holds the belief that gender is not an essential need or allocated biologically but had to do with construction based on how one has been cultured. Additionally, the view that there exists a real innate difference between a male and a female further entrenched the debate around gender identity.
By building the above discussion, it is evident that while sex may be binary and assigned at conception, gender identity has more to do with how an individual feels and identification. Therefore, while the assumption is that it is natural to be heterosexual, there is a possibility that one may opt for gays or lesbianism, which is most often considered as queer and comes with a lot of stigmatization or stereotyping (Rich,4). Rich, therefore, suggests that when gender identity, such as heterosexually is made compulsory, then it leaves no room to be different. This compulsion forces a person to fit into a particular gender identity, and most often, it is heterosexual or fit a specific assigned gender role as masculine or feminine.
The notion that gender identities ought to fit specific parameters becomes alive when certain viewpoints are held and certain expectations anticipated. This line of argument is essential to the feminist in terms of criticizing gender and sexuality. It is such situations aboard the Pequod and in the absence of women that led to a man caring and loving one another. When reading through Moby Dick, one encounters phrases such as
“A Squeeze of the Hand,” finds the whalemen breaking up the spermaceti from a just-harvested sperm whale. Spermaceti is the wax or oil in the skull of the sperm whale, and this oil was valuable and used to make candles and various ointments.
This statement may have a different meaning that changes how the book is read and understood, especially when gender issues are put into perspective, considering that there is affection and ‘bromance’.
One thing eventually stands out is that gender theorist, and sexuality advocates is that irrespective of what they advocate or believe in; they review history, especially on areas not adequately addressed. When they establish a gap, they try to find out how the gap has been addressed or filled, especially where it concerns gender identity. Ultimately, gender and sexuality theorists go back in history and look at what is missing or left out. Where there is a gap in the canon such that gay and lesbian authors and characters might be included? And when gay and lesbian characters are present, how are they perceived.
In Melville’s sequel of Moby Dick, there are lots of parallels to be drawn from; one such parallel is the sexual messages and its transmission to various and different genders. It is evident most often the term love has been feminized, thus giving it a gender identity. Ishmael also cuts a feminized image, and thus the assigned gender becomes feminine when viewed on his sexual relationship with Queequeg
While a lot may have been written about gender in terms of masculinity or feminism (Taylor, 349), “The Symphony” chapter brings out big contrast in the entire debate and around the book. Just before the encounter with Moby Dick-an encounter that went on for three days, Melville denotes the sea using masculine terms and engenders the air as feminine by stating:
“It was a clear steel-blue day. The firmaments of air and sea were hardly separable in that all-pervading azure; only, the pensive air was transparently pure and soft, with a woman’s look, and the robust and man-like sea heaved with long, strong, lingering swells, as Samson’s chest in his sleep” (Melville, 596)
CONCLUSION
Gender identity in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick runs deep. While Melville does not hesitate to use gender as a stylistic tool for writing, he has demonstrated the role that gender has played. However, the subject of gender identity cannot be complete without clearly understanding what gender identity is. In most appropriate circumstances, gender identity and perception in terms of how an individual views themselves, whether masculine or feminine, without consideration of their sex. Further, the debate around gender identity involves the assigned gender role.
Indeed, several issues arise out of gender identity, which include but not limited to how different genders are treated, sexuality, feminine roles, dependence, and division of labor, among others. This treatment indicates and a point out the Melville’s perspective was far much ahead of his time. Considering that he addressed the issue of gender identity through Ishmael’s assigned role and Ahab’s masculinity. The other point of view advanced by Melville is that he has assigned names to most of his characters as masculine and identifies them as such, while feminine characters are addressed as wives, widows, and or children. Further, only two female characters are named in Moby Dick.
While Melville may have relied on male characters in his writings, he is not blind to the other genders. He assigns them gender as appropriate, starting with Ishmael, whom he assigns feminine traits. Indeed, in line with the long-held belief and perspective that gender is a social construct where one is expected to behave in a particular way, it is apparent that the assigned gender role plays a part in determining the eventual outcome of an individual.
Work Cited
Baurecht, William. “To Reign is Worth Ambition, the Masculine Mystique in Moby‐Dick.” Journal of American Culture 9.4 (1986): 53-62.
Deitermann, Julia. Representations of Femininity in Herman Melville’s” Moby-Dick” and John Rollin Ridge’s” Joaquín Murieta.” GRIN Verlag, 2006.
Ellis, Juniper. “Engendering Melville.” Journal of Narrative Theory 29.1 (1999): 62-84.
Ferguson, Michael. “Was Abraham Lincoln Gay?.” Journal of Homosexuality 57.9 (2010): 1124-1157.
Hyde, Janet Shibley, et al. “The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary.” American Psychologist 74.2 (2019): 171.
Melville, Herman. Moby Dick: or, the White Whale. Page, 1892.
Rich, Adrienne. “Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence.” Culture, Society, and Sexuality. Routledge, 2007. 225-252.
Taylor, Mark Lloyd. “Ishmael’s (m) Other: Gender, Jesus, and God in Melville’s” Moby-Dick.” The Journal of Religion 72.3 (1992): 325-350.
Wilson, Sarah. “Melville and the Architecture of Antebellum Masculinity.” American Literature 76.1 (2004): 59-87.
Young, Iris Marion. “Gender as seriality: Thinking about women as a social collective.” Gender and Justice. Routledge, 2017. 3-28.