Nicholas Sergeant writes:
>
> Some of the feeling of loss as the Pequod goes down seems to be
> conveyed. After all we got to know the ship so well, it was our home
>for all those pages.
>
That reminds me of one of my favourite essays, Barthes's 'The Nautilus and
the Drunken Boat' in _Mythologies_. His argument is that adventure stories
are really celebrations of home - their temporary domiciles (ship, hut and
tent) are used to place home in the dramatic context of danger and
isolation, so that security is re-experienced with a thrill of delight. And
it's for this reason that abandoned ships, the _Marie Celeste_, the _Flying
Dutchman_ etc, are so scary - the home is deprived of its homeliness. The
essay is only a couple of pages long, but rich in ideas - and of course it
couldn't be more relevant to _Moby-Dick_ (or 'Benito Cereno' for that
matter).
Best wishes
Matthew
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