Examen corrigé Université de Montréal Thèse numérique Papyrus ...

201question of the father is linked to that of the originan origin that is lost within the abyss ofdoubling and redoubling. We see that “Ahab, seated in the bows of his high-hoisted boat, wasabout taking his wonted daily observation of the sun to determine his latitude … Well that Ahab’squadrant was furnished with colored glasses, through which to take sight of that solar fire” (470 ).The sun refers to a father who resembles the sun, a father whose injunctions should be taken asguidelines. The origin, like the White Whale, is inaccessible and elusive. Thus, the absence of thefather in Moby-Dick could be seen in two characters. In his search, Ahab is an orphan whodeclares his filial attachment to St. Elmo’s Lights (474). Rooted to the deck, Ahab, much like ason to a father, speaks to the lights:Oh! thou clear spirit of clear fire, whom on these seas I as Persian once did worship, till inthe sacramental act so burned by thee, that to this hour I bear the scar; I now know thee,thou clear spirit, and I now know that thy right worship is defiance. To neither love norreverence wilt thou be kind; and e’en for hate thou canst but kill; and all are killed. Nofearless fool now fronts thee. I own thy speechless, placeless power; but to the last gasp ofmy earthquake life will dispute its unconditional, unintegral mastery in me. In the midstof the personified impersonal, a personality stands here. Though but a point at best;whencesoe’er I came; wheresoe’er I go; yet while I earthly live, the queenly personalitylives in me, and feels her royal rights.” (476-477)Then Ahab realizes that there is something beyond this firefatherthat indexes another firebeyond it. Ahab’s search for his Father is paralleled by Melville’s missed encounter with hisfather. Looking to substitute the lost Father, he offers a figurative tribute to Hawthorne: “Shall Isend you a fin of the Whale by way of a specimen mouthful? The tail is not yet cookedthoughthe hell-fire in which the whole book is broiled might not unreasonably have cooked it all ere