Feb 28 2010
The Spirit-Spout
Chapter 51, The Spirit-Spout, provides an interesting event in this novel. This phantom-like eruption of water serves to tempt and taunt Ahab, as it appears to be unattached and unaccompanied by a whale. Ishmael recounts its appearance,
“…on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of the white bubbles at the bow. Lit up by the moon, it looked celestial; seemed some plumed and glittering god uprising from the sea…But when, after spending his uniform interval there for several successive nights without uttering a single sound; when, after all this silence, his [Fedallah] unearthly voice was heard announcing that silvery, moon-lit jet, every reclining mariner started to his feet as if some winged spirit had lighted in the rigging, and hailed the mortal crew.”(224-5)
Its enigmatic, teasing presence suggests that a whale is close by, but just out of reach. Alluding to the depth of the ocean, the spirit spout in larger ways represents the innumerable ways in which the sea’s infinite volume can hold and hide the mysteries and creatures of the deep. The spout in a way acts as a symbol or metaphor for the somewhat unattainable goals and objects they desire of each of the sailors of the Pequod. For Ahab, it further intensifies the chase of Moby-Dick, frustrating the captain in his pursuit to gain revenge for the loss of his leg and sense of his masculinity. For Ishmael, the introspective narrator, the sea represents his desire for freedom. He believes escape is possible on the ocean, and that it can provide a place to remove himself from the confines of society and alleviate his mind from the grasp of depression and melancholy. What he finds on board the Pequod, however, is a highly organized and stratified system of a hierarchy and dictatorship ruled by Ahab. Starbuck’s only wish is to return home safely to his wife and children as quickly as possible. However, his goal is thwarted by the obsessive demands of the captain. In a way, the spirit-spout symbolizes the unfulfilled goals and dissatisfaction of the Pequod sailors, as a limitation of each ones’ perceived destiny or fate.
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The limitations of what they each perceive their fate to be does seem to direct the novel greatly. It directs their independent efforts, while also allowing for a sort of lackadaisical approach to life. Because many of the characters believe their fate is already set, it becomes easy to just allow things to happen, as opposed to being proactive in their striving for life. Ahab is not being pushed by his own instincts of right and wrong (he loses these notions throughout the course of the novel), but instead by what will get him closer to Moby Dick. In seeing the spout, the way each character makes sense of it is very telling and an interesting way to understand their belief in their personal fates.