When reading the opening of Moby Dick I was struck about how Melville explains one’s “need” for the ocean. Ishmael himself explains that “whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntary pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.” This long passage emphasizes the power that the ocean has over people. Melville even goes as far as to involve suicide; he does not need suicide for he has the sea!!
This idea has been seen many times already in the novels we have read; what is it about the sea that can be so healing or compelling? When pondering this question, I thought of a poem “maggie and milly and molly and may” by E.E. Cummings. The poem itself could be analyzed much deeper but the last couplet reminded me of this.
maggie and milly and molly and may
by E.E. Cummings
10
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea
The last lines signify the feeling that so many experience about the sea. The characters we have been dealing with are all so drawn to the sea. Everyone has that once place where they love to be by themselves when they need it, for me it is curled up on the couch, but for so many it is the sea! There must be a reason for this. It is almost as if these characters are caught in a constant rip tide….
Sorry, “cost” was supposed to be “cozy”. Can’t figure out how to edit now that I’ve posted a comment.
Good blog. The sea can mean different things to different people but it seems to allow folks to ponder, to relax, to “feel” nature more so than other places. You can see the sky (for example) but not really touch it. But the sea is a place you can feel, touch, smell and dive into! You can immerse yourself in it and that is what attracts me. Not many places can do that. And, it is so vast and so mysterious that you never know what you might find. What can be better than that? That said, I have three daughters and two would choose a cost couch as well!