Meaning: Sorrow, heartbreak, and pain
Depiction: Ahab at home having suffered a fall, lying on the floor, his ivory leg detached and piercing his groin. Three crossed lances are propped against the wall in the background.
Text: Chapter 106 - Ahab's Leg
For it had not been very long prior to the Pequod’s sailing from Nantucket, that he had been found one night lying prone upon the ground, and insensible; by some unknown, and seemingly inexplicable, unimaginable casualty, his ivory limb having been so violently displaced, that it had stake-wise smitten, and all but pierced his groin; nor was it without extreme difficulty that the agonizing wound was entirely cured.
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Comments: The miniseries with William Hurt actually shows this accident happening (minus the dramatic addition of detached leg piercing groin). It reminds us of how his injury physically affects him every day.
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