Meaning: Legacy, roots, family, tradition (Labyrinthos)
Depiction: In a scene that predates the events of the book, Captain Gardiner, the captain of the Rachel, stands on the deck of his ship with one arm over the shoulder of each son, one 12, the other around 18. Ten doubloons decorate the side of the ship.
Text: Chapter 128 - The Pequod Meets the Rachel
But the captain, for some unknown constitutional reason, had refrained from mentioning all this, and not till forced to it by Ahab’s iciness did he allude to his one yet missing boy; a little lad, but twelve years old, whose father with the earnest but unmisgiving hardihood of a Nantucketer’s paternal love, had thus early sought to initiate him in the perils and wonders of a vocation almost immemorially the destiny of all his race.
 |
Comments: Other than Starbuck talking about his wife Mary and referencing Ahab's unnamed wife, this is the most notable chapter in which family ties comes up. It was only when I reread the chapter that I noticed that Captain Gardiner originally had two sons aboard with him, not just the one that was lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment