This section will discuss how the Essex impacted maritime literature and culture, specifically through the writing of the classic novel Moby Dick in 1851. The section will compare the real with the fictional, highlighting how Herman Melville harnessed real life traumas and created such a cornerstone of American and maritime literature, and the impact this had on the development of maritime culture.
Owen Chase’s Narrative
Just four months after his return to Nantucket, the Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-ship Essex of Nantucket was published in New York. This narrative, written by first mate Owen Chase, was the first primary recollection of the events of the Essex, and was thought to be the only one until the discovery of Thomas Nickerson’s account in 1960 titled The Loss of the Ship “Essex”. Despite the narrative’s success across America, Chase became socially distanced from the Nantucket community, as he was the one who first published the story and the horrors that came with it to a wider audience, while many Nantucketers would’ve preferred to let the events fade out of memory as generations passed1.
Herman Melville and Moby Dick
Chase’s recollection eventually reached the hands of Herman Melville, who combined the story of the Essex as well as his own maritime experience in order to write the novel Moby Dick. Published in 1851, Moby Dick was initially met with mixed reviews, with critics often saying that it was simply an adventure tale that often went on unnecessary tangents about life at sea, and they were generally apathetic in their analysis. This sense of apathy presented itself in the sales as well, as although the first American printing of the book was only between 3,000 and 4,000 copies, within three years it had still not sold out. Melville never lived to see his work reach the success that it has today, as it was only rediscovered and reanalyzed near the centenary of his birth in 1919, almost 30 years after his death. Despite an overall strangeness, the themes, characters, and plot allow for meaningful analysis and discussion, and the public quickly began to recognize the depth of the story beyond just an adventure tale, but rather as the great work of American literature we know it as today2.
Melville’s Meeting With George Pollard
Although publication for the book occured in 1851, Melville first visited Nantucket in 1852. During this trip, he met with Essex captain George Pollard and although many call this a long and official inteview, it was likely only a very brief exchange of words. Although the story had already been produced and the information was gathered from Chase’s narrative as well as personal experience, Melville still believed that Pollard was “the most impressive man, tho’ wholly unassuming, even humble – that I have ever encountered.” Melville would reference Pollard in his 1876 poem Clarel4.
“Never he smiled;
Call him, and he would come; not sour
In spirit, but meek and reconciled;
Patient he was, he none withstood;
Oft on some secret thing would brood.”
Moby Dick compared to the Essex
While Moby Dick is largely driven by Captain Ahab and his want for revenge against the whale that bit off his leg, the Essex tells a story of a whaling voyage gone catastrophically wrong, in which man is subject to the raw power of nature. Both stories share the same antagonist, a large sperm whale that destroys their ship and causes chaos to the crew. Moby Dick ends with Ishmael as the lone survivor as he is rescued by the ship Rachel, also looking for lost members of their crew. In reality, the story is a lot more gruesome, as after the whale attack the survivors are forced to hold out for months rather than hours, devolving into a tale of starvation and cannibalism that Melville understandably did not include in his work, instead choosing to focus on the more broad processes of whaling and maritime life.
In the Heart of the Sea
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex is a non-fiction piece written by Nathaniel Philbrick that was published in 2000. The story combines the accounts of Owen Chase and Thomas Nickerson in order to present the story in a way that is true and accessible in modern times. The book was adapted into a film of the same name that was released in December of 2015. Despite mixed reviews and grossing less money than the budget used to make it, the movie accurately portrays the harrowing experience of the Essex although some argue that it is a more action-focused narrative than reality.
Impact on Maritime History
Moby Dick provides an accessibility for knowledge of whaling that was not possible before, bringing whaling and overall maritime terms into the vocabulary of someone who lives on land. It loosens the previous disconnect that existed between land and sea, providing the opportunity for philosophy and inquiry for environments that people typically did not interact with at all. Moby Dick is more than one story, it provides detail and background about an entire community of work, and gives historical context to the events so that they can be learned about by anyone at any point in history. Its thoughtfulness sparks a want to dive deeper into maritime history, and the development of technology has allowed us to do that.
Footnotes
- Opinion of Nathanial Philbrick, as stated in an Interview conducted December 20th 2007 in Nantucket MA. ↩︎
- Wizevich, Eli. “Herman Melville’s Great American Novel, “Moby-Dick,” Only Got Mixed Reviews When It First Hit Bookstores.” Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024 ↩︎
- Wikimedia Commons [[File:The Whale or Moby Dick Vol 1 1851.jpg|The_Whale_or_Moby_Dick_Vol_1_1851]] ↩︎
- Edwards, Mary K. Bercaw. “Herman Melville’s Visit to Nantucket.” Nantucket Historical Association, nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/herman-melville-visit/. ↩︎
- Wikimedia Commons [[File:Plaque, Capt Pollard house (Moby Dick), Nantucket, Massachusetts.jpg|Plaque,Capt_Pollard_house(Moby_Dick),_Nantucket,_Massachusetts]] ↩︎