Thursday, 4 November: Melville, Billy Budd (complete; through page 2714)

Reader: Linsey Allnatt

Objective 2:

To study the movement of "Romanticism," the narrative genre of "romance," and the related styles of the "gothic" and "the sublime."

Melville uses gothic technique throughout Billy Budd by using dark and light / black and white descriptions of characters and places.  Most of the gothic devices used are in reference to the characters and their appearance, but there are other examples of the gothic that are minor and rather sprinkled throughout the text.  It is evident, however, that the gothic influenced the author in both areas.

The contrast of Billy and Claggart is probably the most obvious way that Melville uses the gothic.  As we have discussed, Billy is essentially the light, innocent character and Claggart is his darker, evil counterpart.

As Corrie Lawrence from the class last spring referred to, and Jessica mentioned last week, in Claggart, there is a “hint of something abnormal or defective in the constitution of his blood” (2671) and a suggested foreign birth indicated by his slight accent.  He is also characterized as having a “mania of an evil nature” (2678).  This in addition to his dark hair and enigmatic persona qualifies him as a gothic character.

The same presentation also noted that Billy was “welkin eyed” (2678) and considered a peacemaker amongst the crew, both light, innocent attributes.  His fair, innocent qualities further position him as the Claggart’s opposite.

Together they are the light and dark that make up the gothic color scheme.  The blonde haired, seemingly pureblooded character vs. the dark haired, presumably mixed-blooded character pairing is as we have seen before in Mohicans, etc.

Could Captain Vere be a little of both dark and light as indicated by his gray eyes and action throughout the story? 

One scene where the gothic is present is in Billy’s meeting with the stranger.  The place where they meet is an area that was so secluded that another sailor was able to pray there during the daytime without interruption (2682), and the stranger or “mysterious emissary” disappeared into the shadows after their meeting.  Both the darkness of their meeting place and the darkness into which the stranger flees are gothic in nature.

My favorite gothic moment of the story is where Billy is informed of Claggart’s accusations against him. 

Not at first did Billy take it in.  When he did, the rose-tan of his cheek looked struck as by white leprosy.  He stood like one impaled and gagged.  Meanwhile the accuser’s eyes, removing not as yet from the blue dilated ones, underwent a phenomenal change, their wonted rich violet color blurring into a muddy purple.  Those lights of human intelligence, losing human expression, were gelidly protruding like the alien eyes of certain uncatalogued creatures of the deep (2692).

The whiteness of his skin, the stance he took, and the way Claggart’s eyes looked as they watched Billy’s reaction are all “gothic” in the way they are described.  This passage makes the scene mentioned seem macabre and mysterious.

Which other scenes or moments stand out as gothic?  

What is the impact of this technique in the story?

Summary:  Though it is primarily seen in the characters, the gothic does appear at various other instances throughout the story.  When it is seen in Billy and Claggart, it gives more information about their personalities, and, in a sense, foreshadows what they might do or are capable of doing.