http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
The Prosthetic Arts of Moby-Dick examines how disability shapes one of the world's most iconic novels. For generations, readers have viewed Captain Ahab's whalebone leg as a symbol of what he lacks, the limb he lost fighting the white whale off the coast of Japan. David Haven Blake considers the artificial leg in a historical, medical and geopolitical context. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book situates Ahab's prosthesis at the center of the novel's reflections on wounding, embodiment and the role that Islamic cultures play in American narratives of revenge. Sawed from a sperm whale's jaw, Ahab's artificial leg helps him stand, walk and fight. But the prosthesis that marks him as different also creates the basis for his "irresistible dictatorship." Blake connects the novel's prosthetic arts with the use of Islamic imagery in 19th century America to characterize overwhelming power. He identifies the character Fedallah as the captain's most important prosthesis on ship, as the hair-turbaned soothsayer pilots the captain to his final battle with Moby Dick. Spanning each stage of Melville's career, The Prosthetic Arts of Moby-Dick meditates on democracy, aggrievement and the challenges of living in a global age.
Includes bibliographical references and index.