Chapter 41 Summary

Ishmael talks about his experience with whales. He states that in recent times attacks by whales have increased, and superstitious sailors regard these attacks as deliberate, perhaps even supernatural. Legends have sprung about the white whale Moby Dick whose unusual color and pyramid-shaped hump make him uniquely identifiable. He has evaded capture numerous times, and rumors circulate about how he can be at several places at the same time, proving his remarkable speed. Some believe that the whale is immortal. When Moby Dick ripped off Ahab’s leg, the captain had no access to adequate medical care on the ship, and Ishmael imagines the horror of his suffering, which must have led to his single-minded goal of capturing his tormentor.

Chapter 42 Summary

Ishmael admits that the color of Moby Dick is what makes him the most uncomfortable. White is a color associated with virtue, and when something so pure is attached to something so vicious, like the polar bear or shark, it becomes all the more terrifying. Even in humans, an albino is loathed. Ishmael theorizes that everything in nature is tinged with some color, and the absence of any color in Moby Dick makes him “loathsome,” something which cannot be seen or understood by men.

Chapter 43 Summary

This short dramatic chapter has two sailors talking to each other while on the watch. One mentions that he thinks he has heard a human’s voice from the hold (which is where the ship’s cargo is stowed). The other sailor laughs at the idea. The first sailor then recalls that he overheard Stubb telling Flask one morning about secret passengers on board. While no has been seen on deck, the sailor thinks that Captain Ahab is aware of this.

Chapter 44 Summary

Ismael describes how Captain Ahab pores over his sea charts, trying to locate Moby Dick. The captain believes that the whale can be tracked through its feeding patterns. Ahab’s persistent anguish is evident—he would have bloody palms from sleeping all night with clenched fists or his frequent fits of near-mad shrieking in the middle of a dream. Ishmael speculates that these bursts of madness are a result of his soul—or whatever is left of it—trying to escape his body.

Chapter 45 Summary

Digressing from the narrative, Ishmael states that people might find it hard to believe what he has described so far. People on the land are often “ignorant” about the whale and might consider this story as a fable or a monstrous allegory. Hence, he proceeds to share some evidence from his own experience. He gives several examples of whales escaping a harpooner’s attack and the same marked whale being confronted by the same harpooner years later. Then there are whales who are deeply feared among sailors, enjoying “great individual celebrity,” and are respectfully named “Caesar” or “Cambyses.” He further tells stories of how some whales seem to attack ships deliberately.

Chapter 46 Summary

Though Ahab has revealed his true purpose behind this voyage, he nevertheless is on the lookout for other sperm whales. Ishmael explains that if Ahab is bent on seeking one particular whale for his personal motivations, he might face legal consequences for usurping money as the Pequod’s motive is profit, and not revenge. So he keeps pursuing other whales in an ostensible appearance of doing his job. Ishmael also notes that while the crew is captivated by the captain’s charisma, in the end, it is profits that will retain their loyalty toward their captain.

Chapter 47 Summary

When the ship is not on the whale hunt, a quiet, dream-like atmosphere hangs in the air. Ishmael and Queequeg spend some time weaving a sword-mat. Ishmael describes the methodical nature of this activity but is jolted out of his reverie as Tashtego sights a whale. Everybody gets busy preparing for the hunt. Just as the men are about to leave in the harpoon boats, “five dusky phantoms” emerge around Ahab.

Chapters 41–47 Analysis

Chapters 41 and 42 attest to the gravity of whale hunting, and in particular, the hunt for Moby Dick. Melville describes the whale as not only dangerous but nearly supernatural and ghostly. The whale symbolizes Ahab’s hatred and, in extension, the rage of humanity. This redefines the quest against the whale for Ahab comes to represent humanity’s attempts to fight against its own worst impulses. Rumors of Moby Dick’s uniquity and immortality are born of sailors’ superstition where they project their fear of mortality or malignant forces on something external. Though Ishmael notes the inherent absurdity of this projection, his remark that other cultures have presumed the existence of malignant forces in the world suggests that Ahab’s belief in an intelligent and malignant presence lurking behind creation is not inherently incorrect.

Chapter 45 details Ishmael’s knowledge about whaling facts. He assembles a mass of empirical observations about whales and whaling and systematizes it, modifying the work of previous naturalists and leaving behind an account that could be modified by scientists after his time. He argues that he is providing all these facts so that his story of Moby Dick cannot be interpreted as an allegory; however, this is ironic as the reader knows that the story is purely fictional and has already witnessed his frequent propensity to introduce an allegorical or metaphorical aspect into almost everything that he describes.