The queer space in Herman Melville’s first book Typee is primarily constructed around two recurring queer motifs: the erotic male body and the all-male loving couple. The sexual panic of the protagonist Tommo is manifested in his interactions with Typee males. His final escape from Typee island signals a surrender of his queer nature to his Christian spirit. The wretched end of Typee reveals Melville’s pessimistic view on being a queer—there is no possibility for queer relationships to sustain. By utilizing a queer discourse, Melville attacks the sexually repressive Western culture and expresses his concern about the destiny of the marginalized queers in his time. As a queer writer living in the 19th century America, Melville calls for a tolerant and humane society in which queer love can be valued and respected.
References
[1]
Dana, R. H. (1995). Two Years before the Mast. Raleigh, NC: Alex Catalogue.
[2]
Edwards, J. D. (1999). Melville’s Peep-Show: Sexual and Textual Cruises in Typee. Ariel, 30, 47-58. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268428347
[3]
Ellis, W. (1833). Polynesian Researches, During a Residence of Nearly Eight Years in the Society and Sandwich Islands. New York: J. & J. Harper.
[4]
Leyda, J. (1951). The Melville Log. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.
[5]
Martin, R. K. (1986). Hero, Captain, and Stranger: Male Friendship, Social Critique, and Literary Form in the Sea Novels of Herman Melville. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
[6]
Melville, H. (1968). Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life. H. Hayford, H. Parker, & G. Thomas Tanselle (Eds.). Evanston and Chicago: Northwestern UP and the Newberry Library.
[7]
Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage.
[8]
Suggs, R. C. (1966). Marquesan Sexual Behavior. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
[9]
Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.