Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor
Melville as a sailor expressed his fascination for astronomy, ephemerides and their creative potential, which is evidenced in the metaphorical setting that structures the whole argument of Mardi ’s confusing world. Indeed, the hero sails on the orbit of stars. Melville had read many “travels to the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Miranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/47468 |
| _version_ | 1828730236026486784 |
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| author | Odile Gannier |
| author_facet | Odile Gannier |
| author_sort | Odile Gannier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melville as a sailor expressed his fascination for astronomy, ephemerides and their creative potential, which is evidenced in the metaphorical setting that structures the whole argument of Mardi ’s confusing world. Indeed, the hero sails on the orbit of stars. Melville had read many “travels to the moon,” and his novel might be directly inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac, Kepler or Godwin. Moreover, at the time he was writing his Polynesian novels, Melville could not ignore astronomical topics such as the passage of Halley’s comet. Its name is the nearly perfect palindrome of Yillah, which imparts a major metaphorical and celestial dimension to the topography of Mardi and its rings of islands. Instead of being a travelogue-satire, the entire novel operates as an astronomical metaphor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:27:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25624e0f45594a45980418e72994afc4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2108-6559 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:27:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Miranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone |
| spelling | doaj.art-25624e0f45594a45980418e72994afc42022-12-22T03:23:14ZengUniversité Toulouse - Jean JaurèsMiranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone2108-65592022-10-012610.4000/miranda.47468Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical MetaphorOdile GannierMelville as a sailor expressed his fascination for astronomy, ephemerides and their creative potential, which is evidenced in the metaphorical setting that structures the whole argument of Mardi ’s confusing world. Indeed, the hero sails on the orbit of stars. Melville had read many “travels to the moon,” and his novel might be directly inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac, Kepler or Godwin. Moreover, at the time he was writing his Polynesian novels, Melville could not ignore astronomical topics such as the passage of Halley’s comet. Its name is the nearly perfect palindrome of Yillah, which imparts a major metaphorical and celestial dimension to the topography of Mardi and its rings of islands. Instead of being a travelogue-satire, the entire novel operates as an astronomical metaphor.http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/47468MardiastronomyHalley’s cometmetaphororbittrip to the moon |
| spellingShingle | Odile Gannier Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor Miranda: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone Mardi astronomy Halley’s comet metaphor orbit trip to the moon |
| title | Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor |
| title_full | Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor |
| title_fullStr | Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor |
| title_short | Ephemeris and Celestial Navigation. Melville’s Mardi as Astronomical Metaphor |
| title_sort | ephemeris and celestial navigation melville s mardi as astronomical metaphor |
| topic | Mardi astronomy Halley’s comet metaphor orbit trip to the moon |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/miranda/47468 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT odilegannier ephemerisandcelestialnavigationmelvillesmardiasastronomicalmetaphor |