JOURNAL ARTICLE

Loss without Remedy: Moby-Dick and the Laws of Compensation.

  • Published In: PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 2023, v. 138, n. 1. P. 37 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Kirsch, Geoffrey R 3 of 3

Abstract

Reading Moby-Dick alongside the groundbreaking tort and accident jurisprudence of Melville's father-in-law, Massachusetts Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, reveals that the white whale's attack on Captain Ahab involves the same questions of risk, responsibility, and redress posed by nineteenth-century industrial accidents. More specifically, Ahab embodies the recrudescence of an earlier, revenge-based conception of justice that emerges in reaction to the pro-business jurisprudence of Shaw, in which industry was increasingly shielded from liability to its victims in cases of "pure accident"--precisely the possibility Ahab is fatally unable to accept. As narrator, Ishmael in turn augurs the rise of a new legal order that disavows the focus on blame and responsibility altogether. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 2023/01, Vol. 138, Issue 1, p37
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0030-8129
  • DOI:10.1632/S0030812922000906
  • Accession Number:162313147
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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