#yeah bildad and peleg you technically own the pequod but ahab is actually captaining it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

umarthiels · 1 year

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[...] Ahab was now entirely conscious that, in so doing, he had indirectly laid himself open to the unanswerable charge of usurpation; and with perfect impunity, both moral and legal, his crew if so disposed, and to that end competent, could refuse all further obedience to him, and even violently wrest from him the command. From even the barely hinted imputation of usurpation, and the possible consequences of such a suppressed impression gaining ground, Ahab must of course have been most anxious to protect himself.

LAW TIME!

this is so interesting to me bc it calls back to the fact that ahab doesn't actually own the pequod! he's captaining it and he does own a share in it, but the real owners are peleg and bildad, and on shore he's accountable to them. even though on the sea he is master of the ship, he still answers to the owners, and in derailing the voyage from "hunting whales and making money" to "hunting moby-dick specifically", he is usurping authority! he doesn't (well, in the sense of ownership, which will come up later) actually have the right to do this! and if the crew were to mutiny against him (say, if a certain mate who isn't keen on the quest and prioritizes the commercial interests of the voyage over ahab's goal convinced them), legally they'd be in the right to do it, and arguably it'd be their duty to do it. (nautical law side of tumblr do correct me if i'm wrong) (the idea of whether ahab actually has ultimate authority over the pequod comes up later and it's all very interesting!)

this is extra fun since ahab knows this and is genuinely nervous that the crew might rise up against him. right now starbuck stands alone, and even he gave way to peer pressure in the end! the entire crew is enthusiastic about the quest, but if that wanes and they start to consider it, ahab will be in genuine danger! he can't actually answer to the charge of usurpation, he undeniably did it (within the framework of ownership of the whaling industry ofc) which is something that isn't really obvious in pop culture perceptions of him, he's not just some dictator, he's pragmatic about things!

#whale weekly #ahab #moby dick #fr this is so interesting #and the callbacks to this in later chapters are so fascinating to me #esp in chapter 109 where it's most obvious #any people who know big water law do add onto this #like if ahab were any less charismatic and brilliant and pragmatic he mightve fallen prey to this but he DIDNT #and [REDACTED]#and that's something really interesting bc ishmael mentions how the incompetence/traits of the mates made them unable to stand up to ahab #and given that [REDACTED] iit's !!! to thinka bout ishmael recalling all of this after #also also the EVERYTHING abt ahab not actually owning the ship and being painfully conscious abt that #and how he reframes it in 109 #same energy as 'a king is he who can hold his own'#yeah thingol you say you own all beleriand but maedhros is actualy holding it #yeah bildad and peleg you technically own the pequod but ahab is actually captaining it #ALSO cannot believe i forgot to mention but something something means of production #ahab and the crew are doing the labor (and to be fair they do get shares) but they don't get the shares that the big stakeholders like pele #g and bildad do even though they're the ones doing the grueling labor

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