August 17, 2019 - Chapters One Hundred Eighteen and One Hundred Nineteen

In these two chapters, the final act of the novel begins. At 500 pages in and almost 120 chapters, it’s about time. As the ship prepares the cross the equator, a hurricane comes and lighting casts the masts of the ship on fire. Addressing the fire, Ahab says, “Oh! thou clear spirit of clear fire, whom on these seas I as Persian once did worship.”

What’s curious about this line is that his companion Fedallah is there; Fedallah is a Parsi – a word that means “Persian” but that means Zoroastrian. In the Zoroastrian faith, fire is considered a holy purifier; thus, in some sense, it is fitting that these lines are uttered. What’s odd is that it is Ahab that utters them, and not Fedallah. Could it be that Ahab has learned the lines from Fedallah? It’s clear Ahab was not himself a Zoroastrian, at least when he grew up, since he speaks like a Quaker. Is there an aspect of Ahab’s past and/or his relationship with Fedallah that we have yet to learn?