Typee · Chapter
Introduction to the Edition of 1892 explained
This introduction provides a biographical overview of Herman Melville's early life, his decision to sail on the whaler Acushnet, and his eventual desertion in the Marquesas Islands, which led to the events of Typee.
What happens
This introduction provides a biographical overview of Herman Melville's early life, his decision to sail on the whaler Acushnet, and his eventual desertion in the Marquesas Islands, which led to the events of Typee. It discusses the publication history, critical reception, and the autobiographical nature of Melville's major works, including Typee, Omoo, Moby-Dick, and others. The introduction also addresses the restoration of previously omitted passages about missionaries, the authenticity of the character Toby (Richard T. Greene), and Melville's later literary decline.
Themes in this chapter
Colonialism and Its Effects
The introduction discusses Melville's critical passages about missionaries in the South Seas, which were restored in this edition, highlighting the impact of colonial and missionary activities.
Freedom and Captivity
Melville's decision to desert the ship due to the captain's bad treatment and his subsequent escape from the Typee Valley reflect themes of freedom versus captivity.
The Idealized Primitive
The introduction describes the 'inimitable pictures of aboriginal life in the Happy Valley' and the 'joyous children of nature,' portraying an idealized view of the Typee people.
Characters to notice
- Herman Melville
The author whose life and works are the subject of this introduction; his sailing on the Acushnet and desertion at the Marquesas are described.
- Toby
Authenticated as Richard T. Greene; his existence is confirmed, and he renewed his acquaintance with Melville after Typee's publication.
- Gansevoort Melville
Melville's older brother who sailed to England as secretary of legation and submitted the Typee manuscript to John Murray.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
Melville corresponded with Hawthorne, who praised the conception of the 'White Whale' in Moby-Dick.
- Fitz-James O'Brien
Wrote a severe but impartial article about Melville in Putnam's Monthly.
- Dr. Titus Munson Coan
Referred to Typee as an 'anxious paradise' in a quote used in the introduction.
- John Murray
Published Typee in 1846 after Gansevoort Melville submitted the manuscript.
Key passages
“If I shall ever deserve any real repute in that small but high hushed world which I might not be unreasonably ambitious of; if hereafter I shall do anything that on the whole a man might rather have done than to have left undone … then here I prospectively ascribe all the honour and the glory to whaling; for a whaleship was my Yale College and my Harvard.”
Melville credits his whaling experience as the foundation of his literary success, comparing the whaleship to an Ivy League education.
This quote from Moby-Dick is used in the introduction to emphasize the formative role of whaling in Melville's career.
“anxious paradise”
A term used by Dr. T. M. Coan to describe the Typee Valley, highlighting the tension between its idyllic appearance and the narrator's anxiety.
The introduction uses this phrase to characterize Melville's experience in the Typee Valley.