Typee · Chapter
Chapter XVIII explained
The narrator enjoys improved health and peace of mind, taking pleasure in swimming with the valley girls and launching a canoe on the lake.
What happens
The narrator enjoys improved health and peace of mind, taking pleasure in swimming with the valley girls and launching a canoe on the lake. The taboo prohibits women from entering the canoe, but after consulting Mehevi, the narrator secures an exemption for Fayaway. They enjoy a idyllic excursion, during which Fayaway uses her tappa as a sail. The narrator makes her a dress from calico. Later, a handsome stranger named Marnoo arrives, causing great excitement.
Themes in this chapter
Taboo and Social Order
The narrator challenges the taboo prohibiting women from canoes, leading to a rare dispensation for Fayaway, highlighting the flexibility and negotiation within the social order.
Gender Roles and Sexuality
The episode underscores gender restrictions in Typee society, as women are barred from canoes, and the narrator's intervention promotes a more gallant treatment of women.
The Idealized Primitive
The narrator's idyllic description of the lake, Fayaway's beauty, and the harmonious scene reflect a romanticized view of island life.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
Enjoys improved health, swims with the girls, negotiates with Mehevi to lift the taboo for Fayaway, and makes her a dress.
- Fayaway
Gains exemption from the taboo, uses her tappa as a sail during a canoe ride, and receives a calico dress from the narrator.
- Kory-Kory
Faithful servant who carries the narrator, paddles the canoe, and is horrified at the idea of Fayaway entering the canoe.
- Mehevi
Chief consulted about the taboo; he gives a long explanation but eventually procures Fayaway's dispensation.
- Marheyo
Rushes in excitedly to announce the arrival of Marnoo.
- Marnoo
A strikingly handsome young stranger who arrives in the valley, causing a great commotion.
Key passages
“I consulted the chief Mehevi, who endeavoured to dissuade me from my object; but I was not to be repulsed; and accordingly increased the warmth of my solicitations.”
The narrator asks Mehevi for permission to let Fayaway use the canoe; Mehevi tries to talk him out of it, but the narrator persists.
Shows the narrator's determination to challenge the taboo.
“With a wild exclamation of delight, she disengaged from her person the ample robe of tappa which was knotted over her shoulder (for the purpose of shielding her from the sun), and spreading it out like a sail, stood erect with upraised arms in the head of the canoe.”
Fayaway joyfully removes her tappa robe and holds it up as a sail while standing in the canoe.
A memorable and picturesque moment symbolizing freedom and the blending of cultures.
“The stranger could not have been more than twenty-five years of age, and was a little above the ordinary height; had he been a single hair's breadth taller, the matchless symmetry of his form would have been destroyed.”
Marnoo is described as a perfectly proportioned young man, just over average height.
Highlights the narrator's admiration for Marnoo's physical beauty.