Summary
Ishmael dives deep into the psychology of whiteness and why it terrifies us. He starts by acknowledging that Moby Dick's unusual white color makes the whale even more frightening to sailors. But this isn't just about one whale - Ishmael explores why whiteness itself can be so unsettling across cultures and history. He points to white animals that inspire dread: polar bears, white sharks, albino humans who were once worshipped as gods or feared as demons. Even beautiful white things - marble statues, white horses, fresh snow - carry an edge of the supernatural or deathly. Ishmael argues that whiteness disturbs us because it represents the absence of color, like staring into a void. It's the color of ghosts, shrouds, and bones. When we see pure white in nature, our instincts scream that something is wrong. This matters because Moby Dick isn't just physically dangerous - his whiteness makes him psychologically terrifying to the crew. The whale becomes more than an animal; he becomes a blank canvas onto which sailors project their deepest fears. Ahab sees cosmic evil. Starbuck sees God's judgment. Others see death itself. Ishmael suggests that this is why white can symbolize both purity and terror - it's empty of meaning, so we fill it with whatever haunts us. The chapter reveals how Moby Dick operates on a primal level, triggering fears that go beyond rational thought. This helps explain why even experienced whalers are unnerved by this particular whale, and why Ahab's obsession runs so deep.
Coming Up in Chapter 43
Ishmael hears a disturbing sound from the forecastle at midnight. The harpooneers are up to something strange, and what he discovers will reveal new depths to his shipmates' beliefs and fears.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The Whiteness of the Whale. What the white whale was to Ahab, has been hinted; what, at times, he was to me, as yet remains unsaid. Aside from those more obvious considerations touching Moby Dick, which could not but occasionally awaken in any man’s soul some alarm, there was another thought, or rather vague, nameless horror concerning him, which at times by its intensity completely overpowered all the rest; and yet so mystical and well nigh ineffable was it, that I almost despair of putting it in a comprehensible form. It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me. But how can I hope to explain myself here; and yet, in some dim, random way, explain myself I must, else all these chapters might be naught. Though in many natural objects, whiteness refiningly enhances beauty, as if imparting some special virtue of its own, as in marbles, japonicas, and pearls; and though various nations have in some way recognised a certain royal preeminence in this hue; even the barbaric, grand old kings of Pegu placing the title “Lord of the White Elephants” above all their other magniloquent ascriptions of dominion; and the modern kings of Siam unfurling the same snow-white quadruped in the royal standard; and the Hanoverian flag bearing the one figure of a snow-white charger; and the great Austrian Empire, Cæsarian, heir to overlording Rome, having for the imperial colour the same imperial hue; and though this pre-eminence in it applies to the human race itself, giving the white man ideal mastership over every dusky tribe; and though, besides, all this, whiteness has been even made significant of gladness, for among the Romans a white stone marked a joyful day; and though in other mortal sympathies and symbolizings, this same hue is made the emblem of many touching, noble things—the innocence of brides, the benignity of age; though among the Red Men of America the giving of the white belt of wampum was the deepest pledge of honor; though in many climes, whiteness typifies the majesty of Justice in the ermine of the Judge, and contributes to the daily state of kings and queens drawn by milk-white steeds; though even in the higher mysteries of the most august religions it has been made the symbol of the divine spotlessness and power; by the Persian fire worshippers, the white forked flame being held the holiest on the altar; and in the Greek mythologies, Great Jove himself being made incarnate in a snow-white bull; and though to the noble Iroquois, the midwinter sacrifice of the sacred White Dog was by far the holiest festival of their theology, that spotless, faithful creature being held the purest envoy they could send to the Great Spirit with the annual tidings of their own fidelity; and though directly from the Latin word for white, all Christian priests derive the name of one part of their sacred vesture, the alb or tunic, worn beneath the cassock; and though among the holy...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of the Blank Screen - When We Project Our Fears onto Empty Spaces
When faced with neutral or blank situations, humans project their deepest fears rather than tolerate uncertainty.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches you to recognize when you're filling blank spaces with fear rather than responding to actual threats.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone's silence makes you anxious - write down what you're imagining versus what you actually know.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Albino
A person or animal born without pigment, resulting in white skin/fur and pink eyes. In Melville's time, albinos were often feared or worshipped as supernatural beings. This fear of physical difference helps explain why Moby Dick's whiteness unsettles the crew.
Modern Usage:
We now understand albinism as a genetic condition, though unusual appearances still trigger unconscious reactions.
The Sublime
Something so vast or powerful it fills us with both awe and terror. Romantic writers loved this feeling - think standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Moby Dick's whiteness creates this sublime terror because it seems infinite and unknowable.
Modern Usage:
We seek sublime experiences in extreme sports, horror movies, or staring at space photos that make us feel tiny.
Shroud
The white cloth used to wrap dead bodies for burial. Ishmael connects whiteness to death through shrouds, making white the color of mortality. This association runs deep in Western culture and explains part of our unease with pure white.
Modern Usage:
We still use white in funeral flowers and associate pale skin with illness or death.
Polar Regions
The Arctic and Antarctic, which in 1851 were barely explored and terrified sailors. These endless white wastelands represented nature at its most alien and hostile. Melville uses them to show how whiteness signals environments where humans don't belong.
Modern Usage:
Antarctica remains our metaphor for isolation and survival against impossible odds.
Phantoms/Spectres
Ghosts or supernatural apparitions, traditionally depicted as white or pale. Ishmael argues that whiteness triggers our fear of ghosts because it looks like something drained of life. This primal association makes Moby Dick seem undead rather than just dangerous.
Modern Usage:
Horror movies still use pale makeup and white clothing to make characters seem ghostly or otherworldly.
Color Theory
The study of how colors affect our emotions and perceptions. Ishmael pioneering explores how white isn't really a color but the absence of color, making it a blank void. This emptiness is what makes it so psychologically unsettling.
Modern Usage:
Marketing and design professionals use color psychology to influence our feelings about products and spaces.
Characters in This Chapter
Ishmael
narrator-philosopher
Steps back from the action to analyze why whiteness terrifies humans across cultures. He transforms from storyteller to essayist, showing his education and depth of thought. This chapter reveals him as someone who needs to understand the psychology behind fear.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend who reads psychology articles to understand why their toxic ex affected them so deeply
Moby Dick
absent antagonist
Though not physically present, the whale haunts this chapter as Ishmael dissects what makes him so terrifying. His whiteness transforms him from animal to symbol, from physical threat to psychological nightmare. He becomes whatever each person fears most.
Modern Equivalent:
The layoff rumors that terrify an entire workplace before anything actually happens
Ahab
obsessed captain (referenced)
Mentioned as someone who sees cosmic evil in Moby Dick's whiteness. His interpretation reveals how personal trauma shapes what we see in blank spaces. His madness partly stems from reading too much meaning into whiteness.
Modern Equivalent:
The divorced dad who sees his ex's betrayal in every woman he meets
Starbuck
first mate (referenced)
Sees God's judgment in the white whale, contrasting with Ahab's vision of evil. This shows how the same whiteness can represent opposite things to different people. His religious interpretation reflects his moral nature.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworker who sees every setback as God testing their faith
Key Quotes & Analysis
"It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me."
Context: Opening the chapter by admitting his deepest fear about Moby Dick
Ishmael confesses that the physical danger of the whale bothers him less than its color. This sets up his exploration of psychological rather than physical terror. He's more afraid of what the whale represents than its teeth.
In Today's Words:
It wasn't that he could kill me that scared me - it was that blank, dead look in his eyes.
"This elusive quality it is, which causes the thought of whiteness, when divorced from more kindly associations, and coupled with any object terrible in itself, to heighten that terror to the furthest bounds."
Context: Explaining how whiteness amplifies our existing fears
Whiteness doesn't create fear but multiplies it. A regular bear is scary; a white bear seems supernatural. This multiplication effect explains why Moby Dick affects hardened sailors so deeply - he takes their normal fear of whales and makes it cosmic.
In Today's Words:
It's like how a clown is creepy, but a pale clown with white makeup is nightmare fuel.
"Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with the thought of annihilation?"
Context: Questioning whether whiteness reminds us of cosmic emptiness
Ishmael suggests whiteness terrifies because it represents the void - the nothingness we fear waits after death. Looking at pure white is like staring into space and realizing how small we are. This existential terror goes beyond physical fear.
In Today's Words:
Is it because that blankness reminds us that the universe doesn't care if we exist?
"The palsied universe lies before us a leper; and like wilful travellers in Lapland, who refuse to wear coloured glasses upon their eyes, so the wretched infidel gazes himself blind at the monumental white shroud that wraps all the prospect around him."
Context: Describing how confronting absolute whiteness can destroy sanity
Snow blindness becomes a metaphor for what happens when we stare too long at meaninglessness. Ahab has stared at the white whale until it burned away his sanity. The truth of cosmic indifference is too bright for human eyes.
In Today's Words:
It's like doomscrolling bad news until you can't function - sometimes reality is too harsh to face directly.
Thematic Threads
Fear
In This Chapter
Whiteness becomes a canvas for every sailor's personal terror
Development
Evolved from physical whale fears to psychological/spiritual dread
In Your Life:
Notice when you fill someone's silence or neutral expression with your worst assumptions
Perception
In This Chapter
The same white color means purity to some, death to others
Development
Builds on earlier themes of how perspective shapes reality
In Your Life:
Two coworkers can see the same new policy as either opportunity or threat
Power
In This Chapter
The whale gains power not from what it is, but what men imagine it to be
Development
Shifts from physical power (whale's size) to psychological dominance
In Your Life:
Sometimes people have power over you only because you've given it to them in your mind
Identity
In This Chapter
Each character reveals himself through what he projects onto the whale
Development
Deepens from external identity (job roles) to internal psychology
In Your Life:
What you fear most in others often reveals what you fear in yourself
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Ishmael spend a whole chapter talking about the color white? What examples does he give of white things that scare people?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Melville argue that whiteness is more terrifying than blackness or any other color? What makes a blank, colorless thing scarier than something obviously dangerous?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about your workplace or neighborhood. Where do you see people projecting their fears onto 'blank screens' - situations or people they don't understand?
application • medium - 4
Your new supervisor barely speaks and gives neutral responses to everything. Half your coworkers think she's planning layoffs, the other half think she's incompetent. How would you navigate this situation without falling into the projection trap?
application • deep - 5
Why do humans prefer to imagine monsters rather than admit we don't know something? What does this reveal about how our survival instincts work in modern life?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Blank Screens
List three 'blank screen' situations in your life right now - people or situations giving you no clear signals. For each one, write what fear you're projecting onto that blankness. Then write one concrete question you could ask or action you could take to get real information instead of living with the projection.
Consider:
- •Notice if your projected fears say more about your past experiences than the current situation
- •Consider how exhausting it is to constantly fill blanks with worst-case scenarios
- •Think about times you've been the 'blank screen' that others projected onto
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when someone completely misread your silence or neutral behavior. What were they projecting? How did it affect your relationship?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 43
What lies ahead teaches us key events and character development in this chapter, and shows us thematic elements and literary techniques. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.