Melville's Final Stage, Irony: A Re-Examination of Billy Budd Criticism
Author(s): Joseph Schiffman
Source: American Literature, Vol. 22, No. 2 (May, 1950), pp. 128-136
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2921745
Accessed: 21/10/2010 08:17
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=duke.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Duke University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American
Literature.
http://www.jstor.org
MELVILLE'S FINAL STAGE, IRONY:
A RE-EXAMINATION OF
BILLY BUDD CRITICISM
T
JOSEPH SCHIFFMAN
Long Island University
HE AGED Melville,liketheDanskerof BillyBudd,"never
in aught and nevergives advice." Melvillewrote
interferes
moral pronounceBilly Budd, his last work,withoutinterjecting
ments;forthisreasonthestoryis usuallytakenas Melville's"Testamentof acceptance,"or, in the latestand mostextendedcriticism,
as Melville's"Recognitionof necessity."Most critics,by mistaking
formforcontent,have missedthe main importanceof BillyBudd.
Actually,Melville's latest tale shows no radical change in his
thought. Change lies in his style. Billy Budd is a tale of irony,
penned by a writerwho preferred
allegoryand satireto straight
narrative,
and who, late in life,turnedto ironyforhis finalattack
upon evil.'
BillyBudd is a simple,naivesailorremovedfromthe merchant
ship Rights-of-Man
and impressedinto servicein His Majesty's
Navy to fightthe Frenchrevolutionists
in the year I797. Aboard
H.M.S. Indomitable,he unhappilyfindshimselfthe objectof unof the ship.
reasoninghatredby JohnClaggart,Master-at-Arms
ClaggartdenouncesBilly to Captain Vere as a mutineer. Vere,
offersBillythe opportunity
to
aware thatthe chargeis groundless,
in
face Claggartand make effective
reply. But Billy,who stutters
momentsof stress,cannot summonhis speech organs to his defense. Exasperatedin his inabilityto refutethe lie, Billy strikes
of thedead
Claggart,who fallsdead. CaptainVere,contemptuous
1 The presentwriterowes his thanksto Professor
Gay WilsonAllen forfirstsuggesting
thatBilly Budd mightbest be understoodas a work of irony.
F. BarronFreeman,in his long criticalintroduction
to his own editionof BillyBudd,
comes close to recognizingthe vital role of ironyin the tale when he observes:"outward
events become submergedin inward delineationsand sometimesmake the impatient
readerwish for more definitestatements,
more tangibleproof,that what the personages
and the tale seem to implyis what Melvilleintended." See F. BarronFreeman,Mklt'ille's
Billy Buidd(Cambridge,Mass., 1948), p. 51. Freemangives a good deal of evidenceof
ironyin Billy Btdd, but he twistsit into conformity
with "the Christiandoctrineof
resignation." His interpretation
will be discussedlater in this paper. Quotationsfrom
Billy Budd are fromthe Freemantext.
Melville'sFinal Stage, Irony
129
bodyof Claggart,exclaims,"Struckdead by an angel of God. Yet
and the
the angel musthang!" For thisis a timeof revolutions,
English Navy has been rackedwith rebellion;an empiremay be
lost. Disciplinemustbe maintained."Forms,measuredforms"are
all. And so, Billy Budd, morallyinnocent,mustdie for striking
ofHis Majesty'sNavy. Billy,beforegoing
and killinga pettyofficer
to his death,shoutsaft,"God bless Captain Vere," honoringthe
authorof his fate.
Billy'slast words,"God bless Captain Vere," have been taken
by almostall criticsto be Melville'slastwords,wordsof accommohis last whispered"acceptance"of the realities
dation,resignation,
of life. Mumford,for example,says: "At last he [Melville] was
... As
reconciled... [he found]theultimatepeace ofresignation.
Melville'sown end approached,he cried out with Billy Budd:
God blessCaptainVere"!2
The disillusionedof the world toastedMelville as a long-unfamily. Here indeedwas a
claimedmemberof theirheartbroken
prize recruit-Melville,the rebelwho had questioned"the inalienthe righteousness
the dogmasof democracy,
able rightto property,
wars and Christianmissions. . . [who] dared to disof imperialist
subjectsas cannicussin a voicelouderthana whispersuchhorrific
balism,venerealdiseaseand polygamy. . "3 had, in the ripe wisdom of old age, uttered"God blessCaptainVere,"therebyaccepting authority.A prize catchindeed,if it were reallyso!
E. L. GrantWatsontipshis hat to the Melvilleof Billy Budd:
Melville[he says] is no longera rebel. It shouldbe notedthat
of
anyelement
provocation,
BillyBuddhas not,evenundertheseverest
rebellion
in him;he is toofreea soul[thismanwiththeropearoundhis
neck] to need a quality which is a virtue only in slaves. ..
.
BillyBudd is
philosophy
marked
bythissupremequalityof acceptance.... [Melville's]
4
to ... acceptance....
in it hasgrownfromthatofrebellion
Watson's bias towards a philosophyof acceptanceis clear; he
of his own dogma.
searchesin Melvillefor confirmation
CharlesWeir,Jr.,makesmuchof the"God BlessCaptainVere"
2 Lewis Mumford,
Melville (New
Hermnan
York, I929),
p. 357.
Selections
a From Willard Thorp's Introductionto Herman Melville, Representative
(New York, 1938),
p. xcvii.
'E. L. GrantWatson,"Melville'sTestamentof Acceptance,"New England Quarterly,
VI, 319-327 (June,I933) (italics mine).
Literature
MAmerican
I30
scene,acceptingit at face value. He says: "The paradoxhas been
established:injustice [the hanging of Billy] may find its place
withinthe patternof a largerall-embracing
divinerighteousness."5
What thisall-embracing
divinerighteousness
maybe is notspecified.
Is Vere God? Or is he, as he himselfveryclearlysetsforth,the
agentof the King? If the latter,thenBillyis theunhappypawn
aristocratic
in a game he neverunderstood,
England versusdemocraticFrance.
Both Watson and Weir warn the readerthatMelvillemustbe
plumbedand probedif he is to surrender
his secrets.Watsonsays,
"The critic'sfunctionis ratherto hintat whatlies beneath-hidden,
sometimes,under the surface."6 Weir warns that, "in writing
BillyBudd Melvillehad a deeperintentthanthatof simplytelling
a story."7And yetWatson and Weir ignoretheirown good advice, for in propoundingtheirtheoryof Melville's"acceptance,"
theydo not probebeneathBilly'slast words. They accept"God
bless Captain Vere" as the denouementof the tale, its finaljudgment,as the ripe wisdomof a tiredMelvillecome to termswith
.8
These critics,it seems to me, committhreebasic mistakesin
theirattemptat diviningMelville'sfinal momentsof thoughtin
his story. First,theydivorceBillyBudd fromall of Melville'sother
worksin the way that a man mightsearchfor rootsin treetops.
Second,theyisolateMelvillefromtheGildedAge,thetimein which
they
MelvilleproducedBilly Budd.9 Third,and mostimportant,
acceptat facevalue thewords"God blessCaptainVere,"'forgetting
that Melville is always somethingotherthan obvious. It is the
purposeof this paper to examineMelville'sfinalwork along the
linessuggested.
Littleis knownof Melville'slastdays,and thisshouldbe recogof
'Charles Weir,Jr.,"Malice Reconciled:A Note on Melville'sBillyBudd," University
XIII, 276-285 (April, 1944).
TorontoQuarterly,
6 Watson,op. cit.,p. 32I. Weir, op. at., p. 280.
8 The fullesttreatment
of the theoryof Melville's "acceptance"can be found in
William Ellery Sedgwick,Herman Melville: The Tragedy of Mind (Cambridge,Mass.,
ThorpagreeswithSedgwick.He says:"Withgood reason,Billy
1945), pp. 231-249.
(LiteraryHistoryof the
of acceptance...'"
Budd has been called 'Melville'stestament
UnitedStates,New York, I948, I, 469).
'F. 0. Matthiessenis the only criticto my knowledgewho has attemptedto place
Melvillein the contextof the Gilded Age, that mostdisastrousof periodsfor the serious
AmericanRenaissance(New York, I946), pp. 513-514.
Americanwriter. See Matthiessen,
Melville'sFinal Stage, Irony
I31
nized as a handicap for those who wish to prove the theoryof
Melville's"acceptance"as well as for those who may hold contrastingviews. But the few scrapsthat do remainof Melville's
Jaterlife point to an unchangedMelville,the same Melville of
Moby-Dickand Pierre."0 Mumfordreportsthat in I871 Melville
studiedSpinoza,markinga passagewhich read: "'Happiness
consistsin a man's being able to maintainhis own being...
"[This] described[MelMumfordgoes on to observesignificantly:
age, his being would have
ville's] own effort.In a more fruitful
been maintainedin harmonywith,not in oppositionto, the community;but at all eventshis vitaldutywas to maintainit."1" This
from
is an unchangedMelville. Anotherscrap of information,
a letterto a Britishfan,indicatesMelville'scriticalframeof mind
in I885. To JamesBillsonhe wrote:"It musthaveoccurredto you,
as it has to me, thatthe further
our civilizationadvancesupon its
presentlines,so muchthecheapersortof thingdoes 'fame'become,
sort."12
especiallyof theliterary
These lines,writtenjust threeyearsbeforehe beganBillyBudd,
sound remarkablylike the Melville who more than thirtyyears
beforehad said of Pierre:"The brightest
success,now seemedintolsuccesscould
erabletohim,sincehe so plainlysaw,thatthebrightest
of Merit; but of Meritforthe one thounot be the sole offspring
combiningand dovesandthpart,and ninehundredand ninety-nine
for
the
rest....t13
accidents
tailing
in discussingtheagingMelvilleand his BillyBudd,
Matthiessen,
of theGilded Age on thethinking
significantly
speaksof theeffects
of Americanwriters.He refersto JohnJayChapman's"protesting
against the conservativelegalisticdrynessthat characterizedour
educatedclass,"and HenryAdams,who "knewthatit [theeducated
class] tendedtoo much towardsthe analyticmind,thatit lacked
of an educatedman charjuices."14Vere answersthe description
acterizedby legalisticdryness.
10 Freemansays of the aged Melville: "He was not embittered.He was polite,old,
his works. He was still writingthem"
and busy. He had not forgotten
independent,
(op. cit.,p. I ) .
" Mumford,op. cit., p. 344. Despite this observation,
Mumford,too, believesthat
Melville'spost-CivilWar days were "chastened"and "subdued" (p. 325).
(Aug. 13, 1921)
XXIX, 712-713
Letters,"
Nation and Athenerum,
12 "SomeMelville
(italicsmine).
" Pierre (NewvYork, 1930), p. 377.
14Matthiessen, op. cit.,p. 514.
132
AmericanLiterature
Melvillian."5It is
BillyBudd is typically
In almostall respects,
a sea story,Melville'sfavoritegenre. It deals with rebellion. It
in thiscase impressment.It is richin hishas reference
to reforms,
torical background,and concernsordinaryseamen. All those
Melville.
featuresof BillyBudd bear the stampof the youthful
from
respect,however,BillyBudd is different
In one important
almost all of Melville'sother stories. It is writtenwith a cool,
detachedpen, a seeminglyimpartialpen."6 This odd development
forMelvillehas had much to do with launchingthe "acceptance"
theory.
In his prefaceto Billy Budd, Melvillespeaksof the impactof
the French Revolutionupon the BritishNavy, and passes both
favorableand unfavorablejudgment as to its effects. But, in
oflife-Melville'sstrongspeakingof thesailorsand theirconditions
est interest-hesays:
Spiritthatat SpitcaughtfromtheRevolutionary
. . . it was something
mento riseagainstrealabuses....
theman-of-war's
heademboldened
naturally
the GreatMutiny[laterat Nore], thoughby Englishmen
gavethefirst
latentprompting
at thetime,doubtless
deemedmonstrous
in theBritish
reforms
Navy.
to mostimportant
Thus the sceneis set,and thoughMelvilleuses a cool pen,he is
the Melvilleof old; his heartstillbeatsquicklyforthemen in the
heat and sweatof the hold."7
The main characterof the piece,Billy Budd, is regardedjudiciouslybyMelville. He is "at leastin aspect"the"HandsomeSailor
. . . a superiorfigureof [his] own class [accepting]thespontaneous
homage of his shipmates. . . a nautical Murat" perhaps. He could
be "Ashore . . . the champion; afloat the spokesman; on every suit-
able occasionalwaysforemost."BillyBudd couldbe all thesethings,
but he failsactuallyto becomethem. Physicallyhe is well suited
in
forthe role,but he is foundwantingmentally. Unperceptive,
a
of
the
fault
tragic
suffering
of
naive,
extremely
authority,
fear
" Mumford,op. cit., p. 338, says: "Billy Budd contain[s] the earlierthemesof . . .
and resolved."
[Melville's] life, now transformed
" Melvillehad once beforeused a seeminglyimpartialpen. "BenitoCereno" is a tale
of irony.
17 It is instructive
to observe how Melville reworkedhis backgroundsource, The
Naval Historyof GreatBritain,by the Britishnaval historian,WilliamJames,into a desailorsat Spitheadand Nore (Freeman,op. cit., pp. 39-40).
fenseof the mutinying
Melville'sFinal Stage, Irony
I33
stammerin momentsof stress,Billy Budd cannot qualify as a
spokesman.Melvilleletsus know thisearlyin thestory,and keeps
Billyis nicknamed"Baby Budd,"
remindingus that"welkin-eyed"
and is "youngand tender"witha "lingeringadolescentexpression."
He is "a novice in the complexitiesof factiouslife," so simpleabout his place of birth,he
mindedthatwhen asked by an officer
replies, "Please, Sir, I don't know.
. .
. But I have heard that I
was foundin a prettysilk-linedbaskethangingone morningfrom
the knockerof a good man's door in Bristol." Melvillewarnsus
thatBilly Budd "is not presentedas a conventionalhero."
in manyrespects,
but
MelvilleregardsBillyfondly,admiringly
critically. He remindsus of Billy's limitationsthroughoutthe
tale,so when Billyuttersthosefamouswords,"God blessCaptain
Vere,"thereadershouldbe qualifiedto evaluatethosewordsin the
mouthof the speaker.
Billyis an ironicfigure,as is CaptainVere. Scholarly,retiring,
ill at ease withpeople,"Starry"Vere is in commandof a ship at
war. Painfullyaware of the evil in Claggart,and pronouncing
Billy'skillingof him the blow of an "angel," Vere nevertheless
forcesthroughthe death sentenceagainst Billy. A studentof
he ironicallyrulesout all inquiryinto the motivesfor
philosophy,
Billy'sact and insiststhat he be triedfor strikingand killinga
an approachthat can only resultin Billy'shanging
pettyofficer,
underthe naval code. At hearta kind man,Vere, strangeto say,
of
makes possiblethe depravedClaggart'swish-the destruction
As
irony?
not
Is
this
piercing
bless
Vere!"
"God
Captain
Billy.
innocentBillyuttersthesewords,does notthereadergag? The injusticeof Billy'shangingis heightenedby his ironicblessingof the
ironicVere.
Herein lies the literaryimportanceof the tale. The aged Melville had developeda new weapon in his lifelongfightagainst
injustice. CharlesR. Andersonput it verywell:
The earlierMelvillewouldhave railedagainstthe"evil"of sucha
ofVerebeingwill[thehangingofBilly],and the"inhumanity"
system
ing to serveas a vehicleof it....
This is the wonder,the thingthat
so littlealong
sinceMelvillediscovered
makesBillyBitdd significant,
AmericanLiterature
134
writer
thisline-thatironyis a subtlerand finerdeviceforthefiction
thanheadlongattackon socialabuses.'8
BillyBudd givesus added proofof Melville'sgreatcapacityfor
of a new tool had
growthas a writer. However,his development
in Melville criticism;many criticsmistook
its ironiccounterpart
Melville'sironyfora changein his thinking,ratherthan a richer
developmentin his craft.
F. Barron Freeman,rejectingthe "Testamentof acceptance"
the "Recognitionof necessity"theory. In
theory,has substituted
an intensivestudyof the aged Melville'sthought,Freemanfinds"a
and original
of earthlyimperfection
calm acceptanceof thenecessity
sin." In Billy,Freemansees a "Christianhero"practicingresignation and achievingfinal,heavenlyreward. To Freemanthe "imway in
portance. . . in thetale of BillyBudd lies in theoptimistic
whichit suggestsan acceptanceof Fate."'9
Thus it becomesclearthatFreeman's"Recognitionof necessity"
fromtheolder"Testamentof accepttheoryis not greatlydifferent
ance" theory. In both cases the rebelliousMelvilleends his days
"chastenedand subdued." Gone are the mad tossingsof the
Pequod, mooredare the homesicksoliloquiesof Starbuck,in ashes
are thebeautifulwild firesof the"hot old man,"Ahab. The aged
Melville became reconciled. To Watson,Weir, Mumford,Sedgwick,and Thorp,itwas achievedin bitterness.To Freemanit came
of traditional
religiousfaith. In finallyaphappilyin a rediscovery
and heavenly
proving"thereligiousconceptof earthlyimperfection
niche at the
goodness"the old sea dog had foundhis comfortable
a quitedifferent
ancestralhearth. But Melville'scomplextaleoffers
themeforanalysisas well.20
Andersonhad begun
"From his criticalcommentsupon readingthispaper. Professor
approachingthe ironyin Billy Buiddin his article,"The Genesisof Billy Btudd,"Amnerican Literatture,XII, 329-346 (Nov., 1940).
19
Freeman, op. Cit., pp.
II5-I24.
Since this paper was begun,one critichas attackedthe "Testamentof acceptance"
theory,while anotherhas attackedFreeman's"Recognitionof necessity"theory.Richard
moral statement
Chase says: ". . . it is my impressionthat Melvillemade his definitive
in Moby Dick, The ConfidenceMan, and Clarel, and that the moral situationin Billy
Budd is deeply equivocal." Sce his article,"Dissent on Billy Budd," PartisanReview,
AlfredKazin, discussingFreeman'sinterpretation,
XV,
I212-I2T8
(Nov., I948).
says:
"F. BarronFreeman . . . triesto blunt Melville'ssharp edge. . . . did Melville make
throughBilly's rapturousdeath an affirmation
of Christianbelief? . . . In 'Billy Budd,'
he [Melville] had obviouslyagreed to accept the whole mysterious
creationat last, with
the wearinessof an old man forwhom all questionsof justiceend in death. . . . But it
does not follow fromthis that he forgaveGod for just possiblynot existing." See his
review,"Ishmaelin His AcademicHeaven," New Yorker,Feb. 12, I949, 84-89.
20
Melville'sFinal Stage, Irony
135
of Billy'sascension"MelFreemansees in "thecalm description
ville'sconsideredjudgmentof "hope and triumphin death.... )21
Again,style,tone,and formare mistakenforcontent. For Billy's
triumphis not personal;it is social,and so of thisworld.
As Billystandson deckwiththeropearoundhis neck,"A meek
a diaphanousfleece
shylightappearedin theEast,wherestretched
of whitefurrowedvapor. That lightslowlywaxed... ." Aboutto
die, Billy,who could not conceiveof malice or ill will, offershis
to Vere. And herethemainpointof Melville's
humblebenediction
ironictale is revealed. The sailors,broughton deck to witnessthe
hanging,echo Billy'swords. "Withoutvolitionas it were, as if
indeedthe ship'spopulacewere the vehiclesof some vocal current
electric,with one voice fromalow to aloft,came a resonantsympatheticecho-'God blessCaptainVere.'" But thisis not intended
forVere,for:"yetat thatinstantBillyalonemusthavebeenin their
hearts,even as he was in theireyes." The men blessedBilly,not
Vere,withthewords"God blessCaptainVere." Thoughhangedas
forhis martyrdom.The
a criminal,Billyis lovinglyremembered
bluejacketskeep trackof the sparfromwhichBillywas suspended.
"Knowledge followedit fromship to dock-yardand again from
dock-yardto ship,stillpursuingit even when at last reducedto a
meredock-yardboom. To thema chip of it was as a piece of the
Cross." Billydies in helplessdefeatonly to becomeironicallyreincarnatedas a livingsymbolforall sailors.
And finallyBillyis immortalizedin a ballad composedby his
and
shipmates. It is a tenderballad, mournfuland affectionate,
of all sailorswith Billy.
singsof identification
21
. . . Throughtheportcomesthemoon-shine
astray!
... But 'twilldie in thedawningof Billy'slastday.
A jewel-block
they'llmakeof me to-mnorrowv,
I gavetoBristol
Molly... Liketheear-drop
willreachme thelastpartingcup;
... Sure,a messmate
Heavenknowswhowillhavetherunning
ofme up!
to standbytheplank;
ButDonaldhe haspromised
handereI sink.
So I'll shakea friendly
are you there?
... Sentry,
Justease thesedarbiesat thewrist,
And rollme overfair.
and theoozyweedsaboutme twist.
I am sleepy,
Freeman,
op. Cit., pp.
125-126.
136
American
Literature
Thus Billybecomes-underMelville'sironicpen-somethinghe
neverintendedbecoming:a symbolto all bluejacketsof theirhardship and camaraderie.He stammeredin life,but spokeclearlyin
death.
So ends Melville'slast book,with the sailorssinging"Billie in
theDarbies,"honoringhim as one of theirown. In thissongMelville sings to bewilderedWellingsboroughof Redburn; to Jack
Chase,theGreatHeart of White-jacket;
to Steelkiltof Moby-Dick,
to all the breathing,bleedingcharactershe ever put on paper.
In BillyBudd, Melvillepresentsa pictureof depravity
subduing
virtue,butnot silencingit. Billyis sacrificed,
buthis ballad-singing
matesseize upon this as a symbolof theirlives. They neveracceptednaturaldepravity
as victor,and.theylivedto see the end of
impressment.
Melvilleknew that. He wrotethestoryof mutiniesin the British Navy almosta full centuryaftertheytook place. He had the
tremendousadvantageof historicalperspective,
a fact almost all
criticshave overlooked. By i888 one could correctly
evaluatethe
eventsof i797. Melville could appreciatethe legacy of the impressedBilly Budds and theirmates: "the Great Mutiny,though
by Englishmennaturallydeemedmonstrousat the time,doubtless
gave the firstlatentpromptingto mostimportantreformsin the
BritishNavy."
Billy Budd, forciblyremovedfrom the ship Rights-of-Man,
helped bring the rightsof man to the seamen of His Majesty's
aboardH.M.S. In2domitable
made thispossible,
Navy. His shipmates
of seafaringmen who followed.
along with the generations