The Old Melville and the Sea: Ideas of Harbor in Melville's Literary Career

The aim of the essay is to analyze how the ambivalent image of the harbor—both the physical space of the port and the symbol of haven as a secluded place—develops in the last phase of Melville’s literary career, revolving on the tension between land and sea, prison and escape, adventure and repose, the pleasure of a relaxed otium and an innate inclination for transcendence. I argue that these tensions eventually crystallize around the image of Naples, and that they remain unresolved until the very end.