Captain Ahab Had A Wife New England Women And The...

Lisa Norling’s book, Captain Ahab Had a Wife: New England Women and the Whalefishery 1720-1820, focuses on the feminist view of the early whale fisheries of New England. Feminism is the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, opportunities, and respect as men. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, New England’s whaling businesses were at their highest points in their careers. It sent hundreds of ships and thousands of men out to sea on voyages that could last up to five years. In the men’s absence, the women were expected to take over the roles of the men; this was not an easy task. Along with all the responsibilities the women were expected to fulfill, they also had to deal with the emotions associated with missing their husbands. Norling included letters between men and women, diaries, ship owners’ records, Quaker meetings and other church records, along with newspapers and magazines; to show how these men and women coped wit h the long separation. Lisa starts the book off by emphasizing the lack of recognition that women got in maritime history. She references Captain Ahab and his wife from Melville’s Moby Dick. Lisa emphasizes how Captain Ahab’s wife was only mentioned a few times in the book even though she played an important role in his life. She states, â€Å"I begin with Captain Ahab’s wife because I think the way that she is involved in the novel suggests both the symbolic importance and the substantive absences of women from maritime