References to Spain in Herman Melville’s Pierre; or, the Ambiguities: The Relation between the Two Queens of Spain Named Isabel and Isabel Banford’s Evil

摘要

Pierre; or, the Ambiguities, published in 1852, was Herman Melville’s big bet to regain his success as a writer, after the failure of Moby-Dick. However, this new novel became an even greater failure. It received fierce criticism in which its author was even accused of madness. This novel was rediscovered in the early decades of the twentieth century, and since then there have been many studies on it. These studies range from the issue of Pierre’s discovery of the tragic side of life and his spiritual advance towards the truth to the analysis of Pierre’s mental status. But, none of them have focused yet on the references to Spain and its Empire that appear in Pierre. Therefore, through certain behaviors of Isabel Banford I intend to analyze various allusions to Spain which have hitherto gone unnoticed. In my opinion Isabel is the dark part of the world, as she leads Pierre to perdition. This might be related to the two queens of Spain named Isabel and other aspects of the Spanish empire. I will also try to frame these references within the overall meaning of the novel.