Author(s)

Que Jun

School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, Beijing, China.

The queer space in Herman Melville’s first book Typee is primarily constructed around two recurring queer motifs: the erotic male body and the all-male loving couple. The sexual panic of the protagonist Tommo is manifested in his interactions with Typee males. His final escape from Typee island signals a surrender of his queer nature to his Christian spirit. The wretched end of Typee reveals Melville’s pessimistic view on being a queer—there is no possibility for queer relationships to sustain. By utilizing a queer discourse, Melville attacks the sexually repressive Western culture and expresses his concern about the destiny of the marginalized queers in his time. As a queer writer living in the 19th century America, Melville calls for a tolerant and humane society in which queer love can be valued and respected.

Herman Melville, Typee, Queer Space, Queer Discourse

Jun, Q. (2017) Queer Space in Herman Melville’s Typee. Advances in Literary Study, 5, 22-28. doi: 10.4236/als.2017.51003.