The Impotence of God: Theodicy in "The Town-Ho's Story" of Moby-Dick

Abstract

The Town-Ho’s story in Herman Mellville’s Moby Dick has long puzzled scholars. Many view Melville’s novel as an explicit allegory, while others prefer more complicated interpretations. A closer look at the text, however, reveals neither one-to-one allegory nor ambiguity. Melville both adheres to and subverts Biblical connotations, crafting a complex theodicy that grapples with the apparent injustice of God.