Abstract

Three of Herman Melville's works (Redburn, Moby-Dick, Pierre) are approached as related works of art--a triptych. The sustained application of images, symbols, concepts and themes links the works together. The development and intensification of themes introduced in the first panel is traced through the triptych. Colour symbolism is considered of importance, providing one of several strong connections between the independent works. The main theme, the quest for truth, which runs through the three panels and which is metaphorically presented in three separate voyages, is kept in the foreground; it is linked to an allegory of the biblical banishment of the son by the father, Melville's use of the Bible as a source of ideas, symbols and themes is given ample consideration. Influence on Melville's work from autobiographical, as well as from social, religious and/or political directions is regarded as an important agent in the shaping of Melville's mind and spirit. The thesis concludes that, despite the blackness of despair that flow through the triptych and Melville's personal nihilistic outlook, life, in the end, triumphs.