Not P but Moby-Dick (54)

[David Morris]

I agree with Ian here. The acute longing of the mothers to join their their
sons is at least partly Increased, because the Son‘s bodies are forever
irretrievable. Lack of what “closure” because lack of a body to see in
touch. But in contrast, the ease with which the whale can nap Alongside
them like a superpower.

On Sat, Dec 16, 2023 at 11:27 AM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I still agree with your first impression, Michael. As a therapist, I can
> say that it is a common sentiment among mothers whose sons have met violent
> ends to join their sons in death.
> Prattle about Freudian spin is merely misplaced — what is it sometimes
> called?—ah, yes, mansplaining. Melville appears here rather to capture a
> mother’s grief quite well as a matter grasped more naturally prior to the
> emasculated theorists whose vocations warped around female passions as
> toxic.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Dec 16, 2023, at 4:17 AM, Michael Bailey <
> michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I agree with you. You've made a good case for it not being the mother
> > laying herself down, although that was my first impression. And you've
> > convincingly ruled out the idea of the mother just wanting to get the
> body
> > to "lay it to rest"
> >
> > still can't picture what the action is meant to be, though
> >
> >
> >> On Fri, Dec 15, 2023 at 5:44 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> I do not think sleepless mothers, with the implied choice, would lay
> them
> >> down again, still dead.
> >>
> >> On Fri, Dec 15, 2023 at 5:02 PM Michael Bailey <
> >> michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> - “lay them down” I think is meant reflexively, like “now I lay me
> down to
> >>> sleep”
> >>> --
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> >>>
> >>
> > --
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> --
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>