Both, right? The Dutch and Germans chase after sperm whales under one "flag." And Stubb calls Captain De Deer and/or his ship "Yarman" and "unmannerly Dutch dogger!"
Hey hey, I just found this excellent and highly pertinent article by Cornelis de Jong on Melville's mockery of foreign whalers. Wish I had seen this earlier, via SSOAR:
"Like many Americans Melville does not always make a distinction between the Dutch and the Germans, sometimes calling both nations Dutch. He depicts Derick de Deer and his crew as inexperienced, clumsy but conceited suckers." https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-56113-3
> Probably Dr. Snodhead could sort it out.
ReplyDeleteHe is the Clement Moore Professor of Linguistics at the College of St. Claus, is he not?
He will be, after I endow the Chair, after I hit the Powerball jackpot.
ReplyDeleteHey hey, I just found this excellent and highly pertinent article by Cornelis de Jong on Melville's mockery of foreign whalers. Wish I had seen this earlier, via SSOAR:
ReplyDelete"Like many Americans Melville does not always make a distinction between the Dutch and the Germans, sometimes calling both nations Dutch. He depicts Derick de Deer and his crew as inexperienced, clumsy but conceited suckers."
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-56113-3
Hooray for open access!!!