{"id":"01KG8AM2SCVXAKD33TG2J0XVHA","cid":"bafkreicqj3xoatm7p6236knsswd2xfnvno5yzjqkxnir5w5kwmamlewqtq","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":575,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:25.200Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 3","source_file":"01KG89J1JYRSHWXR7JM0HYS9D4","start_line":520,"text":"French. The character of ‘Fayaway,’ and, no less, William S. Mayo’s\r\n‘Kaloolah,’ the enchanting dreams of many a youthful heart, will retain\r\ntheir charm; and this in spite of endless variations by modern explorers\r\nin the same domain. A faint type of both characters may be found in the\r\nSurinam Yarico of Captain John Gabriel Stedman, whose ‘Narrative of a\r\nFive Years’ Expedition’ appeared in 1796.\r\n\r\n‘Typee,’ as written, contained passages reflecting with considerable\r\nseverity on the methods pursued by missionaries in the South Seas. The\r\nmanuscript was printed in a complete form in England, and created much\r\ndiscussion on this account, Melville being accused of bitterness; but he\r\nasserted his lack of prejudice. The passages referred to were omitted in\r\nthe first and all subsequent American editions. They have been restored\r\nin the present issue, which is complete save for a few paragraphs\r\nexcluded by written direction of the author. I have, with the consent\r\nof his family, changed the long and cumbersome sub-title of the book,\r\ncalling it a ‘Real-Romance of the South Seas,’ as best expressing its\r\nnature.\r\n\r\nThe success of his first volume encouraged Melville to proceed in his\r\nwork, and ‘Omoo,’ the sequel to ‘Typee,’ appeared in England and America\r\nin 1847. Here we leave, for the most part, the dreamy pictures of island\r\nlife, and find ourselves sharing the extremely realistic discomforts of\r\na Sydney whaler in the early forties. The rebellious crew’s experiences\r\nin the Society Islands are quite as realistic as events on board ship\r\nand very entertaining, while the whimsical character, Dr. Long Ghost,\r\nnext to Captain Ahab in ‘Moby Dick,’ is Melville’s most striking\r\ndelineation. The errors of the South Sea missions are pointed out with\r\neven more force than in ‘Typee,’ and it is a fact that both these books\r\nhave ever since been of the greatest value to outgoing missionaries on\r\naccount of the exact information contained in them with respect to the\r\nislanders.\r\n\r\nMelville’s power in describing and investing with romance scenes and\r\nincidents witnessed and participated in by himself, and his frequent\r\nfailure of success as an inventor of characters and situations, were\r\nearly pointed out by his critics. More recently Mr. Henry S. Salt\r\nhas drawn the same distinction very carefully in an excellent article\r\ncontributed to the Scottish Art Review. In a prefatory note to ‘Mardi’\r\n(1849), Melville declares that, as his former books have been received\r\nas romance instead of reality, he will now try his hand at pure fiction.\r\n‘Mardi’ may be called a splendid failure. It must have been soon after\r\nthe completion of ‘Omoo’ that Melville began to study the writings of\r\nSir Thomas Browne. Heretofore our author’s style was rough in places,\r\nbut marvellously simple and direct. ‘Mardi’ is burdened with an\r\nover-rich diction, which Melville never entirely outgrew. The scene\r\nof this romance, which opens well, is laid in the South Seas, but\r\neverything soon becomes overdrawn and fantastical, and the thread of the\r\nstory loses itself in a mystical allegory.\r\n\r\n‘Redburn,’ already mentioned, succeeded ‘Mardi’ in the same year, and\r\nwas a partial return to the author’s earlier style. In ‘White-Jacket;\r\nor, the World in a Man-of-War’ (1850), Melville almost regained it. This\r\nbook has no equal as a picture of life aboard a sailing man-of-war, the\r\nlights and shadows of naval existence being well contrasted.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 3"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJPEC473FXAMQWHHC31BK","peer_type":"frontmatter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1JYRSHWXR7JM0HYS9D4","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AM2SCGBSEA79QT55A3BN9","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AM3BHZY0KP4SXZX4CBSNE","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:25.388Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:32.512Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}