Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Landlord Recounts Harpooneer’s Head-Selling Delay

The landlord explains that the awaited harpooneer is delayed because he has been selling embalmed New Zealand heads, and is waiting until after Sunday to avoid selling human remains on the Sabbath, having been stopped the prior week from taking four heads out of the inn. The narrator is disturbed by the idea of a head-peddling harpooneer, but the landlord reassures him the man pays rent reliably and urges him to go up to the assigned bedroom for the night, noting it is already Sunday so the harpooneer will not return.

Narrator Inspects the Spouter-Inn Bedroom

The narrator is led up to a small, cold bedroom furnished with a prodigiously large bed, minimal decor including a fireboard printed with a whale-striking scene, a lashed hammock in one corner, a seaman’s bag holding the harpooneer’s belongings, outlandish bone fish hooks on a shelf, and a tall harpoon standing at the head of the bed. The landlord places a candle on a repurposed sea chest that serves as a washstand and table before leaving the narrator alone in the room.

Narrator Tries On the Harpooneer’s Unusual Coat

While inspecting the room, the narrator finds a heavy, shaggy, damp coat resembling a door mat, edged with small tinkling tags similar to porcupine quills on moccasins and featuring a central slit. He tries it on, finds it weighs him down heavily, and is shocked by his own ridiculous appearance in a small wall mirror before quickly tearing it off and giving himself a kink in the neck.

Queequeg Enters the Bedroom

After lying awake in the uncomfortable bed for some time, the narrator hears a heavy footfall in the hall and sees a light under the door. The harpooneer enters carrying an embalmed New Zealand head, sets his candle in a far corner of the room, and begins unknotting the cords of the large seaman’s bag, keeping his face averted from the bed for several minutes.