Justin Gerard

"For Hate's Sake" Preview

Added 2018-11-02 14:28:25 +0000 UTC

For this month's Classic Fantasy Illustration I am taking a short break from my usual standard fantasy tropes to tackle a scene from one of my favorite works of fiction, Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

To the last, I grapple with thee;

From Hell's heart, I stab at thee;

For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

I hope you will bear with me during this slight departure, I plan to return to the usual mayhem and medieval carnage again next month. (and maybe even a little bonus this month if all goes very well...).

I have always found this scene from Melville to be one of the most dramatic and even fantastic in all of literature. On first glance it might seem like mere man vs nature, and one glorifying the slaughter of majestic creatures at that. And while that is in part true, I think it is reasonable to say that it only adds to the horror of what Ahab is about here. His condition has passed into that of mania in his reckless, suicidal pursuit of his white whale. Even though it will cost him his friends, his crew, his leg, his own life, and even if successful, he will be destroying something mythical and amazing in this wild quest to conquer the natural world. He goes forward into the very teeth of death and it is a wonderful study of obsession and I love that Melville treads a thin line between man vs nature and man vs himself in this scene.

I hope to try and capture that this month as I work on it and share the progress with you!