No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
The nineteenth-century American novelist, Herman Melville, is oftentimes
viewed as a multi-cultured innovator who possibly anticipated post-modernism. In his
epic romance, Mardi, Melville incorporates aspects of Orientalism within a Westernized
framework, thereby eroding cultural borders. This article focuses on Arabian Nights as
one possible parent text for Mardi on the one hand, and on Melville’s naturalization of
certain Orientalist concepts in his novel on the other. Furthermore, it explores the question
of whether Melville “whitewashes” the Eastern narrative to naturalize the text and
thus familiarize Westerners with a foreign culture in the spirit of multi-culturalism, or
whether he simply subscribes to the Orientalist stereotypes prevalent in nineteenthcentury
America.
Keywords: Melville, Mardi, Arabian Nights, Orientalism, whitewashing, naturalization
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.