Working the Waters

     In the story of Billy Budd, Sailor author Herman Melville has a male protagonist that is extremely masculine and exhibits sublime feminine elements as well.  Melville makes the desirability of Billy Budd known from the beginning of his story by attributing to him the qualities of the Handsome Sailor.  As the tale unfolds in the first chapter, we notice that a male of beauty and physical perfection is admired and looked upon with favor by the all male sailor society which Melville describes.  Billy Budd is the epitome of perfection in this story and exhibits the dual characteristics that are present in this tale, making him both admirable and vulnerable.

       Melville calls attention to Billy Budd’s desirability at the first mention of him.  “Plump upon Billy at first sight in the gangway the boarding officer, Lt. Ratcliffe, pounced, even before the crew was formally mustered for his deliberate inspection (5).”  Further support of Billy’s attraction is reinforced with the comment from the master of the Rights of Man when he calls out:  “Lieutenant, you are going to take my best man from me, the jewel of ‘em (7).”  The master's action of picking the finest man available validates Billy's absolute masculine aura.  At the command to change ships, Billy “made no demur (6)” and went about his assignment without any protesting – he acquiesces, a trait usually attributed to the female gender.

       In a further description of Billy, his master of the Rights relays a story where Billy is inadvertently jabbed in his ribs by a fellow sailor, Red Whiskers.  The resultant blow that Red Whiskers receives at the hand of Billy makes a point of recognizing Billy’s extreme male strength.   The master of the Rights defends Billy and his brute strength.  “I dare say he never meant to do as much as he did, but anyhow he gave the burly fool a terrible drubbing (8).”  The master readily goes on to explain that the crew all came to love Billy, even Red Whiskers, and the atmosphere aboard the Rights is somewhat akin to that of a family.  The master attributes the crews’ happiness to Billy Budd.  This comment reinforces the desirability of Billy and his ability to keep peace.

         Aboard the Bellipotent Billy assumes a position of adoration.  Oblivious to his effect on his fellow sailors, it is here that he assumes an almost female role. A rather drawn out portrayal of Billy’s physical attributes gives our Handsome Sailor a description claiming that he possesses great physical beauty:  “The ear, small and shapely, the arch of the foot, the curve in mouth and nostril, even the indurated hand dyed to the orange-tawny of the toucan’s bill,… but, above all, something in the mobile expression, and every chance attitude and movement, something suggestive of a mother eminently favored by Love and the Graces; all this strangely indicated a lineage in direct contradiction to his lot (13).”  This listing of Billy’s beauty further suggests that he is a possession, an item to be admired and desired and described in words that are conventionally used to describe someone feminine.  In the same paragraph, a relationship is drawn between the features of Billy and the features that a Greek sculptor might give his strong, manly, and heroic figure – thereby reaffirming the strength and masculinity of Billy Budd.

       Billy’s feminine beauty reduces and makes acceptable his tremendous strength.  Billy is a study in both masculinity and femininity and Melville uses Billy as a cynosure in an all male setting.  This story revolves around the dual characteristics Billy possesses while providing the essentials needed to make Billy strong and admirable.  At the same time, these characteristics show his vulnerability and susceptibility to unseen menace.  This duality is at the heart of this tragic tale.  Billy Budd.