College Literature

Abstract:

For many commentators, nineteenth-century technological innovation epitomized the long-overdue elevation of the useful over the artistic, as witnessed in the Crystal Palace Exhibitions of the 1850s. Herman Melville, however, challenges this inevitable transition, and in his tale "The Bell-Tower," he reveals how the public understanding of artistic labor is suppressed in public discourse. In this essay, I argue that Melville uses the structure of his tale to highlight the narrative manipulation of the public understanding of mid-nineteenthcentury practical inventions and how this level of control shapes our understanding of art and the work of the artist.