The Whale - A Cultural History.
Seuil editions| N° d'inventaire | 29869 |
| Format | 19 x 24 |
| Détails | 160 p., numerous color illustrations, paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2023 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782021516883 |
The whale, the largest and heaviest animal in Creation, has always fascinated human beings. Speculations and fantasies have been all the more numerous since seeing a live whale was for a long time rare. Its history is linked to that of the sea, navigation and fishing. But it is also related to that of knowledge and classifications of the animal world. Hunted since the Neolithic period, the whale nevertheless became better known from the moment (in the 17th century) when its hunting left the coasts, the fjords, to take place on the high seas. From the capture of a whale were derived a large number of products fueling a profitable trade. A whaling industry gradually emerged, but it became so predatory that, in the 20th century, it was necessary to limit catches and impose quotas.
In the meantime, the symbolism of the animal changed. For a long time, it was a fearsome monster, serving the forces of evil. The Bible and mythology portrayed it as an instrument of devouring, and medieval bestiaries as an attribute of the Devil. Modern literature was hardly more lenient, emphasizing its cruelty: it was the ogre of the oceans, like Moby-Dick, the ferocious white sperm whale whose story was told by Hermann Melville. But the further we went in time, the more this image faded and reversed: the sea monster gradually gave way to a more endearing, if not pitiful, creature, unjustly victimized by human greed and violence. Today, this friendly whale has become one of the stars of children's books and the emblematic image of the planet in peril.
The whale, the largest and heaviest animal in Creation, has always fascinated human beings. Speculations and fantasies have been all the more numerous since seeing a live whale was for a long time rare. Its history is linked to that of the sea, navigation and fishing. But it is also related to that of knowledge and classifications of the animal world. Hunted since the Neolithic period, the whale nevertheless became better known from the moment (in the 17th century) when its hunting left the coasts, the fjords, to take place on the high seas. From the capture of a whale were derived a large number of products fueling a profitable trade. A whaling industry gradually emerged, but it became so predatory that, in the 20th century, it was necessary to limit catches and impose quotas.
In the meantime, the symbolism of the animal changed. For a long time, it was a fearsome monster, serving the forces of evil. The Bible and mythology portrayed it as an instrument of devouring, and medieval bestiaries as an attribute of the Devil. Modern literature was hardly more lenient, emphasizing its cruelty: it was the ogre of the oceans, like Moby-Dick, the ferocious white sperm whale whose story was told by Hermann Melville. But the further we went in time, the more this image faded and reversed: the sea monster gradually gave way to a more endearing, if not pitiful, creature, unjustly victimized by human greed and violence. Today, this friendly whale has become one of the stars of children's books and the emblematic image of the planet in peril.