91����

On the first Friday of the new academic year, students and faculty at 91����, California, gathered in Fritz B. Burns Auditorium for the opening installment of the St. Vincent de Paul Lecture & Concert Series. Tutor Dr. Elizabeth Reyes (’03) had the honor of giving the lecture, entitled “‘The Great Flood-Gates of the Wonder-World Swung Open’: The Baby and the Book in Dante’s Divine Comedy and Melville’s Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale.”

Dean Michael Letteney began the evening by sharing some words on the aim and importance of the College’s Lecture Series before tutor Brian Dragoo (’01) took the stage to introduce his friend and colleague, Dr. Reyes. 

To start, Dr. Reyes shared that the inspiration for her lecture’s title came from her appreciation of a statue of St. Anthony, depicted holding the Child Jesus, who is sitting with the Bible in his hands. “This image gives us the core of everything to look for as we embark upon our years in the Catholic liberal education at 91����,” Dr. Reyes observed.

Reflecting on the type of liberal education pursued at the College, she explained that such education is free by nature. This freedom, consisting in the inward rebirth and transformation of ourselves through God’s grace, is exemplified in both Dante’s and Melville’s works. She argued that Melville in Moby-Dick parallels Dante’s journey to heaven in the Divine Comedy through his protagonist, Ishmael. Akin to Dante, who begins his journey through Hell after a spiritual awakening, Ishmael becomes aware of how dire his depression is and embarks on a voyage to the depths of the ocean.

As Beatrice is a guide for Dante in the Divine Comedy, so too are the whales a guide for Ishmael, Dr. Reyes remarked. Where Dante found God reflected in Beatrice’s eyes, Ishmael discovers something new about God reflected in the whales’ eyes. 

Offering high praise for Moby-Dick, the tutor encouraged the audience to embark on the journey prepared for them by Melville, a journey she knows well. “Reading and dwelling with Moby-Dick has changed my life,” she shared. “No other single book encompasses in itself so completely what we do at TAC. It brings to bear all traditions we read … it’s both a book about books and a book about experience.” 

After the lecture, students and faculty attended a question-and-answer session with Dr. Reyes, during which she answered various thought-provoking questions from the audience.