Wrapping up our two-parter on Herman Melville’s Pierre (1852), we talk about religion, the mind bending plot, what Melville was doing with these characters, writing and publishing, and a splash of Transcendentalism. We also consider the eternal question: what are ladies for? Tristan delivers a discourse on sea clocks and why sailors used to just have to go on vibes to know where they were. And stay tuned for the game, when you’ll find out how many elephants your hair can hold up.

Farewell, Pierre! We will miss you and some of your cousins.

For some reading that is fun and also educational (for real!) check out Joel Pfister and Nancy Schnog’s edited collection Inventing the Psychological: Toward a Cultural History of Emotional Life in America. We recommend especially John Demos’s essay, “History and the Psychosocial: Reflections on Oedipus and America.”

Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @betterreadpod, and email us nice things at [email protected]. Find Tristan on Twitter @tjschweiger, Katie @katiekrywo, and Megan @tuslersaurus.