Semiotic and Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Herman Melville's Fiction

". . . combining the insights of semiotics and psychoanalysis, [Robinson] has opened up new ways of coming to terms with what is, after all, an inexhaustible body of work. . . . posed some new possibilities for truly new answers. His study is not only well worth reading and reflecting on; but it has the virtue finally of sending one back to the original text with renewed enthusiasm and delight." -- Leslie A. Fiedler

"Of the myriad attempts at understanding Melville's mind and fiction, I find Zan Robinson's one of the most intelligent, creative, and useful. He has combined his own knowledge of psychoanalytic theory and linguistics to forge a new key to the mysteries of Melville. . . . a seminal work of scholarship. It should open up a vast array of possibilities for a new understanding of Melville's work. . . . a stunning new direction..." - Marvin J. LaHood