What is the meaning of the rescue of Tashtego?

Question

In Moby Dick, Tashtego falls into the sinking head of a sperm whale from which the crew was extracting the spermaceti; he is saved by Queequeg who cuts the head and extracts Tashtego as if the head was giving birth to him. This rescue seems symbolic, but I cannot fully understand it, so I wonder: **What is the meaning of the rescue of Tashtego?**

Answer 1

Moby Dick has portions of all stages of life throughout. Tashtego's rescue deals with the birth portion of life. Birth is, by nature, violent compared to death. This is highlighted here, as Tashtego's "birth" is quite violent. Additionally, there are men surrounding this scene, which is unique to this novel, as birth and delivering babies was thought of as a woman's task. Here, men are viewing and interacting with this "birth," thus transforming them into a female's world.

-Cory