In stories, if a character is looking out to sea they’re frequently experiencing epiphany. In art, too, there’s no shortage of characters gazing out to sea. The guy giving the sermon below clearly understands the epiphanic power of the ocean, especially in combination with the higher altitude of a clifftop.
John MacWhirter – A Sermon by the Sea
These days we are technologically connected to each other, but there was a time when saying goodbye to a loved one sailing off on a ship was a separation akin to death. That was the case for my own emigrant ancestors, who sailed to New Zealand in the mid 1800s. They never returned to England, Scotland and Ireland. Nor did their children or their children’s children.
Frank Holl – No Tidings from the Sea 1870Lockesley Hall by John Everett Millais in Poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1864
Sometimes in art, a male character looks out to sea.
Make and Make-Believe by Arthur I. Gates and Miriam Blanton Huber, Macmillan, 1931Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935)1950s LAWSON WOOD CHILDRENS BOOK HB DEAN UK view the shippingSt Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls 1937 Augustfrom the TV series Broadchurch
These old fellows gaze out to sea because they share a special interest in ships.
Harald Skogsberg old sailors watch ships from pierOn the Beach, Sunset (1865) by Eugene Boudin (1824-1898)Looking out to sea spot illustration from Sea Stories 2007Cover design and illustration by Georgette & Benjamin Harris, 1932N.C. Wyeth The Courtship of Miles Standish by H. W. Longfellow 1920
For young boys, the sea promises adventure.
Jessie Willcox Smith Daddy’s Over There, 1918A School In Danger by Mabel Esther AllanLaura Knight painted ‘Girl at the Edge of a Cliff,’ in Cornwall in 1917John Bauer Troll på Lur (Troll Hiding behind Cliffs), 1911
But the image of the pretty young woman gazing out across the ocean is ubiquitous. I suspect this is a fantasy designed to buoy the spirits of sailors. It’s nice to think that life stands still for you on shore. The fantasy is no doubt enjoyed by young women, too, because an absent lover allows for the erotics of abstinence.
CHERI HEROUARD cover art 1916Ingrid Bade, 1936 Cover by Sergio Burzi, 1927 Stars for Sale by Ralph Pallen Coleman (1892-1968) looking out to seaCharles Courtney Curran – The Boulder1918, Warren Davis (1865-1928)From Kipling’s A Song of the English. Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
The nubile young woman near the sea is all tied up with folklore of mermaids and sirens.
Siren (Sirene) ~ 1892 ~ Hans Thoma (1839-1924)On the Seashore (1879) by George Elgar Hick (English, 1824-1914)Thomas Bromley Blacklock – Sea Maidens
Sirens can be pretty evil (until they are imaginatively eroticised) but there are plenty of other fantasy creatures which threaten to pop out of the sea.
Paul Hey (1867-1952) The Magic Fish
I suspect this woman is thinking hard about fish for dinner.
John McGhie (1867 – 1952)
I’m a little concerned about this woman’s intentions.
Laura Knight ‘A Dark Pool’ 1918Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910) Watching The Breakers, 1891
What is Raggedy Ann telling Andy? Without reading the book I’ll never guess, as their smiles are sewn on.
Endpage illustration for Raggedy Ann and Andy by Indianapolis artist and author Johnny Gruelle, 1929Fables by Arnold LobelIllustration for Shukan Shincho (1966) by Rokuro Taniuchi (1921-1981). If you’re thinking of Ponyo right now, you’re not alone.Looking out to sea, From ‘The Children’s Encyclopedia’ published by Arthur Meeby Tove Jansson for ‘Moomin’s Winter Follies’, a story from a Moomin picture strip of the 50s, colourised & re-published in 2012The Illustrated Children’s Bible 1976, Nevile Dear
The space ship is the sci-fi equivalent of the ship, so of course we have similar images of women looking for men who have gone away on exciting adventures.
Virgil Finlay (1914-1971) 1951 illustration for ‘The Wanderer’s Return’ by Fletcher Pratt
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)
On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.
Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:
