ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the earliest genre of Antarctic literature for children: whaling stories. These texts often feature young male protagonists who join whaling crews and are initiated into the hyper-masculine world of whaling through perilous adventures in Antarctic seas. These texts connect enduring and inflicting suffering as an essential part of the transition to adulthood. This chapter highlights the contrasts that exist between whaling literature, which focuses on the commercial potential of the Antarctic and highlights community, and the majority of Antarctic literature which focuses on individual accomplishment and imagines the Antarctic as an untouched and barren wilderness.
