"like a view of the ocean you love so much"
At Mabel Dunham’s first view of the seemingly eternity of American wilderness unfolding before her, she compares its vast sameness to the view of the sea that calls forth men to become seamen. Her uncle, the seaman, will have none of it and the simile commences an extended friendly argument between the two over the relative differences of forest greenery and ocean blue. Aside from offering insight into the divergent views of the two characters, this comparison coming as it does very early on sets the stage for what will become a recurring motif of the novel: the comparison of the frontier to the sea. The subtitle of the novel, “The Inland Seas” even frames this conceit with its poetic description of the Great Lakes as oceans in miniature.
Natty Bumppo Reveals All!
Throughout the many adventures in the Leatherstocking Tales, Natty Bumppo meets—usually saves their life—and becomes briefly entranced by a number of different women. A quite unexpected simile is engaged to reveal that perhaps—as many readers believe—his one true love was none other than Mabel Dunham. Three men are competing to win the love of Mabel out there in the frontier wilderness and as far as Mabel’s father is concerned, the man who should be named victor is clear. Not just because the pathfinder is head and shoulders above the other two as a potential protective force over the life of his daughter, but because he has seen for himself the depth of Natty’s affection for Mabel: “I have seen him weep like a child, when speaking of his feelings for you.”
"The ocean breathes like a living being"
Much later in the story, Mable and her uncle take up their argument about the nature of the ocean versus the nature of the inland wilderness once again while looking out over the placid calm of a lake. The uncle again tries to point out all the depth of being and mystery that is associated with the sea that can never be fully appreciated by a landlubber. Fenimore is intent on carrying the extension comparison and contrast of ocean and land as far as it will go, allowing neither niece nor uncle to definitively win the argument. For every assertion like the ocean demonstration qualities like breathing ability, Mabel presents a counterargument.
Chingachgook
Before there really was such a metaphorical figure in American fiction, Chingachgook was the ultimate metaphorical personification of the so-called Noble Savage. He is a good man; as loyal, brave and good-intentioned as his best friend Natty. Even so, it is clear enough that he is nowhere near as developed as Natty who becomes more realized as a flesh and blood individualistic interpretation of the stereotypical frontiersman with each new entry in his tale. While Chingachgook is hardly a boring stereotype, for the most part he functions as a sidekick when called upon to Natty and, as such, is subject to becoming, ironically, more and more metaphorical with each appearance. The Pathfinder is particularly troubling for this aspect of his character since he has little to do really except wait until he can demonstrate his symbolic function by standing in opposition to the ignoble savage he kills, Arrowsmith.
"The American Prodigy"
Mabel’s father and the Major in charge of the fort, Duncan of Lundie, have a conversation about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the American soldiers as opposed to those in the service of the King. Sgt. Dunham is attacked for his provincial loyalty in standing up for the qualities of leadership demonstrated by George Washington while the Scottish Major only grudgingly admits that he may have to be excepted. Then he goes on to literally except him by metaphorically transforming him into an exception beyond all other exceptions. The attribution of the success of Washington to being a “prodigy” essentially situates his success as stemming from something not inherent in the strain of the American character, but existing outside all conventional rules of normalcy. He is instead as freakish as a ten year old Mozart composing a concerto, reduced almost to pure metaphor.
