The Confidence-Man

The Confidence-Man

First edition title page
Author	Herman Melville
Language	English
Genre	Satirical novel, philosophical novel
Published	1857
Publisher	Dix, Edwards & Co.
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Preceded by	The Piazza Tales
Followed by	Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade, first published in New York on April Fool's Day 1857, is the ninth and final novel by American writer Herman Melville. The work was published on the exact day of the novel's setting. Centered on the title character, The Confidence-Man portrays a group of steamboat passengers travelling on the Mississippi River toward New Orleans. The narrative follows a succession of confidence men who, as suggested by the book's title, may be the same man in disguise. The confidence man uses various methods of persuasion to sell patent medicine, encourage speculation in fraudulent business, donate to non-existent charities, and other cons. In the latter part of the narrative, the confidence man discusses friendship and other topics with the other passengers. Interspersed with the dialogues are other texts: essay, short story, ode, and others. These additional texts inspire the reader to consider the difference between fiction and reality.

When the novel was first released, critical reception acknowledged its metaphysical angle, while criticizing its cynical point of view. Many reviewers seem not to have understood that the title hinted that one man was represented in multiple disguises and that it criticized Christianity. Elizabeth Foster's introduction to the 1954 edition summarized the critical analysis already done and spurred further study of the work.^[1] Since then, critics have praised the work for its postmodern sensibilities, like how the confidence man both hides and reveals truth. Literary analysts have described the novel as a satire or allegory, with a possible typological reading of the work. The use of tropes from pantomime suggests that characters are fulfilling stereotyped roles. Melville based some of the characters on real-life people. The inclusion of multiple genres of writing is reminiscent of literary magazines of the day, tapping into journalistic uncertainty about the fiction and non-fiction status of the work. One of Melville's biographers stated that the reason for the many genres in the novel is that Melville lengthened it with previously-rejected works. The novel includes religious themes and shows how an economy that assumes generosity must adapt when characters like the confidence man take advantage of those assumptions. Stories within the novel address racial conflict between Indians and white settlers and illustrate how racist stories are removed from firsthand accounts from Indians.

The Confidence-Man has been adapted into an opera. Elements of the novel are present in The Brothers Bloom (2009).