Mardi, third novel by Herman Melville, originally published in two volumes as Mardi: And a Voyage Thither in 1849. Mardi is an uneven and disjointed transitional book that uses allegory to comment on contemporary ideas about nations, politics, institutions, literature, and religion. The book was a dismal failure. The action involves two whaling-ship deserters—the American Taji and the Norwegian Jarl—who escape on the high seas and meet up with a variety of characters, including Yillah, a blonde Pacific Islander who symbolizes Absolute Truth.