Moby-Dick in romance novels of Harlequin and its imprints

I cannot quite fathom why this would be, but for some reason Moby-Dick (and on occasion other works by Melville) gets referenced quite a lot in the romance novels of Harlequin and its imprints Silhouette, Red Dress Ink, etc. In the neighborhood of 250 over the past several decades - not including however many such novels may not have been digitized and thus are not searchable online.

Evidently mentioning it is a romance novel trope. Who knew? Nearly 100% of the time not a sexual reference either - it’s something characters mentioning reading or having read; or there’s an animal or truck named Moby Dick; or it’s a codename for a spy; or a prop book that opens a secret door; or an analogy is made, etc. Some Harlequin authors have referenced Moby-Dick in more than one of their novels. There’s a good many years where they have multiple authors’ romance novels mentioning it, so it hardly seems possible that the publisher's editors would not have ever noticed it.

While still going through findings, some rough totals followed by representative examples:

1970s: 1

1980s: ~34

1990s: ~39

2000s: ~43

2010s: ~114

2020s: ~24

1970s

Malcolm, Margaret. Flight to Fantasy. Harlequin. 1977. 63

She had given it [a celluloid toy fish] a special name—yes, of course, Moby Dick. She hadn't thought of Moby Dick for years.⸻

1980s

Francis, Dorothy. New Boy in Town. Silhouette, 1981. 33

"Whale, shmale," Trish said. “I thought Moby Dick was a pretty good story until we had to start looking for all that symbolic stuff."

“I really don't enjoy a story unless it can be read on two levels,” Brad said. “Take Alice in Wonderland for example."

1990s

Murray, Annabel. Island Turmoil. Harlequin, 1990. 31

    Dimitri had not released his grip on her elbow and now he seemed very close as he went on in his deep, melodic voice:

"'Aloof they crown the foreland lone,

From aloft they loftier rise

Fair columns, in the aureola rolled

From sunned Greek seas and skies.

They wax, sublimed to fancy's view,

A god-like group against the blue.'"

Somehow Chryssanti would never have suspected Dimitri Mavroleon of having a poetic nature. He and his family had always struck her, first and foremost, as prosaic businessmen. But perhaps there was something a little different about Dimitri. She looked at him with a new curiosity. 'That was beautiful,' she told him ungrudgingly, her eyes still on his dark, attractive face. 'Where does it come from?'

'Lines by Herman Melville, inspired by this view.' And as if he'd read her thoughts, he said, 'You are not the only one who had a literary education.' His eyes met hers and held them in a long, challenging look.

2000s

Miles, Cassie. Undercover Protector. Harlequin, 2000. 152.

Michael didn't know the identity of the big fish, referred to as Moby Dick.

2010s

Rimmer, Christine. McFarlane's Perfect Bride: A Single Dad Romance. Silhouette, 2010. 11

Jerilyn wrinkled her nose. “You say that 'cause I'm smart and I understand Moby Dick better than most college students.

2020s

Shotwell, Mary. The Christmas Catch. Harlequin, 2022.

She cupped the mug in her hands, a wide-brimmed ivory cup with excerpts from Moby Dick stamped in black writing.