In this novel, animals acquire a powerful sacred dimension. Fleeting and miraculous apparitions, they haunt the narrative through the imagery of the white stag and Melville’s mysterious whale. These ghostly animals initially appear as embodiments of innocence in a world where violence breeds the most atrocious wars. Their purity serves as a reminder of a natural state long lost to humanity. These two animals symbolize the courage to turn away from a sick civilization and instead inhabit the densest forests and deepest oceans. The “crown” (couronne) in the title is, in fact, the natural and majestic one that makes the stag the solitary king of the forests and the guardian of all secrets inaccessible to corrupt humanity. Finally, in keeping with a long tradition of the medieval West, the stag represents a Christ-like incarnation. Yet, after the death of the Christian God, animals now pave the way for a horizontal transcendence, pointing toward a vague truth hidden behind the wall of appearances.