Title: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea
Author: Jules Verne
Date of First Publication: May 1869- June 20 1870
Place of Publication: Magasin d’Éducation et de Récréation
Type: Novel
Characters: No Character
Themes: BYRONIC HERO; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; RETRO SF
Critical Summary: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a science fiction adventure told from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French professor of natural history, who joins an expedition in 1866 aboard the U.S. frigate Abraham Lincoln to find and destroy an unidentified giant sea monster that has attacked and sunk several ocean vessels. Soon after, Aronnax and his shipmates encounter the monster, which attacks and sinks the Abraham Lincoln as well. Scrambling to stay afloat, they grab hold of the monster and discover it is actually a submarine, captained by the enigmatic Nemo – a man who has exiled himself from the world above to live a life of solitude. He is an intelligent, wealthy and mysterious scientist, who created a submarine in complete secrecy, only known to those few he trusted to be with him during his journeys. Aronnax’s party remains on the submarine, The Nautilus, with Captain Nemo and travel to a number of strange and incredible places, including Atlantis, the Antarctic and coral reefs. Throughout their travels, several crewmembers lose their lives from the dangers of the ocean deep. Eventually, Aronnax and his friends escape from the submarine after being held as captives for many days, only to see Captain Nemo heading off towards an ocean storm with the fate of The Nautilus left unknown to Aronnax and his companions.
Both Frankenstein and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea were written in a journal style format. Like Victor Frankenstein, Captain Nemo is a smart man whose actions and decisions lead to the death of those he loves. Captain Nemo’s decision to start a rebellion causes him to run away from society, whereas Victor creates a monster, which begins his life on the run. Those around “The Mad Scientist” figure, such as Victor and Nemo, suffer because of the type of science they perform. The people in their lives are astounded and frightened by their creations. Like a Byronic hero, Captain Nemo is rich, powerful, smart and mysterious. However, Nemo doesn’t want people to know about his past and why he is running. He hides many things from those around him. He is also a Byronic hero in that he is not completely evil or completely good; he falls somewhere in between. Nemo can be considered a monster because he essentially captures Ned land, Professor Pierre Aronnax and Consiel. He also doesn’t let them do many things while he has them prisoner. Both Victor and Captain Nemo go to the arctic the farthest away from humanity one can go trying to escape from the things they have done. Jules Verne is a master of the science fiction genre and predicts what shall be to come of our study of marine life and our travels under the sea. The tragedy of losing loved ones is one that both captain Nemo and Victor Frankenstein share. Both Victor and Nemo are biologists; one of human life the other of sea life.
Administrative Notes: Sean Bogler CSUF; Adam Shelley, CSUF (Editing)