A submarine and subtextual adventure.

First impressions of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. (Verne, J., 1870. Translated by Allen P.S., 1922)

In my first reading, I went in without any preliminary research, and had no idea what to expect.

As I traversed the chapters, it seemed to me much more of a travel log than something with substantial plot. Often, when the narration went for large stretches describing the local wildlife instead of furthering the plot, I grew impatient. Verne's attention to scientific and technical detail was impressive, but uninteresting.




But though the plot is uncomplicated (and despite the limited perspective of the narrator Aronnax, doesn't really arouse my curiosity), how character-driven Twenty Thousand is under the thin surface! How blind of me! How embarrassing!

The mystery of Captain Nemo. The essential conflicts between Nemo and the protagonists, the protagonists' roles as mutual foils. The man-nature, man-machine conflicts so inherent in science fiction, and which feed the development of Ned Land, Aronnax and Captain Nemo. These transform the artless into the artful.

The real subtext, of course, lies in the historical (to this 21st Century reader) allusions. The really meaningful allusions are hidden amongst Aronnax's pedantic references to old philosophers and scientists. The really meaningful allusions are ones that refer to conflict and war. The "Abraham Lincoln" and Captain Farragut (American Civil War), and some other ones I don't remember exactly (too many to remember, seriously!). And the ones that shed light on Captain Nemo's purpose and further the mystery of his origin, like the story about the ship, the Vengeur – 'Avenger'.

In the end, it's all about conflict.

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EDIT July 23, 2012:

The surface plot is still boring, though. And Robert Frost said of deeper meaning in literature, "The first surface meaning, the anecdote, the parable, the surface meaning has got to be good and to be sufficient in itself."