Translation: Inigo Jauregui
Year of publication: 1869
Valuation: Advisable
There are plenty of presentations. Who has not read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (or any of its multiple adaptations) in your childhood / adolescence? Who hasn’t seen Kirk Douglas in the role of Captain Nemo? Is there any other author from the 19th century who is as relevant in popular culture?
As I believe that the vast majority of readers will know the plot of the novel very well, I will not go on and go on to list what for me are its strengths and weaknesses.
On the positive side I have to quote:
- The potential of the character of Nemo: Verne plays with the information he offers about the character, leaving blank spaces that the reader must imagine and this gives him a tremendous power of suggestion.
- The potential of the plot, which means that Verne can choose different branches (adventures, science fiction, dystopia, etc.) when developing the novel.
- The political/philosophical implications: Is Nemo a liberator, a man who plays at being a semi-God, a “superman” (although Nietzsche is later), a pre-Kurz,…?
- Its connection to currents of thought of the time: The novel was published in 1870. Well, Darwin formulated The origin of species 10 years earlier, Edison invented the light bulb 10 years later, cinema was invented just 25 years later, etc. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea It is a clear reflection of that time, of the fascination with the impossible.
- Its plasticity and the power of its imagery, both in interior and exterior spaces.
- A Moby Dick-style beginning: I have no doubt that Verne had read Melville’s work, which can be seen in the first chapters of the novel.
- The translation / edition of Nórdica: It is appreciated to return to the classics and with modern editions, with new translations, “large” format, quality paper, etc.
Weak points:
- A certain waste of the character of Nemo: A character with tremendous potential, he remains somewhat underused, especially in regards to his “prehistory.”
- The character of Conseil, who seems absolutely expendable to me.
- The endless enumerations of flora and fauna, which break with the rhythm of the novel. At times, it seems more like a treatise on ichthyology, zoology, botany, geology or the history of exploration than a novel itself.
- Excessive didacticism, probably linked to what I mentioned previously about the spirit of the time and the fascination with the impossible.
By the way, Verne is usually classified as an adventure writer, light or aimed at children and young people. Error, at least partially! Although the “action” or science fiction scenes may suggest a text oriented toward younger readers, other possible readings of the same, linked more to interior than exterior abysses, must be considered aimed at a more adult audience. Furthermore, and although it may sound like a joke, it has a remarkable poetic streak.
Be that as it may, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea It is a perfectly enjoyable novel for a reader from 0 to 99 years old, although the vision or interpretation that one or the other may have cannot (nor should) be the same. Because although we may continue to be amazed by the wonder, we now have gray hair, we carry failures, afflictions, disappointments and even martyrdom. Because before we were, rather, Professor Aronnax, unlikely chronicler and historian of impossible things, or Ned Land and now we are Captain Nemo.
Source: https://unlibroaldia.blogspot.com/2025/01/jules-verne-veinte-mil-leguas-de-viaje.html