TwentyThousandLeaguesUndertheSea

TwentyThousandLeaguesUndertheSea

FrontpageofVingtmillelieuessouslesmers

Author

JulesVerne

Originaltitle(ifnotinEnglish)

Vingtmillelieuessouslesmers

Translator

ReverendLouisPageMercier(firstEnglish)

Illustrator

AlphonsedeNeuville

andEdouardRiou

Country

France

Language

French

Genre(s)

Sciencefiction,Novel

Publisher

Hetzel(orig.French)

Released

1870

MediaType

Print(Hardback&Paperback)&Audiobook&Video

ISBN

NA

TwentyThousandLeaguesUndertheSeaisaclassicsciencefictionnovelbyFrenchwriterJulesVerne(1828–1905),publishedin1870underthetitleVingtmillelieuessouslesmers.Theoriginaledition,publishedbyHetzel,containsanumberofillustrationsbyAlphonsedeNeuvilleandEdouardRiou.ThenovelisaboutthefictionalCaptainNemoandhissubmarine,Nautilus,asseenbyoneofhispassengers,ProfessorPierreAronnax.

Plotsummary

Thestorywaswrittenbeforemodernsea-goingsubmarineswereareality.ItisnarratedbyProfessorPierreAronnax,anotedmarinebiologist,whoisaccompaniedbyhisfaithfulassistantConseilandbyaCanadianharpoonernamedNedLand.Asthestorybegins,amysterious"seamonster",theorizedbysometobeagiantnarwhal,issightedbyshipsofseveralnations;anoceanlinerisalsodamagedbythecreature.TheUnitedStatesgovernmentfinallyassemblesanexpeditiontotrackdownanddestroythemenace.SinceAronnaxhappenstobeinNewYorkCityatthetimeandisarecognizedexpertinhisfield,heisinvitedatthelastminutetogoalong,andheaccepts.MasterharpoonistLandisalsobroughtonboard.

ThecrewoftheNautilusobserveanunderwaterfuneral

TheexpeditionsetssailfromLongIslandaboardanAmericanwarship,theAbrahamLincoln,whichtravelsdownaroundthetipofSouthAmericaandintothePacificOcean.Aftermuchfruitlesssearching,themonsterisfound,andtheshipchargesintobattle.Duringthefight,theship'ssteeringisdamaged,andthethreeprotagonistsarethrownoverboard.Theyfindthemselvesstrandedonthe"hide"ofthecreature,onlytodiscovertotheirsurprisethatitisalargemetalvessel.Theyarequicklycapturedandbroughtinsidethevessel,wheretheymeetitsenigmaticcreatorandcommander,CaptainNemo.("Nemo"means"noone"inLatin,andmayhavebeeninspiredbyapassageinHomer'sOdysseywhereOdysseuscallshimselfΟυτι?,whichisGreekfor"nobody")

Therestofthestoryfollowstheadventuresoftheprotagonistsaboardthesubmarine,theNautilus,whichwasbuiltinsecrecyandnowroamstheseasfreeofanyland-basedgovernment.CaptainNemo'smotivationisimpliedtobebothascientificthirstforknowledge,andadesireforrevengeon,andselfimposedexilefrom,civilization.CaptainNemoexplainsthatthesubmarineiselectricallypowered,andequippedtocarryoutcuttingedgemarinebiologyresearch;healsotellshisnewpassengersthatwhileheappreciateshavinganexpertsuchasAronnaxwithwhichtoconverse,theycanneverleavebecauseheisafraidtheywillbetrayhisexistencetotheworld.Aronnaxisenthralledbythevistasheisseeing,butLandconstantlyplotstoescape.

Theirtravelstakethemtonumerouspointsintheworld'soceans,someofthemwhichwereknowntoJulesVernefromrealtravelers'descriptionsandguesses,whileothersarecompletelyfictional.Thus,thetravelerswitnesstherealcoralsoftheRedSea,thewrecksofthebattleofVigoBay,theAntarcticiceshelves,andthefictionalsubmergedAtlantis.BackintheAtlanticOcean,agroupofgiantsquid(cuttlefishintheusualEnglishtranslation)attackstheNautilus,andkillsacrewmember.Nemoisplungedintodeepdepression,andallowsthesubmarinetowanderintoanencounterwiththeMoskstraumenwhirlpooloffthecoastofNorway.Thisgivesthethreeprisonersanopportunitytoescape;theymakeitbacktolandalive,butthefateofCaptainNemoandhiscrewisnotrevealed.

Allusions/referencestoactualhistory,geographyandcurrentscience

FightingasquidontheNautilus

CommanderMatthewFontaineMaury,"CaptainMaury"inVerne'sbook,areal-lifeoceanographerwhoexploredthewinds,seas,currents,andcollectedsamplesofthebottomoftheseasandchartedallofthesethingsismentionedafewtimesinthisworkbyJulesVerne.JulesVernecertainlywouldhaveknownofMatthewMaury'sinternationalfameandperhapsMaury'sFrenchancestry.

SomeofVerne'sideasaboutthenot-yet-existingsubmarineswhichwerelaidoutinthisbookturnedouttobeprophetic(suchasthehighspeedandsecretconductoftoday'snuclearattacksubmarines),and(withdieselsubmarines)theneedtosurfacefrequentlyforfreshair.

Verneborrowedthename"Nautilus"fromoneoftheearliestsuccessfulsubmarines,builtin1800byRobertFulton,wholaterinventedthefirstcommerciallysuccessfulsteamboat.Theworditselfisafterthechamberednautilus,akindofmollusk.

Vernecanalsobecreditedwithglimpsingthemilitarypossibilitiesofsubmarines,andspecificiallythedangerwhichtheypossessedforthenavalsuperiorityoftheBritishNavy,composedofsurfacewarships.ThefictionalsinkingofashipbyNemo's"Nautilus"wastobeenactedagainandagaininreality,inthesamewaterswhereVernepredictedit,byGermanU-boatsinbothWorldWars.

Nolesssignificant,thoughmorerarelycommentedon,istheveryboldpoliticalvision(indeed,revolutionaryforitstime)representedbythecharacterofCaptainNemo.AsrevealedinthelaterVernebookTheMysteriousIsland,CaptainNemoisanIndian,whotooktotheunderwaterlifeafterthesuppressionofthe1857IndianMutinyinwhichhisclosefamilymemberswerekilledbytheBritish.

ThischangewasmadeonrequestofVerne'spublisher,Pierre-JulesHetzel(whoisknowntoberesponsibleformanyseriouschangesinVerne'sbooks)sinceintheoriginaltextthemysteriouscaptainwasanethnicPole,avenginghisfamilywhowerekilledbyRussians.Theyhadbeenmurderedinretaliationforthecaptain'stakingpartinthePolishJanuaryUprising(1863).AsFrancewasalliedwithTsaristRussia,toavoidtroublethetargetforNemo'swrathwaschangedtoFrance'soldenemy:theBritishEmpire.ItisnowonderthatProfessorPierreAronnaxdoesnotsuspectNemo'sorigins,asthesewereexplainedonlylater,inVerne'snextbook.WhatremainedinthebookfromtheinitialconceptisaportraitofTadeuszKo?ciuszko(Polishnationalhero,leaderoftheuprisingagainstRussiain1794)withinscriptioninLatin:"FinisPoloniae!".

ThenationaloriginofCaptainNemowaschangedduringmostmovierealizations;innearlyallpicture-basedworksfollowingthebookhewasmadeintoaEuropean.NemowasrepresentedasanIndianinthe1973EuropeanminiseriesTheMysteriousIslandbyOmarSharifandlaterinTheLeagueofExtraordinaryGentlemen,bothinthegraphicnovelandthemovie.

Recurringthemesinlaterbooks

VernereturnedtothethemeofanoutlawsubmarinecaptaininhismuchlaterFacingtheFlag.Thatbook'smainvillain,KerKarraje,isacompletelyunscrupulouspirate,actingpurelyandsimplyforgain,completelyvoidofallthesavinggraceswhichgaveNemo-forallthathe,too,wascapableofruthlesskillings-somenobilityofcharacter.

LikeNemo,KerKarrajeplays"host"tounwillingFrenchguests-butunlikeNemo,whomanagestoeludeallpursuers,Karraje'scareerofoutlawryisdecisivelyendedbythecombinationofaninternationaltaskforceandtherebellionofhisFrenchcaptives.Thoughalsowidelypublishedandtranslated,itneverattainedthelastingpopularityof"TwentyThousandLeagues".

MoresimilartotheoriginalNemo,thoughwithalessfinelyworked-outcharacter,isRoburinRoburtheConqueror-adarkandflamboyantoutlawrebelusinganaircraftinsteadofasubmarine.

Translations

ThenovelwasfirsttranslatedintoEnglishin1873byReverendLouisPageMercier(aka"MercierLewis").MerciercutnearlyaquarterofVerne'soriginaltextandmadehundredsoftranslationerrors,sometimesdramaticallychangingthemeaningofVerne'soriginalintent.Nonethelessitbecamethe"standard"Englishtranslationforoverahundredyears,whileothertranslationscontinuedtodrawfromit-anditsmistakes.

Manyofthe"sins"ofMercierwerefinallycorrectedinafrom-the-ground-upre-examinationofthesourcesandanentirelynewtranslation(asTwentyThousandLeaguesUndertheSeas)byWalterJamesMillerandFrederickPaulWalterbetween1989and1991;butthosetranslatorsmadeonenewerror:"frogman"uniformlyandwronglyforadiverinold-typeheavystandarddivingdressforFrenchscaphandrier.Also,theyreplacedsomeplacenamesanachronisticallybypost-Vernereal-worldrenamings,forexampleSriLankaforCeylon.

Film,TVortheatricaladaptations

TheNautilusasenvisionedintheWaltDisneyfilm

20,000lieuessouslesmers(1907)

20,000LeaguesUndertheSea(1916)

20,000LeaguesUndertheSea(1954)-producedbyWaltDisney,probablythebestknownversion

CaptainNemoandtheUnderwaterCity(1969)-Britishversionwithadifferentstory

20,000LeaguesUndertheSea(1972)-Rankin-Bassproduction

TheReturnofCaptainNemo(1978TVmovie)

20,000LeaguesUndertheSea(1997TVmovie,MichaelCaine)

20,000LeaguesUndertheSea(1997TVmovie,BenCross)

CrayolaKidsAdventures:20,000LeaguesUndertheSea(1997video)

AversionofCaptainNemoandtheNautilusappearedinTheLeagueofExtraordinaryGentlemen,inthefirsttwovolumesofthecomicbookaswellasinthefilm.

ThesecondpartofthesecondseasonofAroundtheWorldwithWillyFogbySpanishstudioBRBInternationalwas20,000LeaguesUndertheSea.

InJapaneseanimationNadia:TheSecretofBlueWater,variouscharactersandbackgroundarebasedonthisbook,suchasCaptainNemoandtheNautilus.

AstageplayadaptationbyWalkthePlank(theatrecompany).Inthisversion,the"Nautilese"privatelanguageusedbytheNautilus'screw,waskept,representedbyamixtureofPolishandFarsi.

Storychangesinmovieadaptations

Insome,theNautilusisnuclearpowered.

The1954WaltDisneyversionhasadifferentending(whichi