53 pages • 1 hour read
Jules VerneAround the World in Eighty Days
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1872A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg is the protagonist of the novel. He is a wealthy, eccentric, and solitary English gentleman who belongs to only a single social organization: the Reform Club. An example of the perfect English gentleman, he manifests Victorian-era ideals down to the precision with which he moves: He is “exactitude personified, and this [is] betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and feet […] the limbs themselves expressive of the passions” (9). Passepartout, his valet, is frequently surprised by Phileas’s principled actions throughout the narrative, such as rescuing Aouda despite the delay the rescue causes. Passepartout comes to recognize these actions as demonstrations of heart and virtue in his master, which function in tandem, as much as possible, with the man’s devotion to order.
Phileas is a symbol within multiple themes in the narrative. He spends his days reading newspapers and gambling at the Reform Club. He has a strange obsession with routine and punctuality, making the protagonist a symbol within the theme of Punctuality, Time, and Time Management. He is characterized as quiet and taciturn, his behavior often referred to as economical and machine-like, further developing his characterization as unemotional. He is compared with a waxwork and automaton. These hyperbolic characterizations align Phileas with the new technology that allows him to complete the feat of navigating the world in 80 days; that is, within the theme of The Juxtaposition of Art and Science, Phileas aligns with science. As a stereotypical English gentleman, he also personifies Victorian ideals such as integrity, reason, and morality, making him an important symbol within the theme of Victorian Honor, Integrity, and Ideals.
Jean Passepartout
Jean Passepartout is a Frenchman hired on as Phileas’s manservant, or valet, at the beginning of the novel. As indicated by his name, Passepartout is easily distracted and moves through life with little direction. He is described as a vagabond, having been a singer, a circus rider, a fireman, and finally a manservant. His easygoing, pleasant demeanor is a foil of Phileas’s strict, emotionless behavior. As Phileas’s foil, Passepartout demonstrates the emotional frustration and anger that Phileas does not throughout their travels. Passepartout's observations of Phileas also provide the necessary commentary to highlight the protagonist’s moral and ethical actions as examples of heart and conscience. These insights develop Passepartout’s regard for his stoic master and emphasize the importance of balancing time management with appreciation, punctuality with wonder, and science with art.
Passepartout provides comic relief throughout the narrative, stumbling into absurd situations that often result in farcical behavior. He also acts as a symbol of art within the theme of The Juxtaposition of Art and Science, lamenting the speed of the journey and calling attention to cultural diversity and geographical beauty over the course of their travels.
Like Detective Fix, Passepartout demonstrates some character growth due to Phileas’s influence. Struck by Phileas’s single-minded purpose, he also becomes invested in the success of the wager, demonstrating a commitment to that purpose that his previous endeavors lacked.
Detective Fix
Detective Fix is a detective of Scotland Yard and the antagonist of the novel, following Phileas, sabotaging the protagonist’s journey, and causing delays. The detective’s aim is to arrest Phileas for the burglary mentioned at the beginning of the novel. He first sees Phileas in Egypt, whereupon he determines that Phileas must be the bank robber because Phileas is almost identical to the description given for the criminal, an indication of Phileas’s stereotypical characteristics. Fix’s early interactions are primarily with Passepartout. However, he eventually joins Phileas’s entourage after they leave the British territories, determining to help Phileas arrive in London, where he has the authority to arrest him.
As an antagonist, Fix’s early attempts at sabotage and subterfuge are minor. As Phileas nears Hong Kong, Fix’s frustration intensifies, and his attempts to stop Phileas become increasingly duplicitous. Fix is a symbol of dishonor within the theme of Victorian Honor, Integrity, and Ideals that juxtaposes the strict code of honor that Phileas upholds throughout the narrative. Fix transitions to villainy when he drugs Passepartout with opium despite the dangers inherent in the drug. However, he undergoes a minor redemption on leaving the British Colonies as he travels with Phileas, witnessing the protagonist’s demonstrations of honor, bravery, and generosity. In a demonstration of duty and honor, Fix ultimately arrests Phileas despite the regard he comes to feel for the protagonist. The arrest is an ironic manifestation of Fix’s character development, which has taken place due to Phileas’s positive influence. On learning of his mistake, Fix apologizes to Phileas, who ultimately rewards Fix by splitting the remainder of his money from the journey between the detective and Passepartout.
Aouda
Aouda is Phileas’s romantic interest. She is a beautiful Parsee woman, an Indian follower of the prophet Zoroaster, who founded one of the earliest monotheistic religions. The novel reflects some of the severe discrimination and restrictions that Parsee women faced in Indian society at the time. When Phileas, Passepartout, and Sir Francis first encounter Aouda, she is about to be ritually sacrificed following the death of her husband, an elderly raja from an arranged marriage.
Aouda is a symbol of the British fascination with Eastern culture. She represents worldliness and exoticism; however, she is also an orphan raised with a British education and British sensibilities. This cultural background reflects the colonization typical of the period and, importantly, is what makes Aouda an acceptable love interest for Phileas. Her absolute devotion to Phileas and his purpose is an additional demonstration of the cultural bias in Victorian society. In short, Aouda is an important character and symbol within the theme of Imperialism, Colonization, and Period-Typical Racism.
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