Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

As the Nautilus heads south, they encounter floating ice. Although the path ahead is crowded with ice packs, the ship is able to easily slip through. They sit on the platform in fur to protect themselves from the frigid air. There are currently three or four hours of night, but soon there will be “six months of darkness” (186).

On March 16, they enter the Antarctic Circle. They are surrounded by ice, but the ship moves seamlessly. Professor Aronnax marvels at the beauty of the ice, which Captain Nemo penetrates like a “battering ram” (186). The wind and fog make it impossible to see. On March 18, an iceberg totally blocks the path and they are surrounded by in impenetrable field of ice on all sides. They can go neither backward nor forward. Captain Nemo, however, insists to Professor Aronnax that they are not stuck, and can go even further south, all the way to the pole. As no man had ever tread there before, including Captain Nemo, Professor Aronnax wonders if it is a “mad enterprise” that only a “maniac would have conceived” (188). Nemo plans to pass underneath the iceberg, speculating that the ice does not go lower than 900 feet below the surface.

Captain Nemo’s only reservation is that they may not be able to resurface. At some point they will need air, even if they fill the reservoirs to capacity. Professor Aronnax wonders if they can use the spur diagonally against the ice. Captain Nemo prepares the ship, filling the reservoirs, and it dives.

The ship finds the bottom of the iceberg, which is over a thousand feet deep. The Nautilus attempts to penetrate the iceberg to reach the surface, but to no avail. They should have surfaced four hours ago to replenish the air supply, but they can only ascend slowly on a diagonal. Finally, on March 19, Captain Nemo enters the saloon to announce they are in water.

Captain Nemo and two of his men, along with Professor Aronnax and Conseil take the small boat toward a stretch of land a few miles away, which is “perhaps a continent” (192). When they reach it, Professor Aronnax insists Captain Nemo be the first to step out onto the uncharted land. Professor Aronnax follows with Conseil, noting the soil is clearly of “volcanic origin” (192). While there is only slight vegetation, as well as some mollusks, mussels, and zoophytes, there are thousands of birds, including albatrosses, chionis, petrels, damiers, and penguins. Captain Nemo has his men hunt some of them. However, the sun does not appear, which makes it impossible to determine if they are at the pole.

On March 20, they return to land to use the sun to determine their location. They observe a large variety of seals and sea elephants, which measure 10 and a half yards in length. At noon, the sun is still not visible. They have one more day to get a reading before the sun disappears for six months. The next day, Professor Aronnax asks Ned to come with them, but is relieved when he refuses, as the seals would be too much temptation for him.

Aronnax heads out in the small boat with Captain Nemo, two men, and the instruments, including a chronometer, telescope, and barometer. They arrive on land and climb to the top of a peak. After two hours, they reach the summit, looking out over a vast stretch of rocks and ice to the south and east. The sun begins to head toward the horizon, and at noon, it disappears, which means they are at the pole. Captain Nemo takes possession of it in his own name. He unfurls a banner with an “N” embroidered on it in gold.

On March 22, they depart the South Pole. The Nautilus descents 1,000 feet and heads north at 15 miles per hour. In the middle of the night, Professor Aronnax is thrown into the middle of the room by a “violent shock” (199). He heads into the saloon and finds the furniture flung everywhere. Ned speculates the ship has struck something and is now lying on its side. Professor Aronnax reads the manometer and determines they are still beneath the water’s surface.

Professor Aronnax asks Nemo if there’s been an incident, to which Captain Nemo replies there’s actually been an accident. He reassures them the danger is not immediate, but the Nautilus is stranded: An enormous iceberg has turned over and struck the ship. When the base of an iceberg heats up, it changes the center of gravity, potentially causing it to flip. This one has glided under the ship’s hull and raised it, causing the ship to turn on its side. They are trying to empty the reservoirs to help the ship return to equilibrium. The ship is rising, but so is the block of ice. Professor Aronnax worries they will eventually hit the top part of the iceberg, causing the ship to get crushed.

After 10 minutes, the ship manages to right itself. They are in open water but surrounded by walls of ice on both sides, as well as above and below. The saloon gleams with intense light from the ice, shining in every color. It looks like a “dazzling mine of gems, particularly sapphires, their blue rays crossing with the green of emerald” (201-2). Even Ned remarks on the beauty of the scene, although he wonders if God intended man to see it. The ship heads backward to find a way out of the ice tunnel, but strikes ice going. They are trapped in the ice with no way out.

The Nautilus is surrounded by ice on all sides. There are two ways of dying in this situation: being crushed, or suffocating. The air reservoirs will be completely depleted in 48 hours, during which time they will attempt to escape. Professor Aronnax exclaims that he is relying on the courage of Ned and Conseil, while Ned proclaims he is “ready to do anything for the general safety” (204). They head out onto the bank of ice with Captain Nemo and the crew to dig a trench near the ship’s port quarter. However, after 12 hours of work, they estimate it will take another five nights to finish the job. They only have enough air for two more days. Everyone is still determined to do what they can to survive.

The next morning, the side walls of ice are closing in on the ship. The only solution is to work faster than the walls are solidifying. On March 26, Professor Aronnax almost gives up when he realizes that the walls of the iceberg are continuing to grow thicker. Captain Nemo suddenly comes up with the idea of using jets of boiling water “injected by the pumps” (207) to raise the temperature. They implement the plan, but the process only raises the temperature by a few degrees.

On March 27, they still need to clear four yards of ice away, which it will take 48 hours. In that time, the air on the ship will run out. Professor Aronnax begins to experience the effects of running out of oxygen: He is dizzy and his head aches. With one yard to go, Captain Nemo decides to crush the remaining ice with the ship and head out into open water. The ship descends, and then heads north under the iceberg. Professor Aronnax is in agony, turning purple from lack of oxygen. Suddenly he is able to breathe—Ned and Conseil are using the last of the oxygen from the diving apparatus to supply him with air. They are 20 feet from the surface under a sheet of ice. The ship crashes through like a “battering-ram” (210) and reaches the surface. Air rushes in.

Professor Aronnax finds himself on the platform, unsure of how he got there. He, Ned, and Conseil breathe in the air without restraint. Professor Aronnax thanks his two companions for saving his life. Ned proclaims that when he finally leaves the “infernal Nautilus” (211), Professor Aronnax will come with him. However, Professor Aronnax worries Nemo will take them to the “deserted seas” (211) of the Pacific, where their journey began. They have forgotten the ordeal in the South Pole and think only of the future.

On April 1, they see the mountains of Terra del Fuego to the west, followed by the Falkland Islands. Professor Aronnax observes fish unique to the sea around the Falklands. The Nautilus follows the coast of South America heading north, traveling quickly past the populated coast of Brazil, to the dismay of Ned. They descend on April 9 to the “lowest depth of the submarine valley” (213) between Sierra Leone in Africa and Cape Ran Roque in South America and rise suddenly again on April 11 as they cross the equator. Although the Guianas are only 20 miles west, the waves are too rough to make an escape attempt.

Professor Aronnax continues his studies as the ship stays on the surface. The nets bring in zoophytes, fish, and reptiles. Of particular note are the 15-inch-long eels with “pointed snouts” (214) that travel along the current of the Amazon, yard-long little sharks with many rows of teeth, and 20-ounce ray that “formed a perfect disc” (214). On April 12, they sail near the Dutch coast and observe “peaceable and inoffensive” manatees (215) animals that serve an essential function by destroying weeds that are an obstruction to tropical rivers. Aronnax explains that since the manatees have been hunted to near extinction, the unchecked growth of weeds have “poisoned the air” (215), causing diseases like yellow fever. Nevertheless, the ship’s crew kills half a dozen of them to eat, as well as many other fish and fresh turtles with “exquisite flavour” (216). After a successful day of fishing, the ship departs the shores of the Amazon.

Professor Aronnax, Ned, and Conseil converse at length about their possible escape. They have been on the Nautilus for six months and traveled 17,000 leagues. Captain Nemo has recently become “grave, more retired, less sociable” (216)—he will not let them go of his own volition. Professor Aronnax feels shunned by the Captain, who rarely makes an appearance.

Near the Bahamas, Professor Aronnax explains to Ned that they might expect to see enormous poulps, or giant squid. There are legends dating back to ancient times of poulps taking down whole ships with mouths “like gulfs” (218). The most compelling modern evidence comes from the real-life Captain Bouguer and the crew of the Alector, who saw a “monstrous cuttle-fish swimming in the water” (219) in 1861. “Bouguer’s cuttle-fish” (219) measured six yards, had eight tentacles, three hearts, and eyes in the back of its head.

Ned runs to the window, claiming to see Bouguer’s cuttlefish. Professor and Conseil look outside and observe “an immense cuttle-fish, being eight yards long” (219) swimming quickly toward the ship. It has eight arms, a mouth like a beak, long rows of sharp teeth, and weighs thousands of pounds. Professor Aronnax counts seven others like the first. The Nautilus rises to the surface but stops moving. Captain Nemo and his lieutenant decide to fight the poulps “man to beast” (220)—one of them is caught in the ship’s blades, which is why they have stopped moving. He plans to kill them all with hatchets, and Ned offers to help with his harpoon.

As they remove the panel to go outside, tentacles slip into the opening. Two of them grab one of the crew members. He cries for help in French, which stirs emotions in Professor Aronnax as he fears for his fellow countryman. As a dozen creatures encroach on the ship, everyone attacks with their weapons. The creature holding the crewmember sprays a black liquid that blinds them all and disappears. One of the creatures knocks Ned to the ground with its tentacles and prepares to eat him. Suddenly, Captain Nemo plunges his ax into the creature’s jaws, and Ned stabs his harpoon into its triple heart. The creatures, “vanquished and mutilated” (222), head back into the sea.

Captain Nemo is devastated at the loss of another companion. The fact that the man had spoken his native French at the end, instead of the language used on board the ship, deeply moves Professor Aronnax. Captain Nemo shuts himself inside his room, “sad and irresolute” (223). The ship stays in the same place for 10 days before finally resuming its journey north following the Gulf Stream.

The ship seems to be sailing at random, which gives them some possibility for escape. There are ships around and they are not more than 30 miles from the American coast. However, the weather is not favorable and there are lots of storms. Still, soon they will be near Ned’s native Quebec. Professor Aronnax has also begun to feel homesick after seven months on the Nautilus. Ned suggests he talk to Captain Nemo that night.

Professor Aronnax finds Captain Nemo, who impatiently asks him what he wants. Nemo is working on a manuscript in many different languages of his studies of the sea. He wishes it to be put into a case for the last survivor on the ship to throw into the water. Professor Aronnax offers to keep it for Nemo if he will free them, but Captain Nemo’s feelings about letting them go remain the same. Aronnax bristles at Nemo’s desire to “impose actual slavery” (226) on them, but Captain Nemo insists he doesn’t keep him on board “for my pleasure” (226).

Professor Aronnax relates his conversation to Ned and Conseil. Ned says they should escape regardless of the weather when they are near Long Island. However, a hurricane descends upon them on May 13. The ship gets tossed around by gigantic waves. A cyclone approaches. Lightening crackles all around. Captain Nemo stands out on the platform “courting a death worthy of himself, a death by lightning” (228). Finally, the ship descends and the water becomes so calm that one would hardly know a hurricane raged above.

The storm forces them to sail northeast, so there is no chance of escaping to the American coast. Ned isolates himself “in despair” (228), but Conseil and Professor Aronnax stay together. The ship dives to avoid the dense fog that has shipwrecked so many others. On May 15, they are south of the Bank of Newfoundland, where there are blocks of ice and “large heaps of organic matter” (229). On May 17, Professor Aronnax spots an underwater electric cable for telegraph communication on the sea floor—the remains of a failed attempt in 1863 to run a cable measuring 2,000 miles. A better cable was eventually constructed and was successfully run under the Atlantic.

On May 28, they are 120 miles from Ireland but begin to head south. Professor Aronnax is unsure where they are going. Captain Nemo seems “gloomier than ever” (231). The ship travels in circles and appears to be trying to find a particular location. On June 1, Captain Nemo takes the sun’s altitude and cryptically pronounces, “It is here” (231). The ship descends into the water.

Professor Aronnax sees a “large protuberance” (231)—the sunken ship Marseillais. After it participated in several battles. In 1794, its name was changed to “The Avenger” (232) and it was tasked with escorting corn from America under Admiral Van Stable. It encountered an English vessel and preferred to sink with all 356 crew on board rather than surrender. When Aronnax identifies it, Captain Nemo declares the renamed vessel to have “A good name!” (232).

Professor Aronnax realizes Captain Nemo is a man with a “hatred” that “could never weaken” (232). As the Nautilus rises again to the surface, they hear a loud sound in the air—the sound of a gunshot coming from a “man-of-war” (233) that is now six miles away from the Nautilus. Ned says if the ship comes within a mile of them, he’s going to throw himself into the water and advises Professor Aronnax and Conseil to do the same. Whether the ship is Russian, American, French, or English, it will take them on board.

Something heavy lands in the water nearby and they realize the vessel is firing on the Nautilus. Professor Aronnax wonders if everyone figured out that the monster cetacean was actually a submarine vessel and are now out to destroy it. Maybe Captain Nemo had attacked some other ship in an act of vengeance when Professor Aronnax, Ned, and Conseil were drugged that one night. Perhaps nations had banded together to destroy “a man who had vowed a deadly hatred against them” (234). If this is the case, the ship attacking them would view any man on board the Nautilus as an enemy, ruining their escape plan.

Ned signals to the other ship, but as he waves his handkerchief in the air, Captain Nemo strikes him down and angrily asks if Ned wishes “to be pierced by the spur of the Nautilus before it is hurled at this vessel?” (234). As a shot strikes the Nautilus, Nemo commands Professor Aronnax, Ned, and Conseil to go inside because he plans to sink the other vessel. Captain Nemo refuses to identify the other ship, but tells Professor Aronnax that because of a man on that ship, he lost everything—“country, wife, children, father, and mother” (235).

Professor Aronnax, Ned, and Conseil agree they would rather sink with the other ship than be part of Captain Nemo’s revenge. However, the Nautilus descends and they are once again trapped. The Nautilus speeds up and attacks the other vessel with its spur. Professor Aronnax screams and hears “rattlings and scrapings” (238), feeling like he’s losing his mind. Captain Nemo watches the other ship sink: Men are “clinging to the masks, struggling under the water” (238). Aronnax looks at Captain Nemo, now a “perfect archangel of hatred” (238) watching the ship go down unblinkingly. Captain Nemo then turns to a portrait of a young woman and two children and bursts out crying.

Professor Aronnax feels “an insurmountable horror” (239) of Captain Nemo and deems his vengeance too extreme. He has terrible nightmares and keeps seeing the vessel sinking. He feels as though all time has stopped and refuses to see Captain Nemo or any of the crew for several days. Conseil watches him to make sure he doesn’t kill himself.

One morning, Ned wakes Professor Aronnax from a “painful and unhealthy” (239) sleep and tells him they’re leaving tomorrow night. Everyone on the Nautilus appears “stupefied” (240) and unidentifiable land appears to be about 20 miles away. The wind and water are rough, but Ned has put provisions in the small boat and is ready to “fly” (240). If anyone catches him, he’s prepared to die, to which Professor Aronnax adds they “will die together” (240).

Professor Aronnax goes to the saloon, ultimately deciding he doesn’t want to see Captain Nemo. He looks one last time at the priceless masterpieces of art and the “wonders of nature” (240), trying to retain an image of them in his mind. He then goes back to his room to get ready. He is agitated and anxious. He rehashes every event that has transpired on the Nautilus since he came aboard. The image of Captain Nemo grows to “superhuman proportions” (241) in his mind, becoming “a man of the waters, the genie of the sea” (241).

Waiting for the escape attempt to start, Aronnax hears the organ playing “a sad harmony to an undefinable chant” (241). He listens with every fiber of his being, and finds himself in the same “musical ecstasy” (241) as Captain Nemo, “which was drawing him in spirit to the end of life” (241). He suddenly realizes he has to walk through the saloon and worries that a single look or gesture from Captain Nemo will keep him from leaving. As Aronnax silently moves through the room, Captain Nemo sighs and stands up, seeming to glide “like a spectre” (242). He is crying, “Almighty God! Enough! Enough!” (242). Professor Aronnax hurries to the boat. Ned starts to loosen the bolts that connect the boat to the Nautilus when they hear the crew repeating “The maelstrom!” (242) over and over. They are near Norway where the waters form a violent whirlpool called “the ‘Navel of the Ocean’” (242). Nothing can escape it—whales, ships, and white bears have all been sacrificed to it. They are slowly being sucked in and can hear the sounds of water breaking on the rocks below. The bolts holding the boat to the Nautilus suddenly tear away and the men are flung “like a stone from a sling” (243). Professor Aronnax hits his head and loses consciousness.

Professor Aronnax does not know how he, Ned, and Conseil escaped the whirlpool, but when he regains consciousness, he is in a fisherman’s hut on the Loffoden Isles with Ned and Conseil holding his hands. They all embrace. Professor Aronnax’s records of their journey are intact, and he maintains that every detail is accurate. He doesn’t know if he’ll be believed, but he has “a right to speak of the seas” (244), having crossed 20,000 leagues in less than 10 months.

The fate of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus is unknown. Professor Aronnax doesn’t know if Captain Nemo’s manuscript will survive, or if his nationality or name will ever be revealed. He hopes that the Nautilus made it through the maelstrom and wishes that Captain Nemo’s journey’s through the sea will conquer his hatred—that the “philosopher” will replace the “judge” (244) and that his destiny will be “sublime” (244). Only two men can answer the question posed 3,000 years ago by Ecclesiastes: “That which is far off and exceeding deep, who can find it out” (244). Those two men are Captain Nemo and Professor Aronnax.