Jules VERNE is often referred to as the father of action-based science fiction, and many of his novels
are considered classics not only of the genre but also
of entertainment literature in general. Several of his
best-known works involve fabulous journeys—to
the Moon, to the center of the Earth, into space on
a comet, to the North Pole, or just a grand tour
around the entire globe. Possibly the most famous
and probably the best written of these was 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea. Although it is not true (as
some believe) that Verne predicted the submarine—
a primitive submarine had been used during the
Revolutionary War in America—his vision of life
aboard a submersible included many details in
which he fairly accurately anticipated the future.
The story is straightforward and familiar:
Something or someone is sinking the warships of
various nations—a mysterious force that, based on
admittedly disjointed reports, many believe to be a
monster. An expedition to track down the monster
goes awry, and the protagonists find themselves
taken aboard a submersible vessel that uses a technology far beyond that of any known power. The
enigmatic Captain Nemo commands the vessel,
the Nautilus, which is crewed by dedicated men so
angered by the violence of modern civilization that
they have joined with him in a pact to prey on war
vessels regardless of the flag they fly until it is theoretically impossible for the nations of the Earth to
wage war.
Nemo is the most complex character in all of
Verne’s fiction, a man driven to commit numerous
evil acts even though he is motivated by a desire
for goodness. He is not so much a villain as a tragic
hero, and the reader has mixed emotions when the
Nautilus and her crew are finally so badly damaged
that they surrender themselves to a watery grave.
The most ambitious novel Verne ever wrote,
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was one of the few to
rise above simple adventure and attempt to examine serious moral issues. Although not nearly as
well known, The Mysterious Island (1875), the sequel, is also among Verne’s better works. Both novels have been made into motion pictures, the
former at least three times; the Disney version is a
film classic.