I loved reading Jules Verne’s books when I was a child. He was the original Sci-Fi writer, or perhaps more a futurist, like Isaac Asimov a century later.
He gave rise to the Steampunk genre, but his meticulous use of scientific knowledge of the time and wove it into his adventure stories.
Even the idea of of a subterranean cavernous realm, complete with an ocean, tides and functional, complex ecosystem was a serious scientific consideration in the mid 1800’s even tough it seem nonsensical, serves as a snapshot of serious intellectual thinking of the era.
As a boy, my over-riding enthusiasm was for the adventure and they dinosaurs they encountered; but reading the book again, per chance, 40 years later, I found myself my aware of the characters than before, particularly the snivelling and cowardly nephew. I found myself irritated by him, where I wasn’t previously, and i think this was partly because his role in the story is one of the “everyman”. That is, he represents in some ways the reader, playing the part of the helper, that you or I would play, so that through him, we are drawn to participate in the plot.
So when this character displays liabilities of character that as men, we find offensive; plus he has a strong disinclination to participate, we can feel like he’s trying to leave US out of the story. I wonder how many other books I read as a child would give me a fresh insight into the characters and plot that would continue to enrich my appreciation and afford me a chance to reflect on my own evolution as a character.
