Captain Nemo's questing after American causes

Jules Verne's transatlantic vision of Reconstruction

Bibliographic Data

ID3852435
AuthorsSharon Kennedy-Nolle, Sharon D Kennedy-Nolle (Iona College, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume5
Issue4
Pages441-458
Publication date2007-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative American Studies An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1477-5700 • E-ISSN: 1741-2676
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/147757007x235732
OpenAlexW1986399526
LanguageEN
References cited28

This article analyzes Jules Verne's 1871 novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, as a transatlantic comment on the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Witnessing the social and political strife that would lead up to the Franco-Prussian War and its aftermath, Verne looked to the American postwar scene to gauge the fate of democracy and to explore the meaning of nationhood itself. His creation of an autocratic hero of a republican cause suggests that the first step toward reconstructing a damaged nationalist sensibility began with recognizing the ongoing legitimacy of tensions across the political spectrum. Verne represented both sides of the American conflict, with sympathy for the struggles of the former slaves as well as for the losses of the defeated former masters. Drawing upon both Verne's correspondence and a close reading of the novel, the article contributes to recent reappraisals of Verne's work based upon its international political import

Art · Autocracy · Democracy · HERO · Legitimacy · Literature · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Alexander von Humboldt Studies · American Environmental and Regional History · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law

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