Tim Unwin
164
represents a cartography of knowledge itself, a modern epic of Homeric
proportions.
12 Julien Gracq notes the same essential impulse, while focussing on Verne’s geographical coverage. At the heart of the corpus,
he says, are the “grands romans cosmiques” based on one of the fundamental elements – the sea (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers), the air
(Cinq semaines en ballon), the earth (Voyage au centre de la terre) –
or on one of the key ice-bound points of the globe such as the North
Pole (Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras), or the Antarctic
(Le Sphinx des glaces). Then there is a whole series of novels that are
set in key points of the various continents. And finally, says Gracq,
there are the novels that link different regions and continents, binding
the Vernian corpus into a coherent entity, such as Le Tour du monde
en quatre-vingts jours, or Les Enfants du capitaine Grant.
13
Serres and Gracq rightly emphasize the very self-conscious attempt at totality in Verne, both of knowledge itself and of the natural
world that is the outward focus of such knowledge. One could additionally stress that the discipline of geography plays the pre-eminent
role in that process. Geography is, first and foremost – and selfevidently – the discipline most closely aligned to travel, involving
knowledge about conditions and features of different parts of the natural world. However, geography is also the key that unlocks a multitude of other knowledge areas in the Voyages extraordinaires. First
among them are oceanography, geology, volcanology, cartography,
botany, zoology and anthropology. Following on from these (when
Verne’s travellers enter into the detailed calculation of distances and
global positions) we find astronomy, geometry and trigonometry, or
(when certain modern forms of travel are involved) engineering, thermodynamics and aerodynamics. Conversely, when a text like Voyage
au centre de la terre leads travellers towards the discovery of prehistory, we encounter archaeology and palaeontology. Last but by no
means least, geography (as the study of places and peoples) is almost
unfailingly coupled with history in Verne’s novels, forming a continuum that remains at the heart of the French school curriculum to this
day. Geography and the various areas of knowledge it leads out into
thus facilitates Verne’s encyclopaedic and “interdisciplinary” approach in the novel. Moreover, since these related fields are conspicu___________________________
12 Michel Serres, Jouvences sur Jules Verne (Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1974), pp. 1117.
13 “Entretien inédit: Julien Gracq”, Revue Jules Verne, 10 (2000), 60-61.
164
represents a cartography of knowledge itself, a modern epic of Homeric
proportions.
12 Julien Gracq notes the same essential impulse, while focussing on Verne’s geographical coverage. At the heart of the corpus,
he says, are the “grands romans cosmiques” based on one of the fundamental elements – the sea (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers), the air
(Cinq semaines en ballon), the earth (Voyage au centre de la terre) –
or on one of the key ice-bound points of the globe such as the North
Pole (Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras), or the Antarctic
(Le Sphinx des glaces). Then there is a whole series of novels that are
set in key points of the various continents. And finally, says Gracq,
there are the novels that link different regions and continents, binding
the Vernian corpus into a coherent entity, such as Le Tour du monde
en quatre-vingts jours, or Les Enfants du capitaine Grant.
13
Serres and Gracq rightly emphasize the very self-conscious attempt at totality in Verne, both of knowledge itself and of the natural
world that is the outward focus of such knowledge. One could additionally stress that the discipline of geography plays the pre-eminent
role in that process. Geography is, first and foremost – and selfevidently – the discipline most closely aligned to travel, involving
knowledge about conditions and features of different parts of the natural world. However, geography is also the key that unlocks a multitude of other knowledge areas in the Voyages extraordinaires. First
among them are oceanography, geology, volcanology, cartography,
botany, zoology and anthropology. Following on from these (when
Verne’s travellers enter into the detailed calculation of distances and
global positions) we find astronomy, geometry and trigonometry, or
(when certain modern forms of travel are involved) engineering, thermodynamics and aerodynamics. Conversely, when a text like Voyage
au centre de la terre leads travellers towards the discovery of prehistory, we encounter archaeology and palaeontology. Last but by no
means least, geography (as the study of places and peoples) is almost
unfailingly coupled with history in Verne’s novels, forming a continuum that remains at the heart of the French school curriculum to this
day. Geography and the various areas of knowledge it leads out into
thus facilitates Verne’s encyclopaedic and “interdisciplinary” approach in the novel. Moreover, since these related fields are conspicu___________________________
12 Michel Serres, Jouvences sur Jules Verne (Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1974), pp. 1117.
13 “Entretien inédit: Julien Gracq”, Revue Jules Verne, 10 (2000), 60-61.