Jules Verne’s Transylvania: Cartographic Omissions
185
and intolerance, and could be seen as a Vernian meditation on
Europe’s incapacity to overcome its old nationalisms and destructive
enmities. In this sense, it is paradoxical that Le Château des Carpathes was received in Romania with great nationalist pride, since the
novel may actually carry a rather bitter message that has little to do
with Romania and more with a frail European continent. In Le Château des Carpathes could Verne be alluding, through Franz and
Rodolphe, to the Emperor Franz Joseph and to his son, Rudolph of
Austria, who was the Crown Prince? Could he be referring allegorically to their alleged rivalry (since it is said that Franz Joseph’s adversaries wanted Rudolph to replace his father at the Austro-Hungarian
throne) that had ended in a still unsolved murder / suicide mystery –
the famous Mayerling scandal of 1889, when Rudolph was found dead
in his hunting lodge? Did Rudolph commit suicide together with his
mistress or was he killed for political reasons since he was supporting
the idea of an alliance with France, while his father, Franz-Joseph favoured Germany?
58 It is hard to say if Le Château des Carpathes reflects any of those contemporary events that had shaken Europe. In
any case, as the Carpathian Castle is destroyed, Rodolphe, the only
male heir of his family, just like Rudolph of Austria, dies and together
with him, an entire world collapses, leaving only ruins and “souvenirs
de cet inoubliable passé”.
59 Yet, beyond the references to Transylvanian towns or Romanian history and folklore, in Rodolphe and Franz,
torn apart by jealousy and selfish desire, it is possible to perceive a
tragic image of a self-destructing Europe annihilating itself through
endless wars and rivalries.
___________________________
58 See Richard Barkeley, The Road to Mayerling: The Life and Death of Crown
Prince Rudolph of Austria (London: Phoenix Press, 2003).
59 Verne, Château, p. 212.
185
and intolerance, and could be seen as a Vernian meditation on
Europe’s incapacity to overcome its old nationalisms and destructive
enmities. In this sense, it is paradoxical that Le Château des Carpathes was received in Romania with great nationalist pride, since the
novel may actually carry a rather bitter message that has little to do
with Romania and more with a frail European continent. In Le Château des Carpathes could Verne be alluding, through Franz and
Rodolphe, to the Emperor Franz Joseph and to his son, Rudolph of
Austria, who was the Crown Prince? Could he be referring allegorically to their alleged rivalry (since it is said that Franz Joseph’s adversaries wanted Rudolph to replace his father at the Austro-Hungarian
throne) that had ended in a still unsolved murder / suicide mystery –
the famous Mayerling scandal of 1889, when Rudolph was found dead
in his hunting lodge? Did Rudolph commit suicide together with his
mistress or was he killed for political reasons since he was supporting
the idea of an alliance with France, while his father, Franz-Joseph favoured Germany?
58 It is hard to say if Le Château des Carpathes reflects any of those contemporary events that had shaken Europe. In
any case, as the Carpathian Castle is destroyed, Rodolphe, the only
male heir of his family, just like Rudolph of Austria, dies and together
with him, an entire world collapses, leaving only ruins and “souvenirs
de cet inoubliable passé”.
59 Yet, beyond the references to Transylvanian towns or Romanian history and folklore, in Rodolphe and Franz,
torn apart by jealousy and selfish desire, it is possible to perceive a
tragic image of a self-destructing Europe annihilating itself through
endless wars and rivalries.
___________________________
58 See Richard Barkeley, The Road to Mayerling: The Life and Death of Crown
Prince Rudolph of Austria (London: Phoenix Press, 2003).
59 Verne, Château, p. 212.