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Re: JV, China, race, colonialism, etc.

From: Walter J Miller <wjm2~at~nyu.edu>
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 17:39:38 -0800
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
Cc: wjm2~at~nyu.edu

Dear All: Verne's attitude toward colonial peoples, colonialism, race, etc, is one of the questions I take up in my introduction to "The Mighty Orinoco," due from Wesleyan University Press any day now. I expand on this---and on all the questions raised in the Intro---in the Notes. Cheers! Walter James Miller

----- Original Message -----
From: ralf.tauchmann~at~t-online.de (Ralf Tauchmann)
Date: Monday, January 6, 2003 5:06 am
Subject: Re: JV and China

> <Skravitz~at~aol.com> schrieb:
> > The question of Verne's social prejudices surfaces for
> discussion in this
> > Forum at regular intervals and sort of peters out with the
> opinion that he
> > was a reflection of the society in which he lived. What I would
> like to know
> > is whether French authors contemporary to Verne were more or
> less
> > "enlightened" than he was. Can forum members with critical
> knowledge of
> > French literature give us their opinions?
>
> Dear Sid,
>
> There are several questions coming up at regular intervals, regarding
> the misogyn, nationalist, antisemitic... views in some of Verne's
> books.These questions are asked with today's knowledge of recent
> history, but
> cannot be answered from today's point of view. That is why I
> simplifiedsaying Verne is a mirror (or reflection) of his time,
> but I referred to
> the "standard way of thinking" of Verne's time, especially because he
> adopted stereotype views and characters -- and this is in contrast
> withother authors like Balzac, Flaubert, Maupassant, Zola, Hugo...
> Today,I can read LES MISÉRABLES by Victor Hugo (to take a Romantic
> author)and enjoy every single phrase. When reading Verne, I will
> have to turn
> a blind eye from time to time ( e.g. when he draws conclusions on
> personal attitudes from physiognomy, nationality, social origin... )
> Or let's take the large absence of women in the novels.
>
> I wouldn't say that other authors are more "enlightened" than Verne.
> But it certainly is difficult to read Verne word by word today.
> How he has "his" domestics treated just for a laugh in ROBUR and
> LES TRIBULATIONS D'UN CHINOIS EN CHINE. How he mixes antisemitism
> and nationalism in Hector Servadac (for the rest one of my favourite
> books -- just for information: the post-war German translations left
> out the discriminating contents). Personally, I believe that much
> of this is unreflected reflection of his time. Whereas Zola
> describes the poverty of the masses in GERMINAL, Verne imagines
> an underground city in a coal mine (LES INDES NOIRES) as a place
> of people wanting to remain in the place where they worked...
> The dream of JV is human harmony with both technology/industry
> and nature.
>
> One could consider adding such a topic to the FAQ page because
> of the recurrent questions. But I am far from being convinced
> of what I said. It is just an opinion to explain my personal
> unability to fully enjoy Verne. But I continue taking him as
> he is and as his books are, I just feel sorry about certain
> points and the questions show that I am not the only one to
> "reflect" this.
>
> Best wishes to all of you,
>
> Ralf Tauchmann
> ---------------------------------
> ralf.tauchmann~at~t-online.de
> tel/fax: +49-351-8308998
> http://www.ratau.de
> ---------------------------------
>
>
>
Received on Wed 15 Jan 2003 - 03:40:52 IST

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