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Keraban

From: Garmt de Vries <G.deVries~at~phys.uu.nl>
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 12:24:58 +0200 (CEST)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

Hi all,

Here are some thoughts I'd like to share about Keraban.

More than 10 years ago, I first read Keraban-le-Tetu, in a Dutch
translation. It didn't particularly strike me as a good story, much of the
action was very slow and the dialogue wasn't witty. Later, I read the play
Keraban in French, and I liked it better than the novel.

I am now rereading all the novels I only read in translation, but this
time I read them in French. When it was Keraban's turn, I wasn't really
looking forward to reading it again, but now that I've finished the book,
I'm glad I did. Much of the weak points I hated so much were in fact only
due to the lousy translation I had read.

An example: in the first chapter, a Turk takes Bruno's pipe away, because
it is Ramadan. But before he does this, he throws his own cigarette away.
In the Dutch translation I read, he just takes the pipe and doesn't smoke
himself. The entire scene becomes pointless. Another example is the trick
Bruno plays on Nizib in the lighthouse in Atina, telling him the meat he
wants to eat is porc, and so getting a double meal. This scene was
completely omitted from the translation.

These scenes in themselves aren't especially hilarious, but they add a lot
to the theatrical nature of the novel. All the dialogue in the book is
practically the same as in the play, and it's quite witty at times. At
other times, this "theatre dialogue on paper" doesn't work well for me.
For example, when Yanar complains to Kidros, the master of the
caravanserail in Rissar, about how his sister was attacked, Kidros has
already sent for the judge, who appears not much later. So what need is
there for Yanar to repeat to Kidros what happened, if Kidros is already
aware of it? First, the reader has to know about these facts, and second,
Scarpante has to overhear the conversation to think of his plan. But in
the context of the story, it doesn't make much sense.

Finally, some side remarks.

In the first few chapters/scenes, Nizib repeats everything Keraban says,
because he doesn't want to contradict him. This gag is abandoned after the
journey gets started.

I think it's a pity the scene with the mud volcanoes on fire was not
included in the play. Of course, it doesn't move the plot forward, so it
would be out of place in the play, but what a special effect it would have
made!

I never realized until now that the song that Nedjeb sings in the play is
the same as is sung at a fair in Mathias Sandorf (ch. 1 of the 2nd part).
In Sandorf, the last couplet is left out. In the bibliography at Zvi's
site, this song/poem is said to have been written in 1884, but Keraban the
play was written in 1882. Is it the author of Textes Oublies who came up
with 1884?

I really liked Keraban's struggle with himself when he learns that Ahmet
has to get married in Constantinople, so he'd have to cross the Bosporus
after all. Compared to other Vernian characters, Keraban has a rather
profound psychology!

It was actually Hetzel who came up with the decidee/decedee wordplay that
saves Van Mitten from marrying Saraboul. From the coorespondance
Verne-Hetzel it appears that Verne had originally wanted to send Van
Mitten off to Kurdistan, as the first Mme Van Mitten had really died!
Hetzel didn't like that, and suggested the confusion caused by the
telegram. And that's just as well. I can't imagine Keraban abandoning his
friend Van Mitten! But it's strange that Van Mitten would get a message in
French, not Dutch...

The story starts on August 16th, and later it is said that the year is
1882. Now Aug 16, 1882 corresponds to 2 Shawwal 1299 in the Islamic
calendar, two days after the end of the Ramadan. The conversion could be
one day off. I was wondering anyway how you can know in advance when the
Ramadan will end. The new month starts when the first crescent of a new
moon is sighted. How can you know during the day if you'll see a crescent
that night? Unless you calculate it astronomically of course, but I don't
think all muslims would accept that, especially in 1882.

By the way, happy Ramadan to those who are observing it right now!

Best regards,
Garmt.
Received on Fri 22 Oct 2004 - 12:25:10 IST

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