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Re: Nemo's name

From: Tom McCormick <jambuvijaya~at~yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 15:37:47 -0700 (PDT)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Craig, Your remarks are pertinent and your position is well argued. I want to note, however, that when Nemo says he belongs to the same homeland as the Indian pearl fisher, he uses the phrase "the land of the oppressed". There's no doubt in my mind that he's speaking metaphorically here and not about India. On the other hand, I must concede your point about the relative unlikelihood of a Russian ship patrolling that particular area, absent Russian belligerency vis-a-vis some western European power. But then, there's also Nemo's remark to Aronnaxz that he (Nemo) studied in London, vs. the MI Nemo's refusal to set foot in Britain. There's no doubt that Verne does tease us here. The evidence that Verne thought of Nemo as Polish and nixed the idea due to Hetzel's pressure is fairly solid, but then he may have had other ideas at other times. (The fact that his crew is multinational doesn't seem to me to provide evidence one way or the other, considering that Nemo is a cosmopolite, regardless of where he originated.)  Indeed, Verne may have been deliberately inconsistent for the fun of it. "Southern latitude". Yep, Aronnax does say so. Combine that with Nemo's remark about the Indian diver and the case for India becomes somewhat stronger. Then again, I recall that at one point in I forget which manuscript, Verme referred to his antihero by the evidently southern-latitude, but not Indian, name "Juan Nemo"---though I cannot cite chapter and verse here; perhaps someone on the network can help me locate that one.  Each to his own solution to the problem. Regards, Tom    ________________________________ From: Craig Weatherhill <craig~at~agantavas.org> To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il> Sent: Mon, August 2, 2010 10:32:46 AM Subject: Re: Nemo's name Many thanks, Rick.  Your translation was the best I've read and it helped me hugely while writing 'Nautilus'. Craig On 2 Est 2010, at 15:25, Rick Walter~at~comcast.net wrote: > Craig-- > > This is one of the clearest, best-balanced summaries of Nemo's realities that >I've read. Many thanks! > > > Warmest regards, > > Rick > > Frederick Paul Walter > Albuquerque, New Mexico > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Craig Weatherhill" <craig~at~agantavas.org> > To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il> > Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 10:26 PM > Subject: Re: Nemo's name > > >> Having Nemo as an Indian works far better for Verne and the book as a whole.  >>Russia would be most unlikely to have ships patrolling in the areas where Nemo >>sinks the two warships, but the Royal Navy certainly would.  There are many >>light-skinned Indians who could be mistaken for Europeans, and Aronnax suspects >>that the captain hails from southern latitudes.  The Mysterious Island tells us >>that he spent several  decades studying in Europe, so it's quite likely that >>much of his art  collection was European.  I suspect that several of his crew >>were  followers from those days: the crew member killed by the squid calls  for >>help in French. The dying crewman that Aronnax is called to  examine was an >>"Anglo-Saxon" type.  This doesn't mean to say that the  man was English: >>Anglo-Saxons hail from northern Germany.  Then, of  course, there's the incident >>on the Manaar Banks when Nemo saves the  life of an Indian pearl diver and makes >>that deliberately ambiguous  statement about them both being natives of an >>oppressed land.  The  mystery of Nemo's origins is beautifully maintained >>throughout 20K,  and it's a major feature of the book, with Aronnax trying every >>which  way to find out, and Nemo stringing him along, always one step ahead  of >>him.  That one aspect of the book leads the first-time reader to  anticipate an >>eventual answer.  Verne plays exactly the same game as  Nemo.  He brilliantly >>strings the reader along all the way through -  and, of course, there is no >>answer at the end.  That won't come until  you've got through 3 volumes of the >>sequel and, even then, the reader  doesn't realise it's a sequel until the last >>chapters of Vol. 3. >> >> I think it's this ongoing and unanswered mystery in 20K that really qualifies >>Nemo as one of fiction's greatest and most fascinating character creations, as >>well as the inner turmoil of his mind, which  he only allows to surface on a >>handful of occasions in the latter part  of the book when his mental state is >>visibly degenerating.  Most  brilliant of all is the maelstrom of emotions that >>eventually lead him  to pilot the 'Nautilus' into the real Maelstrom. >> >> When freed from the awful and perpetuated Victorian translations and editing, >>and re-presented properly in translations such as Miller and Walter, it's >>features like these which make 20K one of the finest ever works of fiction. >> >> Craig >> >> >> >> On 2 Est 2010, at 02:31, Tom McCormick wrote: >> >>> Dear vernian friends, >>> >>> I guess it's not strange that there is a confusion about Nemo's identity, since >>>we know that (1) Verne originally conceived him in  20L as a Polish rebel in the >>>1863 revolt against Russia; (2) the  idea was nixed by publisher Heztel who >>>didn't want to offend Russian  readers; and (3) in MI Verne eventually made him >>>an Indian rebel in  the 1857 Sepoy rebellion against Britain. This is best >>>regarded as a  compromise on Verne's part: he was able to fulfill his aim of  >>>portraying Nemo as a rebel against tyranny, although he had to  change the >>>answer to the question "a rebel of which nationality, and  against which >>>tyrant?" >>> >>> Of course, this change creates inconsistencies. Nemo in 20L can  hardly be an >>>Indian and indeed resembles a European: he plays the  organ (not the sarod or >>>sitar), his pseudonym "Nemo" and his  motto  "mobilis in mobili" are Latin (not >>>Sanskrit), and his art collection  is European (not South Asian). Furthermore, >>>we are told in MI that  Nemo, when he lived on land, always refused to set foot >>>in Britain;  but in 20L he tells Aronnax he studied engineering in London. >>> >>> Verne's strange footnotes in MI tell us we will eventually resolve  the >>>chronological and other inconsistencies betwixt the two novels  in which Nemo >>>appears. I suspect he meant we'd eventually figure out  the truth behind the >>>apparent contradictions and solve them for  ourselves. Responding to this >>>challenge, I prefer to think of Nemo's autobiographical narrative in MI as >>>written in a kind of code to  baffle Hetzel: for India I read Poland, and for >>>Britain I read  Russia. For Tippu Sahib, perhaps we should read the name of a >>>great  Polish patriot . . . maybe Kosciuszko? >>> >>> The game of companionating fictional characters from different  authors is fun >>>to play, but it obviously doesn't tell us anything  about an author's >>>intentions. (I once wrote a fantasy about Nemo in  which he turns out to be >>>Inspector Javert from Hugo's Les  Miserables, who became an undersea avenger >>>after repudiating his  faith in Law and faking his suicide in the Seine. Ripping >>>fun, but  nothing more.) >>> >>> From: JUAN GONZALEZ <modmyth~at~hotmail.com> >>> To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il >>> Sent: Thu, July 29, 2010 6:28:28 PM >>> Subject: Re: Nemo's name >>> >>> Very funny reply.  I fell in love with Verne's works through Captain Nemo, so >>>the notion that he was Moriarty was repulsive to me. >>> >>> I think many people have elaborated on the Wold Newton concept, I  think it was >>>2 or 3 carriages, a few people on horseback, and a  dog.  I am smiling a little >>>as I write this.  Farmer (RIP- he  recently died) was a big fan of Doc Savage, >>>and Tarzan.  His Wold  Newton ideas connect the 2 characters, among many >>>others.  Holmes,  James Bond, The Avenger, the Shadow, etc.  Interesting ideas. >>> >>> Juan >>> >>> >>> From: harryhayfield~at~googlemail.com >>> To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il >>> Subject: Re: Nemo's name >>> Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:10:25 +0100 >>> >>> You have got that so right. According to the theory, this is what happened: >>> >>> In 1795, a meteor landed in the village of Wold Newton (not far from Market >>>Rasen in England) and exploded just as a carriage was passing containing about >>>twenty different people (to which I say, it must  have been a very large >>>carriage indeed then). When the meteor  exploded, it did so with such >>>brightness, heat and noise that the  horses reared up and forced the carriage to >>>roll over. Whilst the  passengers and riders were recovering they were being >>>"ionised" by  the radiation given off by the meteor which would enable them to  >>>give birth to people such as Allan Quatermain, Harry Flashman,  Phileas Fogg and >>>Colonel Moriarty. >>> >>> To which I say (in the style of Lord Guinness from "Around the World with Willy >>>Fog"): POPPYCOCK!!! >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il [mailto:owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il]On  Behalf Of >>>JUAN GONZALEZ >>> Sent: 29 July 2010 11:58 pm >>> To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il >>> Subject: Re: Nemo's name >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I believe, and I may be wrong, but this name may come from Phillip  Jose >>>Farmer's book -The Other Log of Phileas Fogg- in which the  preposterous notion >>>that Captain Nemo was really Professor James  Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes' >>>nemesis).  I think this is one of the  seminal works for the Wold Newton Family >>>concept, a Farmerian idea  that many literary characters are part of a large >>>family, all  descendants of a few people affected by a meteorite that landed in  >>>Wold Newton, England. >>> >>> >> >> -- >> Craig Weatherhill > -- Craig Weatherhill
Received on Tue 03 Aug 2010 - 16:47:33 IDT

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