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Re: Verne's beloved Scotland

From: Alex Kirstukas <infernalnonsense~at~yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:12:31 +0000
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Excellent points, Bill, but I don't think the Scottish nationalism in Grant was entirely Hetzel's idea. Some thoughts:

1. Backwards to Britain, I think you'll agree, is far more complimentary to the Scottish than to the English. Also, it treats the countries very clearly as two separate entities, including in the French title ("Angleterre et Ecosse").

2. Verne almost always takes the side of the invaded rather than the invaders, even when this puts him on ground that makes Hetzel squeamish (cf. Nemo as a Pole).

3. Over and over in Grant, and in vastly different contexts, Verne slams on British colonialism (see especially II.xvi, I.iii, and III.xi). In the MS, these sections are all in Verne's handwriting.

In short, I'd say that Hetzel's main contribution was to make Grant an adventurous would-be colony-founder - not a particularly bright idea, since it seems to contradict the anti-colonial sentiments Verne plants elsewhere in the book. I'd appreciate your further thoughts, though, and I've read Ishibashi's splendid thesis, so feel free to cite it.

Alex



On Jan 14, 2012, at 1:47 AM, "wbutcher" <wbutcher~at~netvigator.com> wrote:

> The relationship between the Scottish and British governments uncannily
> parallels that between the Hong Kong and Chinese ones, if only because the
> borderline between their respective powers isn't always clear. The Scottish
> first minister WANTS to hold a referendum in late 2014, but the UK prime
> minister says he can't act unilaterally...
>
> Incidentally, a break-up would presumably mean problems for the term "UK",
> describing the union of the kingdoms of Scotland and England.
>
> Actually, a proportion of the nationalist sentiment in Grant is due to
> Hetzel's ideas -- see Masataka Ishibashi's judicious study of this question
> (in his PhD). I don't think Verne really supported independence for
> Scotland.
>
> Alex, your self-deprecating irony just goes to show that often it is the
> outside observer who has the clearest view, simply by not being too closely
> involved. I watched with some bemusement the debate in this forum about the
> US Civil War/War between the States/etc, searching for some general rule as
> to when part of a country has the legal or moral right to break away (as
> Singapore did soon after independence).
>
> Best wishes
>
> Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il [mailto:owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il] On Behalf Of
> Alex Kirstukas
> Sent: 14 January 2012 08:22
> To: Jules Verne Forum
> Subject: Re: Verne's beloved Scotland
>
> Please do, Harry! And pardon whatever American misconceptions I have about
> the British electoral process. It wasn't MY idea to break off from the
> mother country, you know. :)
>
> All the best,
>
> Alex
>
>
>
> On Jan 13, 2012, at 11:37 PM, Harry Hayfield <harryhayfield~at~gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> May I, as the electoral voice on this forum, explain why that statement
> isn't strictly correct (but would like the grace to be able to post on
> Sunday, as I am involved with "Me and My Girl" at the moment!)
>> ------ Original Message ------
>> From: "Alex Kirstukas" <infernalnonsense~at~yahoo.com>
>> To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>
>> Sent: 13/01/2012 23:33:02
>> Subject: Verne's beloved Scotland
>>> I've just found out that in 2014, Britain will finally hold a
> long-awaited referendum on whether Scotland should be independent.
>>>
>>> In (yes, you knew this was coming, sorry I keep bringing it up, I love
> the book) "Les Enfants du capitaine Grant," which takes place EXACTLY a
> century and a half earlier, Verne expounds at length on that very question,
> highlighting the need for such a decision.
>>>
>>> Verne the Prophet turns up again?
>>>
>>> Alex
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
Received on Sat 14 Jan 2012 - 13:13:01 IST

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