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Chapter 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Journey to the Center of the Earth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Discovery
Maturity and Independence
Intuition vs. Evidence
Nature vs. Civilization
Adventure
Summary
Analysis
The following morning, Axel finds Lidenbrock talking to a strong man with long red hair who listens to Lidenbrock’s “torrent of words” with calm patience. Fridrikson introduces the man to Axel as Hans Bjelke, an eider-duck hunter. Though Hans’s quiet and solemn temperament contrasts with Lidenbrock’s nature, the two easily reach an understanding and Hans agrees to serve as Lidenbrock and Axel’s guide.
Hans provides a calm, stoic counterpart to Lidenbrock, balancing the professor’s impassioned search for knowledge. He weathers Lidenbrock’s “torrent of words” with more patience than Axel, indicating that he does not share Axel’s anxieties or his annoyance with Lidenbrock.
Themes
The men prepare for the week-long land journey to Snäffel. Lidenbrock and Axel pack rations, four guns, and four bags full of scientific equipment. They use their letters of recommendation to make connections with powerful Icelandic men, but Axel has no common language with them and can only watch his uncle converse. Lidenbrock, Axel, and Hans depart on horseback early in the morning of June 16th. Fridrikson bids them farewell with an untranslated line of Virgil: “Et quacumque viam dederit fortuna sequamur.”
The story again pays close attention to what the men pack and how long their trip will take, continuing to emphasize the logistical difficulty of such a daring expedition. The line of Latin roughly translates to “And whatever route fortune gives, we shall follow.” Fridrikson’s reference to “fortune” suggests that luck is also a significant factor in whether the men succeed, further highlighting the chance that they will fail.
Themes
Literary Devices
