Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Around the World in Eighty Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Modernity, Time, and Control
Imperialism
Chance, Adventure, and Human Connection
Honor, Reputation, and Duty
Summary
Analysis
Fogg is imprisoned at the Custom House in Liverpool. Aouda is distraught, and Passepartout again blames himself for Fogg’s misfortune since he knew Detective Fix’s true motive long before the arrest. They had arrived in Liverpool at 11:40 A.M. on December 21st, with only nine hours and fifteen minutes to reach the Reform Club in time to win the wager, and the journey to London is six hours long.
While Fogg faced many situations that were out of his control through his trip around the world, his arrest is by far the most serious—whereas he claimed to have been able to foresee every obstacle, his obsessive focus on time caused him to overlook Fix as the real threat that followed him all along.
Themes
At 2:30 P.M., Fix abruptly bursts into the Custom House and begs Fogg to forgive him—the real bank robber had been caught three days ago, and Fogg is free. Fogg hits Fix, knocking him to the ground, and he, Passepartout, and Aouda rush to the train station and order a special train for 3:00 P.M. Although it would have been possible to make the journey in five and a half hours, there are some delays along the way, and it is 8:50 P.M. when Fogg arrives in London—he has lost the wager by five minutes.
Fogg’s loss of the wager at the last moment shows that, despite careful planning and an effort to control time, time ultimately has more control over human beings than they have over it. Random chance ultimately played a much more important role in Fogg’s journey than schedule and routine.
Themes
