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
As the men travel, Axel is exhilarated at the freedom of riding through an unknown country. He grows excited at the expedition before them, since he does not believe that there is any risk they will actually find a way to the center of the earth.
Away from home and riding toward unknown possibilities, Axel gains a sense of freedom that hints at the independence he will develop over the course of the adventure. This feeling of freedom excites him, and that excitement is not hindered by anxiety because Axel has convinced himself the quest is impossible. He takes comfort in the many obstacles that stand in the way of Lidenbrock’s plan.
Themes
Hans leads Axel and Lidenbrock, walking ahead of them on foot. The land becomes deserted as they leave the capital, but Axel notes that this part of Iceland is one of the country’s most inhabited areas. He wonders what they will face in districts even less populated.
The departure from the capital is the first step in leaving civilization behind. If they successfully descend into Snäffel’s crater, they will be completely separated from other people and surrounded only by wilderness.
Themes
Two hours into the journey, the men stop for breakfast. Hans tells the men they will spend the night in Gardär, and when he shows them a map, Lidenbrock is frustrated at how little distance they have covered. He begins to complain to Hans, but Hans ignores him. They continue traveling until they reach a fjord. Axel slows his mount, not wanting to cross such dangerous terrain on horseback, but Lidenbrock continues on. The professor’s horse refuses to go over the fjord and stops abruptly, unseating Lidenbrock. Hans instructs the others that they must wait for the tide to come in to cross the fjord on a ferry.
In this first leg of the journey, Hans establishes that he respects Lidenbrock, but he pays no attention to his outbursts. Lidenbrock’s desire to reach Snäffel makes him reckless. That recklessness manifests as Lidenbrock ignoring the evidence before him: he ignores Axel slowing down and the horse’s resistance, until finally the horse unseats him. This moment highlights the dangers of acting upon what one wants to be true, rather than following the evidence.
Themes
