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 travelers share a late supper, and Axel enjoys a peaceful night of sleep. In the morning, he looks over the landscape from the mountain peak and loses himself in “sublime contemplations,” allowing the beauty and history of Iceland to overwhelm him and temporarily erase his notions of himself as an individual person. Hans and Lidenbrock eventually shake him from his reverie. Lidenbrock shows Axel where Greenland lies on the horizon. He then asks Hans which peak of Snäffel they are on, and is triumphant when Hans replies, “Scartaris.”
Once again, Axel is struck by the beauty of the natural world. The mountains make him reckon with his place in nature, and he briefly loses his sense of individuality as he feels one with the world. Leaving towns and cities behind allows Axel to recognize this “sublime” aspect of nature.
Themes
The travelers descend into the crater, which still has three chimneys that erupted with smoke and lava when Snäffel was an active volcano. Axel avoids them nervously, but Lidenbrock quickly surveys them. As he investigates, Lidenbrock finds Arne Saknussemm’s name carved in runes on a granite rock in the center of the crater. Axel is devastated by this evidence that Saknussemm was apparently telling the truth. While he grapples with this, the three additional Icelandic guides leave the party to return to their village.
Lidenbrock knows Snäffel is dormant, so the chimneys are not dangerous, but his immediate willingness to examine them is striking in contrast to Axel’s hesitance. This highlights the difference between the two men: Axel prioritizes safety, while Lidenbrock ignores danger for the sake of discovery. Axel has remained doubtful about the validity of Lidenbrock’s mission throughout the journey, but he reassesses when he encounters evidence that supports his uncle’s claims. Axel does not want to believe in Saknussemm’s story, but he is unable to question tangible evidence.
Themes
Hans, Lidenbrock, and Axel make camp in the crater. The next morning, the sky is overcast, and Axel’s hope is renewed as he realizes that if the weather remains cloudy for the next four days, the Kalends of June will have passed without revealing the shadow in the crater. Lidenbrock grows angry, and his rage only increases as three days pass without clear skies. Finally, on June 28th, the sun comes out and casts a shadow that points to the middle crater. Lidenbrock is overjoyed and urges Hans and Axel onward.
Axel desperately does not want to undertake Lidenbrock’s expedition, but he cannot put his foot down and refuse to go. His reluctance to discuss his feelings contrasts with Lidenbrock’s open shows of emotion. The professor wants to pursue Saknussemm’s discoveries as fervently as Axel wants to avoid them, and his passion stirs strong emotions. He displays these feelings without inhibition, reflecting the self-confidence that he has and Axel lacks.
Themes
