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 next day, Axel feels better. He takes a bath in the sea, which he dubs “the Mediterranean,” then joins Hans and Lidenbrock for breakfast. Lidenbrock says that they should observe the sea’s tides. Axel wonders if the moon can affect tidal waves so far underground, but when they reach the shore, Axel admits that the tide is rising. Axel marvels at this, and when Lidenbrock dismisses it as simply “the natural order of things,” Axel reiterates that he still finds the tides extraordinary. He acknowledges that the tides further support Lidenbrock’s theory that the earth’s center is not the molten core of popular belief.
Axel calling the sea the “Mediterranean” is a reference to the sea that separates Europe and Africa, but it is also a pun: “Mediterranean” means “in the middle of land,” which is literally true for this underground lake. His observation about the tides is another instance in which Axel is impressed by a feature of the natural world that Lidenbrock takes for granted. It is also another piece of evidence in Axel and Lidenbrock’s debate about the center of the earth.
Themes
Axel suggests that they try fishing in the sea, and Lidenbrock promises to attempt to uncover all the secrets of the unexplored underground. The men calculate that they are roughly 100 miles below Scotland. Axel asks if Lidenbrock plans to return to the surface, since they have no way to cross the sea, but Lidenbrock tells him Hans has been building them a raft. He brings Axel to Hans, who has indeed been constructing a raft out of wood from the underground trees. The next evening, Hans completes the raft.
Lidenbrock promises to attempt to discover every subterranean secret only a day after telling Axel that scientific knowledge is incomplete. The fact that he specifically promises to try implies that scientists can’t solve all the world’s mysteries, but their dedication to science obligates them to try. While Axel and Lidenbrock discuss science, Hans continues to work on practical matters that allow the men to continue traveling.
Themes
