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
Axel acknowledges that no one will believe his story. He describes the men’s journey back to Hamburg, which they reach on September 9th. Martha and Gräuben meet them, relieved. No one in Hamburg believes that Lidenbrock traveled to the center of the earth, but reports from Iceland and the presence of Hans grant Lidenbrock the status of a great man. Axel, meanwhile, becomes known as the nephew of a great man. Lidenbrock further improves his reputation by modestly expressing his regret that he could not follow Saknussemm’s path to its conclusion.
Lidenbrock has achieved the glory he dreamed of, though not all of his discoveries are believed. Axel has become his own man over the course of the adventure, but he is still best known for his relationship to Lidenbrock. However, Axel reports this with no resentment, suggesting that since he knows he is independent, he doesn’t mind being associated with his famous uncle.
Themes
Lidenbrock’s fame attracts attention from academics who seek to discredit his theories, and the professor becomes busy writing rebuttals. Despite all Axel has witnessed, he still believes in the theory that the earth’s center is a burning core in constant fusion––but he yields that “certain circumstances” might change that natural law.
Lidenbrock insisted on undertaking the expedition specifically to prove his theory about the earth’s core. During the journey, however, Axel found conflicting evidence that supported the conventional theory as often as it supported Lidenbrock’s. As such, Axel does not change his mind about the earth’s core, but he acknowledges that the accepted theory is not certain, since science is always open-ended.
Themes
Hans misses his home and so returns to Iceland, but Axel is sure they will meet him again. Lidenbrock becomes a celebrity. Still, he is troubled by the mystery of the compass. Six months later, Axel realizes that the explosion of electricity that magnetized the iron on the raft must have altered the polarity of the compass, so that it pointed south instead of north. Lidenbrock is delighted to hear the solution, and from then on he is “the happiest of sages,” while Axel, who marries Gräuben, becomes “the happiest of men.”
The book does not answer its primary scientific question surrounding the earth’s core, but it does show how science can successfully resolve questions through Axel’s deduction. The fact that Axel solves the compass’s puzzle and helps Lidenbrock see the solution demonstrates how much Axel has grown since the start of the story. His ending as “the happiest of men,” in contrast to Lidenbrock, “the happiest of sages,” makes clear that although Axel’s desires are simpler than Lidenbrock’s grand aspirations, they are no less fulfilling.
Themes
