Definition of Foreshadowing
As he describes Professor Lidenbrock’s house, Verne uses allusion and foreshadowing to subtly suggest the secretive and scholarly activities taking place inside. As Axel first introduces the house to the reader, he says:
The roof inclined to one side, in the position a German student belonging to the Tugendbund wears his cap.
As the men depart for the countryside, Fridrikson wishes them well by alluding to Virgil’s famous line, “Et quacumque viam dederit fortuna sequamur.” This does two things: it demonstrates his refinement and intelligence, and it also foreshadows the approaching disturbances and trials. As they leave, Axel tries to say a heartfelt goodbye:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I launched out a cordial farewell in the best Latin I could find; then we jumped into our saddles, and M. Fridrikson repeated with his last adieux that line of Virgil which seemed to have been made for uncertain travellers on the road, like us: Et quacumque viam dederit fortuna sequamur.
At the beginning of the final stretch of the men's above-ground journey, Verne employs some highly ominous foreshadowing to hint at the perilous and unpredictable Icelandic terrain the party will face. Long before they get close to penetrating the Earth’s surface, Axel wonders:
Unlock with LitCharts A+What, then, must those convulsed regions be, overturned by eruptions, themselves the offspring of volcanic explosions and subterranean commotions? We were doomed to know that in good time. But on consulting Olsen’s map I saw they would be avoided by keeping along the winding coast.