Professor Pierre Arronax Character Analysis in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Pierre Arronax is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. He is a 40-year-old Frenchman who is a professional naturalist (an expert in the field of natural history) and an assistant professor at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. He is the author of a book entitled Mysteries of the Unsounded Depths Undersea. At the time the novel begins, he has just spent six months doing fieldwork in Nebraska and is looking forward to returning home to France. However, his desire to go back home is interrupted by the sighting of the mysterious “monster” (which turns out to be Captain Nemo’s submarine, the Nautilus) and his invitation to join Commander Farragut aboard the Abraham Lincoln in order to track down the monster. This results in the Abraham Lincoln attacking the Nautilus and sinking in the process, presumably killing Farragut and enabling Captain Nemo to take Arronax and his crewmates, Conseil and Ned Land, captive on the submarine. The subsequent delay in Arronax’s journey home, at times seemingly endless, invokes that of Odysseus in Homer’s the Odyssey. Arronax is an intelligent and dignified man whose life is totally dedicated to the pursuit of science. Indeed, scientific research is less his job than it is his whole reason for being. Arronax has a boundless curiosity about the world, and is the most adaptable character in the novel. This allows him to treat his capture by Captain Nemo and life aboard the Nautilus with open-minded enthusiasm, rather than simply horror. However, this becomes problematic when Arronax’s co-captors—particularly Ned—become fixated on escaping. Arronax remains unsure about trying to escape, which is both a result of his relatively timid nature and his strange attachment to Nemo. Although by the end of the novel Arronax is largely horrified by Nemo, he still retains a degree of affection and sympathy for him, and expresses the idea that the two have an irrevocable bond.

Professor Pierre Arronax Quotes in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea quotes below are all either spoken by Professor Pierre Arronax or refer to Professor Pierre Arronax. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation Theme Icon

And that it did exist was undeniable. There was no longer any disposition to class it in the list of fabulous creatures. The human mind is ever hungry to believe in new and marvellous phenomena, and so it is easy for us to understand the vast excitement produced throughout the whole world by this supernatural apparition.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker)

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Page Number and Citation: 1

Explanation and Analysis:

Thus may we explain this inexplicable animal, unless there exists in reality nothing at all, despite what has already been conjectured, seen, perceived, and experienced. Which condition is, of course, just within the bounds of possibility.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 8

Explanation and Analysis:

A flash of anger and contempt kindled in the eyes of the Unknown, and I had a fleeting vision of some terrible past in the life of this man. Not only had he put himself beyond the pale of human laws, but he had made himself independent of them. In the strictest sense of the word, he was free, because he was outside the reach of the moral code.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker), Captain Nemo

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Page Number and Citation: 42

Explanation and Analysis:

“Yes, sir, I love it! The sea is everything. It covers seven-tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and life-giving. It is an immense desert place where man is never lonely, for he sense the weaving of Creation on every hand. It is the physical embodiment of a supernatural existence.”

Related Characters: Captain Nemo (speaker), Professor Pierre Arronax

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Page Number and Citation: 46

Explanation and Analysis:

Monstrous brutes that could crush a whole man with one snap of their iron jaws! I do not know if Conseil, with true scientific ardour, stopped to classify them. But, for my part, I could not but note their silver bellies, their huge maws bristling with teeth, and thought of these from a most unscientific point of view. I regarded myself more as a possible victim than as a naturalist.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 79

Explanation and Analysis:

“Why are you so astonished, M. Arronax, at meeting savages when you set foot on a strange land? Where in all the earth are there not savages? And do you for a moment suppose them worse than other men, these fellows that you call savages?”

Related Characters: Captain Nemo (speaker), Professor Pierre Arronax

Page Number and Citation: 105

Explanation and Analysis:

We were growing fast to our shell like snails, and I swear it must be easy to lead a snail’s existence. Thus, our undersea life began to seem natural to us, and we no longer thought of the days we used to spend on land.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker), Ned Land, Conseil

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Page Number and Citation: 115-116

Explanation and Analysis:

“That Indian, my dear sir, is a member of an oppressed race. And I still am and ever shall be one with all such people.”

Related Characters: Captain Nemo (speaker), Professor Pierre Arronax

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 142-143

Explanation and Analysis:

“Freedom may come high, but it’s worth paying for […] Who knows but that tomorrow we may be a hundred leagues away? Let chance but favor us, sir, and by ten or eleven o’clock we shall have landed on terra firma, dead or alive.”

Related Characters: Ned Land (speaker), Professor Pierre Arronax

Page Number and Citation: 171

Explanation and Analysis:

It was an unforgettably sad day that I then passed, torn between the desire of regaining my freedom and my dislike of abandoning the marvelous ship and thus leaving my undersea studies incomplete.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker), Ned Land, Captain Nemo

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 172

Explanation and Analysis:

I had long guessed that, whatever motive had led him to seek freedom at the bottom of the ocean, it had not been an ignoble one. I had seen that his heart still beat for the sorrows of humanity, and sensed that his immense charity was for oppressed races as well as individuals.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker), Captain Nemo, Ned Land

Page Number and Citation: 177

Explanation and Analysis:

“What a beautiful situation to be in!” I chortled. “To overrun regions where man has never trod, depths to which even dead or inanimate matter may never more descend! Look, Captain, at these magnificent rocks, these uninhabitable grottoes. Here are the lowest known receptacles of the globe, where life is not only impossible unthinkable. What unknown sights are here? Why should we be unable to find and preserve some visible evidence of our journey as a souvenir?”

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker), Captain Nemo

Page Number and Citation: 193

Explanation and Analysis:

“I, Captain Nemo, on this 21st day of March, 1868, have reached the South Pole on the 90th degree. And I hereby take possession of this portion of the globe, equal in extent to one-sixth of the continents now known to man.”

“In whose name, sir?” I asked.

“In my own, M. Arronax.”

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker), Captain Nemo (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 217

Explanation and Analysis:

Around the “Nautilus,” above and below it, was an impenetrable wall of ice. We were prisoners to the Great Ice Barrier.

Related Characters: Professor Pierre Arronax (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 223

Explanation and Analysis:

Professor Pierre Arronax Character Timeline in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The timeline below shows where the character Professor Pierre Arronax appears in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

During this time, the narrator (Pierre Arronax) returns to New York from a scientific expedition in Nebraska. He is an assistant professor... (full context)

...national military. As the author of a book entitled Mysteries of the Unsounded Depths Undersea, Arronax is asked for advice. On April 30, the New York Herald publishes an article in... (full context)

Arronax concludes that he supports the notion that the monster is a narwhal, unless it doesn’t... (full context)

...on June 2, a steamer heading to Shanghai from San Francisco encounters the creature again. Arronax is immediately invited to board a U.S. naval ship, the Abraham Lincoln, to join the... (full context)

While Arronax had previously never considered joining the search for the monster, as soon as he receives... (full context)

Having boarded the Abraham Lincoln, Arronax introduces himself to an officer, Commander Farragut, who welcomes him on board. The ship embarks... (full context)

...offered a reward of $2,000 to the first man to catch sight of the monster. Arronax is similarly enthusiastic in his search for the creature. Every possible kind of weapon is... (full context)

...cold and curt, with a “sinister” air about him. Yet Ned develops some affection for Arronax due to the fact that Arronax is French and Ned is from Quebec. He tells... (full context)

Arronax explains that, due to the enormous pressure present in the deep sea, creatures who live... (full context)

...by the $2,000 prize, the sailors keep a close eye on the water, as does Arronax, even though he is not particularly interested in the money. Every time someone thinks they... (full context)

On the final night of the expedition, Arronax and Conseil stand looking out at the water, and Arronax laments that the whole effort... (full context)

...an extraordinary light. Someone exclaims, “It’s nothing but a vast collection of phosphoric particles,” but Arronax disputes this. Arronax points out that the creature is moving toward the ship, and Farragut... (full context)

Farragut approaches Arronax and says that their only choice is to retreat, as they have no idea what... (full context)

...monster, but it has little effect, sliding right off the monster’s skin into the water. Arronax hopes that the monster will tire itself out, but it doesn’t. (full context)

Night falls, and Arronax laments that the mission is doomed. However, to his surprise, an opportunity arises: the monster... (full context)

In the water, Arronax sees the Abraham Lincoln and attempts to swim toward it, shouting for help as he... (full context)

Despite the dire circumstances, Arronax manages not to lose hope. However, after several hours he is paralyzed by a cramp.... (full context)

When Arronax wakes up, he is surprised to see Conseil and Ned standing before him. Ned explains... (full context)

Arronax is terrified. He is carried down a ladder along with Ned and Conseil. Fuming, Ned... (full context)

Arronax introduces himself, Conseil, and Ned in French. When the two strangers don’t react, Arronax asks... (full context)

When Arronax wakes up, he finds Ned and Conseil still asleep. He is disheartened to see that... (full context)

...French, English, German and Latin, but wanted to “reflect” before he spoke with the captives. Arronax is shocked by the total absence of any foreign accent in the commander’s speech. The... (full context)

When Arronax comments that such actions would be “savage,” the commander angrily replies that he has legitimate... (full context)

The commander says that Arronax, Conseil, and Ned must give up their connections to the outside world. He reminds them... (full context)

Arronax doesn’t recognize many of the dishes, though he senses that they come from the sea.... (full context)

Captain Nemo leads Arronax into a library. Nemo boasts of the profound tranquility that can be found in there,... (full context)

Arronax is then astonished by a collection of animal and plant specimens from the sea, including... (full context)

Nemo takes Arronax into the submarine’s control room. Arronax recognizes some of the instruments in there, but many... (full context)

In the engine room, Arronax views the machine that produces electricity. He comments that he now understands how the ship... (full context)

Nemo and Arronax sit in the saloon, smoking seaweed cigars. Nemo explains that the Nautilus is 6,032 feet... (full context)

...the Nautilus without anyone noticing by sourcing its parts from different parts of the world. Arronax asks if Nemo is rich, and Nemo replies that he is so rich that he... (full context)

...and they will now travel up to the surface of the ocean. Once up there, Arronax climbs onto a platform and looks out over the horizon, before going back down into... (full context)

Arronax meets with Conseil and Ned inside the ship’s museum. Ned is confused, and Arronax slowly... (full context)

On the next day, November 9, Arronax wakes after a long and peaceful sleep. He goes to the saloon but cannot find... (full context)

Five days pass; each morning Arronax goes up to the deck, where the same officer says the same thing. Nemo is... (full context)

The next day, Arronax wakes to find the vessel still. Nemo is waiting for him in the saloon, and... (full context)

...lantern, allowing him to swim in the deep sea and actually see where he’s going. Arronax is impressed, but says he has one final question, regarding the gun that he will... (full context)

Arronax explains to Ned—who balks at the prospect of wearing the suits Nemo has laid out... (full context)

Arronax wishes he could communicate with Conseil about the wonders before them, but because their submersion... (full context)

Approaching the forest, Arronax notices that all of the plants and branches are pointing directly up toward the surface... (full context)

The men walk for four hours, before coming across a huge pile of “blocks,” which Arronax soon realizes is the edge of the island. He is stunned by the realization that... (full context)

...toward the Nautilus, they find themselves surrounded by two fearsome, man-eating sharks. In this moment, Arronax does not think of himself as a scientist—only a potential victim. He is terrified, but... (full context)

The next morning, November 18, Arronax notices that Nemo seems distracted. The sailors aboard the Nautilus are bringing in nets that... (full context)

...many of which are caught in the vessel’s nets. Shortly after, they pass a shipwreck. Arronax is horrified and saddened by the sight of it. As they pass it, Arronax reads... (full context)

...encounters on its journey. On December 11 the vessel comes close to the Paumotou Islands. Arronax shares his theory that in the future, a fifth continent will connect New Zealand to... (full context)

...Fernández de Queirós. Ned seems sad about there being no Christmas celebration on the ship. Arronax thinks it would be silly to mention this to Nemo, whom he hasn’t seen in... (full context)

Nemo asks Arronax to tell the story of La Pérouse, and Arronax proceeds to do so. La Pérouse... (full context)

Arronax says that he himself believes that no one knows what really happened to La Pérouse.... (full context)

On the first day of 1868, Conseil greets Arronax by wishing him a happy New Year. Arronax wonders if the new year will end... (full context)

...ask Nemo for permission to walk around on land for a little while, and to Arronax’s surprise, Nemo agrees. Arronax, Conseil, and Ned command a small boat. Ned is ecstatic at... (full context)

Arronax feels surprisingly emotional about walking around on dry land. While he observes the local fauna,... (full context)

At five p.m., the men return to the Nautilus. The submarine seems “deserted,” but Arronax has a long, peaceful sleep anyway. The next day, they remain moored in the same... (full context)

...the pigeon leg out of Conseil’s hand. Ned asks if “apes” are the culprit, and Arronax replies that it’s “savages,” which he claims is basically the same. They run to the... (full context)

Nemo appears to lose himself in piano-playing again, and Arronax leaves. The next morning, at six a.m., Arronax goes back to the platform on top... (full context)

Without anything else to do, Arronax sets to work collecting specimens from the water, assisted by Conseil. He comes upon a... (full context)

Arronax is about to leave, when Nemo requests that he stay to chat. The men discuss... (full context)

...the hatches, even though the Papuans still surround the ship. When the hatches are opened, Arronax watches with horror as the Papuans clamor to enter the vessel. However, each one who... (full context)

...Indian Ocean. During this journey, the submarine’s electricity fails. While the vessel floats without power, Arronax suddenly finds that they are surrounded by spectacular sheets of light. Although he is initially... (full context)

...him. They are in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles from land, and Arronax wonders what the captain could possibly have spotted. Overwhelmed by curiosity, Arronax retrieves his own... (full context)

...eating the light in their room goes out, and Ned and Conseil quickly fall asleep. Arronax is confused, but then is hit with a wave of exhaustion himself. He realizes that... (full context)

The next morning, Arronax wakes up feeling fresh and alert. He sets off to explore the submarine, and doesn’t... (full context)

On hearing Arronax’s diagnosis, Nemo begins to cry. After a while, Nemo permits Arronax to leave. Arronax feels... (full context)

Arronax has developed a burning curiosity about the source of Nemo’s resentment toward human civilization. Conseil... (full context)

The Nautilus spends the day of January 25 on the surface of the water. Arronax passes most of the day on the platform, fantasizing about encountering another vessel. In the... (full context)

Captain Nemo invites Arronax to the island of Ceylon, which is known for its pearl fisheries. Nemo suggests they... (full context)

The next morning, Arronax is awoken at four a.m. for the expedition. As they set off in the boat,... (full context)

...grotto, the men approach a gigantic mollusk with a pearl the size of a coconut. Arronax reaches out to touch it, but Nemo bats his hand away. Arronax realizes that Nemo... (full context)

To Arronax’s horror, the pearl diver suddenly gestures with terror—a shark is circling directly overhead. Just as... (full context)

Arronax reflects on what motivated Nemo to intervene so bravely in order to stop the shark... (full context)

...a distance of 16,220 miles, or 7,500 leagues. As they travel into the Persian Gulf, Arronax wonders where Nemo is leading them. He discusses this question with Ned, who remains miserable... (full context)

Arronax once again finds himself dazzled by the natural world lying outside the Nautilus’s windows. Nemo... (full context)

Arronax asks if, on his journeys, Nemo has ever encountered evidence of the Biblical story of... (full context)

That evening, the Nautilus passes the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, and Arronax gazes at its buildings. The next day, he is standing with Ned on the platform... (full context)

...lighthouse; Nemo explains that it is “the floating light of Suez,” before politely requesting that Arronax leave the deck of the vessel in anticipation of their journey through the Arabian Tunnel. (full context)

Arronax accompanies Nemo into the pilot’s cage, where Nemo soon takes the helm. They approach the... (full context)

...that the Nautilus has arrived in the Mediterranean. Ned requests to have a conversation with Arronax, and without hesitation announces his desire to escape the submarine. Arronax does not want to... (full context)

Arronax continues that they can’t trust that Nemo will ever let them go, despite his kind... (full context)

Standing in the saloon with Nemo, Arronax gazes out into the water. He takes note of a number of interesting animals and... (full context)

The next day, Arronax tells Conseil and Ned about what he saw the night before. They wonder aloud where... (full context)

The Nautilus crosses the Mediterranean quickly; Arronax gets the feeling that Nemo is keen to return to the “open ocean” as soon... (full context)

...February 18, the Nautilus reaches the Straits of Gibraltar. It speeds along a counter-current, and Arronax very briefly catches a glimpse of the ruins of the temple of Hercules. Only moments... (full context)

In rapturous language, Arronax reflects on the majestic size and beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. After breathing in some... (full context)

...nine p.m. that night, he and Conseil will sneak onto the submarine’s central staircase, while Arronax waits in the saloon. On their signal, he will join them on a small boat... (full context)

Looking around the submarine, Arronax finds himself in tears, horrified at the prospect of leaving somewhere where he has spent... (full context)

Nemo explains that they are currently in Vigo Bay, and that Arronax can choose to explore it if he wishes. Arronax looks out the panel windows of... (full context)

The next morning, Arronax hopes that Ned will have changed his mind about fleeing, but is disappointed to hear... (full context)

Walking out in the darkness with Nemo, Arronax half-expects to encounter a subterranean city. They walk through a thick forest, only emerging on... (full context)

The next morning, Arronax wakes late and spends the day observing marine life. He spots a “high wall” in... (full context)

Arronax, Conseil, and Ned explore the volcanic island. Ned finds a hive of bees, and pauses... (full context)

...kelp. Following this, it moves through the middle of the Atlantic at a steady pace; Arronax guesses that Nemo is heading back to the South Pacific. He wonders if Nemo will... (full context)

...a photograph of the scene before them, and proceeds to do just that. Speaking retrospectively, Arronax explains that he will go on to publish the resulting photograph in his log book.... (full context)

Arronax remains confused about where the submarine is heading. Nemo has been speaking less and less,... (full context)

...is swept up in memories of his former life, and the impossible desire to return. Arronax curtly responds that he doesn’t feel especially sympathetic, however Conseil persuades him to be more... (full context)

...Ned initially pointed out. A battle takes place between the two groups of animals, which Arronax describes as a “grewsome, gorgeous fight.” After it is over, the water around them is... (full context)

Arronax remains puzzled over the direction in which the Nautilus is heading, wondering if Nemo is... (full context)

While Arronax is convinced that the vessel is stuck, Nemo remains confident that it will come loose,... (full context)

...surface to replenish its oxygen supply, but—as expected—is met by a ceiling of thick ice. Arronax has difficulty sleeping, and finds that he can barely tell “whether [he is] asleep or... (full context)

Arronax rushes up to the platform. He asks Nemo if they are at the South Pole,... (full context)

The next morning, Arronax invites Ned to join the observation, but he refuses. Ned has been seeming increasingly miserable... (full context)

...back into the water and is underneath the Great Ice Barrier again. At three a.m. Arronax wakes up suddenly, feeling the submarine be tossed violently around. Everyone else aboard the vessel... (full context)

...ice bed goes with it. Eventually, they manage to get moving, and as they go Arronax, Ned, and Conseil gaze out the vessel’s window at the beauty of the ice. However,... (full context)

...together for the ensuing hours, worried. Finally, there is another jolt to the boat, and Arronax grabs Conseil’s hand in terror. Nemo enters, and says that they are walled in by... (full context)

...left. He says they will try to escape the ice trap by penetrating the walls. Arronax, Conseil, and Ned agree to participate in the effort to break the ice, and don... (full context)

...already, the men are all determined to go down fighting. They keep working, but when Arronax gets back to the ship he finds that he’s almost “chocked” by all the carbon... (full context)

...empty, and the effects can be strongly felt aboard the vessel. Conseil sticks close to Arronax, saying he wishes he could stop breathing to give more oxygen to his “master.” Eventually,... (full context)

Arronax isn’t sure how he reaches the platform; he thinks Ned possibly carries him. The first... (full context)

Arronax, Ned, and Conseil discuss their situation. They have now been “prisoners hand and foot” for... (full context)

...that he saw the scene was depicted in a painting he saw in a church. Arronax explains that the painting depicts a scene from a myth. He says that myths about... (full context)

Other poulps then appear, swimming in a kind of “procession” behind the Nautilus. Arronax sees Nemo, who looks more dejected than ever. Nemo calmly remarks that a battle is... (full context)

Nemo is devastated by the battle with the poulps and its aftermath. Arronax is also disturbed, particularly because the dead sailor had cried for help in French, revealing... (full context)

Arronax points out that Nemo has been avoiding him, but Ned urges him to go and... (full context)

Horrified, Arronax compares their situation to slavery. He says that they don’t have to speak about the... (full context)

...escaping to the East Coast of North America. They pass Newfoundland, and around this point, Arronax spots an electric cable on the ocean floor which had originally been designed to send... (full context)

While Arronax gazes at the shipwreck, Nemo explains that the ship was called the Marseillais, and was... (full context)

Arronax is moved by the emotion in Nemo’s voice as he speaks about the name Avenger.... (full context)

The men then realize that the warship is firing at the Nautilus. Arronax realizes that ever since the sinking of the Abraham Lincoln, the whole world must have... (full context)

...and that the ship before them is his “oppressor,” who took his family from him. Arronax finds Ned and Conseil and suggests that they take this opportunity to try and escape... (full context)

Arronax finds himself in despair, unsure of what to do. The submarine accelerates, and Arronax runs... (full context)

Arronax is horrified by Nemo’s act of vengeance, which he believes cannot possibly be justified. He... (full context)

Arronax passionately agrees to join this plan. In the following hours, he feels highly distracted and... (full context)

Arronax creeps into the saloon and finds it dark, but the sounds of the organ assure... (full context)

None of the three captives know what happens next. When Arronax wakes up, he is on land, lying in the hut of a fisherman on the... (full context)

Professor Pierre Arronax Character Analysis

Professor Pierre Arronax Quotes in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Part 1, Chapter 1 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 2 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 10 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 17 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 22 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 23 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 3 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 8 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 11 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 14 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 16 Quotes

Professor Pierre Arronax Character Timeline in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea