Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation
Freedom vs. Constraint
Human Intelligence and its Limits
Exploration, Imperialism, and Conquest
Nature vs. Civilization
Summary
Analysis
Arronax is terrified. He is carried down a ladder along with Ned and Conseil. Fuming, Ned exclaims that the men who took them down there are barbaric. The prison cell into which the men are placed is brightly lit with the same “phosphorescence” as they saw when they first encountered the monster. The door opens, and two men enter. One is short and muscular, while the other is tall, the “finest specimen” of man Arronax has ever seemed. His eyes are wide-set, which makes his gaze far wider and deeper than that of the average person. The men speak to each other in a language Arronax doesn’t recognize.
This highly sinister turn of events somewhat resembles a scene of alien abduction—expect that instead of being beamed up into space, Arronax is on a vessel at sea. The fact that Arronax doesn’t recognize the language the men are speaking further emphasizes the idea that they are in some sense (either literal or metaphorical) alien to him.
Themes
Literary Devices
Arronax introduces himself, Conseil, and Ned in French. When the two strangers don’t react, Arronax asks Ned to explain their story in English, but the men do not seem to understand this, either. Conseil then tries in German, but this is also a failure. After Arronax tries Latin, the men leave. Ned is furious, but Arronax urges him to remain calm. A servant of some kind enters and gives the men clothes made of mysterious fabric and serving them a meal. Each utensil is engraved with the phrase Mobilis in Mobili followed by the letter “N.” Arronax believes that N is the initial of the mysterious boat’s captain. The three men eat with enthusiasm, then immediately feel exhausted. Arronax’s anxieties about their situation subside into peaceful sleep.
The phrase Mobilis in Mobili seems to be the motto of whomever is captaining the submarine. It is Latin, and loosely means “moving amidst mobility.” This is an important phrase in light of the novel’s exploration of freedom vs. constraint. “Mobilis in Mobili” evokes free movement and the absence of constraint, but also a lack of agency in the sense of moving according to an existing current. This mirrors the state of Arronax, Conseil, and Ned: moving freely through the sea on a submarine, yet confined to the ship as prisoners.
Themes
