Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Conseil decides that Captain Nemo is a “misunderstood genius” (115) who has sought refuge in the sea where he can do what he pleases without being disturbed. Professor Aronnax agrees that this is part of his personality, but having seen Captain Nemo’s anger and despair, views him as a man seeking revenge.

On January 24, they are in the Indian Ocean heading west. Professor Aronnax passes his time studying the ocean, reading books in the library, and writing his memoirs. They see many aquatic birds, including albatrosses, sea-swallows, and phaeton, and a variety of fish unique to the Indian Ocean that Professor Aronnax has never seen before. They pass Keeling Island, a site visited by Charles Darwin, and then head northwest.

On January 25, Conseil and Professor Aronnax watch hundreds of argonauts—mollusks who travel backward—traveling along the water’s surface until they suddenly all disperse from a “sudden fright” (119). The next day, the Nautilus crosses the equator into the northern hemisphere, escorted by several varieties of sharks. They encounter dead bodies from an Indian village floating on the water. That night, they sail into a “milk sea” (120), where the water is white from a luminous worm that can stretch for dozens of miles.