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Article

A Re-reading of Jules Verne’s 'Around the World in Eighty Days' with Postcolonial Lenses

  1. 1 MALTEPE ÜNİVERSİTESİ
  2. 2 MALTEPE UNIVERSITY

Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters, Volume 43, Issue 1 (2025) pp. 276–284

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Abstract

In Around the World in Eighty Days (1870), Phileas Fogg, and his assistant, Passepartout circumnavigate the world on a wager with Detective Fix pursuing him to arrest. Fogg’s experiences, adventures and observations during the round-the-world voyage with almost every transportation means available exhibits a wide repertoire of people, cultures, religions, flora, fauna, and geographies in the world in the 1870s. However, when the novel is read through postcolonial lenses, the outlook of a Victorian gentleman and the net the British Empire threw on the colonies are easily discernible. The aim of this paper is to show that Verne’s protagonist, Fogg, possesses all the qualities of an ideal Englishman in the Victorian Age like punctuality, precision in detail, planning as well as indifference, reserve, restraint, resolution in the wake of setbacks, in his relationships with other people and in the accomplishment of his aims. This study also attempts to display that a postcolonial analysis of Verne’s work reveals that Fogg’s and his companions’ confrontations with the non-white, non-European people reflect the supremacist, hegemonic, condescending and colonialist mindset as Verne’s Eurocentric characters are drawn to possess ‘superior’ morality and culture, physical strength, intellectual capacity, resourcefulness, and chivalric behaviour.

Abstract (Turkish, translation)

Jules Verne’nin 'Seksen Günde Dünya Gezisi' Romanının Sömürge Dönemi Sonrası Lenslerle Yeniden Okuması

Seksen Günde Dünya Gezisi (1870) adlı romanda Phileas Fogg ve yardımcısı Passepartout bir bahis nedeniyle dünyanın etrafında tur atarken Detektif Fix de tutuklamak amacıyla peşlerinden gelmektedir. Fogg’un bulunabilen her türlü ulaşım aracıyla dünya çevresindeki yolculuğu esnasındaki deneyimleri, maceraları ve gözlemleri geniş bir halklar, kültürler, dinler, bitki örtüleri, hayvanlar ve coğrafyalar repertuvarı sergiler. Ancak, roman sömürge dönemi sonrası lenslerle okunduğunda, Viktorya dönemi bir İngiliz beyefendisinin bakış açısı ve İngiliz İmparatorluğunun sömürgeler üzerine attığı ağ kolayca ayırt edilebilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Verne’nin roman kahramanı Fogg’un Viktorya Dönemindeki bir İngiliz beyefendisinin zorluklar karşısında, başkalarıyla ilişkilerinde ve amaçlarını başarmada kayıtsızlık, mesafelilik, itidal, kararlılık kadar dakiklik, detayda hassasiyet, planlama gibi tüm niteliklere sahip olarak betimlendiğini göstermektir. Bu çalışma aynı zamanda Verne’nin eserinin sömürge dönemi sonrası analizinin, Verne’nin Avrupa merkezli karakterleri üstün ahlak ve kültüre, fiziksel kuvvete, zihni kapasiteye, beceriye ve şövalye davranışlarına sahip olarak çizildikleri için beyaz ve Avrupalı olmayanlarla karşılaşmalarının onların üstüncü, baskın, hor gören ve sömürgeci zihin yapılarını yansıttığını ortaya koymaya çalışmaktadır.

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References

  1. Ashcroft, B., Griffits, G., & Tiffin, H. (1989). The empire writes back: Theory and practice in post-colonial literatures. Routledge.
  2. Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.
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  4. Brewer, D., & Windeatt, B. (2019). Chivalry. In Brown, P. (Ed.), A new companion to Chaucer (pp. 87–103) . John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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  7. Butcher, W. (1995b). Introduction. Around the world in eighty days by Jules Verne. Oxford University Press. Cartwright, M. (2018, May 14). Medieval chivalry. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Medieval_Chivalry/
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  11. Gopinath, P. (2013). Scarecrows of chivalry: English masculinities after empire. University of Virginia Press.
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  13. McLeod, J (2000). Beginning postcolonialism, Manchester University Press.
  14. Moelker, R. & Kümmel, G. (2007) Chivalry and codes of conduct: Can the virtue of chivalry epitomize guidelines for interpersonal conduct? Journal of Military Ethics, 6(4), 292-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570701846338
  15. Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. Vintage Books.
  16. Sinnema, P. W. (2003). Around the world without a gaze: Englishness and the press in Jules Verne author(s). Victorian Periodicals Review, 36(2), 135-152.
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  18. Verne, Jules (1995). Around the world in eighty days (W. Butcher, Trans.). Oxford University Press.

Cite this publication

APA 7

Töngür, A. N., & Sözer, A. N. (2025). A Re-reading of Jules Verne’s 'Around the World in Eighty Days' with Postcolonial Lenses. Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters, 43(1), 276–284. https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.1716805

BibTeX

@article{tongur2025jules,
  author = {T{\"o}ng{\"u}r, Abdullah Nejat and S{\"o}zer, Ay{\c{s}}e Nur},
  title = {{A Re-reading of Jules Verne's 'Around the World in Eighty Days' with Postcolonial Lenses}},
  journal = {Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters},
  volume = {43},
  number = {1},
  pages = {276--284},
  publisher = {Hacettepe {\"U}niversitesi},
  year = {2025},
  month = {6},
  issn = {1301-5737},
  doi = {10.32600/huefd.1716805},
  url = {https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/a-re-reading-of-jules-vernes-around-the-world-in-eighty-days-with-postcolonial-lenses},
  language = {en},
  keywords = {British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture},
  abstract = {In Around the World in Eighty Days (1870), Phileas Fogg, and his assistant, Passepartout circumnavigate the world on a wager with Detective Fix pursuing him to arrest. Fogg's experiences, adventures and observations during the round-the-world voyage with almost every transportation means available exhibits a wide repertoire of people, cultures, religions, flora, fauna, and geographies in the world in the 1870s. However, when the novel is read through postcolonial lenses, the outlook of a Victorian gentleman and the net the British Empire threw on the colonies are easily discernible. The aim of this paper is to show that Verne's protagonist, Fogg, possesses all the qualities of an ideal Englishman in the Victorian Age like punctuality, precision in detail, planning as well as indifference, reserve, restraint, resolution in the wake of setbacks, in his relationships with other people and in the accomplishment of his aims. This study also attempts to display that a postcolonial analysis of Verne's work reveals that Fogg's and his companions' confrontations with the non-white, non-European people reflect the supremacist, hegemonic, condescending and colonialist mindset as Verne's Eurocentric characters are drawn to possess `superior' morality and culture, physical strength, intellectual capacity, resourcefulness, and chivalric behaviour.},
  affiliation = {MALTEPE {\"U}N{\.I}VERS{\.I}TES{\.I} and MALTEPE UNIVERSITY}
}
.bib

RIS

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Töngür, Abdullah Nejat
AU  - Sözer, Ayşe Nur
TI  - A Re-reading of Jules Verne’s 'Around the World in Eighty Days' with Postcolonial Lenses
T2  - Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters
VL  - 43
IS  - 1
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/10/
SP  - 276
EP  - 284
PB  - Hacettepe Üniversitesi
SN  - 1301-5737
DO  - 10.32600/huefd.1716805
UR  - https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/a-re-reading-of-jules-vernes-around-the-world-in-eighty-days-with-postcolonial-lenses
AB  - In Around the World in Eighty Days (1870), Phileas Fogg, and his assistant, Passepartout circumnavigate the world on a wager with Detective Fix pursuing him to arrest. Fogg’s experiences, adventures and observations during the round-the-world voyage with almost every transportation means available exhibits a wide repertoire of people, cultures, religions, flora, fauna, and geographies in the world in the 1870s. However, when the novel is read through postcolonial lenses, the outlook of a Victorian gentleman and the net the British Empire threw on the colonies are easily discernible. The aim of this paper is to show that Verne’s protagonist, Fogg, possesses all the qualities of an ideal Englishman in the Victorian Age like punctuality, precision in detail, planning as well as indifference, reserve, restraint, resolution in the wake of setbacks, in his relationships with other people and in the accomplishment of his aims. This study also attempts to display that a postcolonial analysis of Verne’s work reveals that Fogg’s and his companions’ confrontations with the non-white, non-European people reflect the supremacist, hegemonic, condescending and colonialist mindset as Verne’s Eurocentric characters are drawn to possess ‘superior’ morality and culture, physical strength, intellectual capacity, resourcefulness, and chivalric behaviour.
KW  - British and Irish Language
KW  - Literature and Culture
LA  - en
AD  - MALTEPE ÜNİVERSİTESİ
AD  - MALTEPE UNIVERSITY
ER  -
.ris