Verne

Author: Zhu Baochen, He Maozheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: Jules Verne (1828-1905) was born in Nantes, a western French port city. He lived and studied on the Flandre Island in the Loire River, which was part of the city, until he graduated from high school. His father was a moderately successful lawyer who hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. However, Verne had a deep love for the sea and longed for distant voyages and adventures from a young age. At the age of 11, he volunteered to become an apprentice sailor on a ship to India, but his family discovered him and brought him back home. As a result, Verne was severely beaten and lay in bed crying, vowing, "From now on, I will only travel in my imagination while lying in bed." Perhaps this childhood experience objectively pushed Verne to immerse himself in fantasy throughout his life, leading to the creation of so many famous science fiction works. At the age of 18, he went to Paris to study law at his father's insistence, but he had no interest in law and instead fell in love with literature and drama. Once, after leaving a party early, Verne slid down the banister with childlike enthusiasm, accidentally bumping into a fat gentleman. Embarrassed, he apologized and asked if the man had eaten. The man replied that he had just had Nantes-style scrambled eggs. Verne shook his head, claiming that there were no authentic Nantes-style scrambled eggs in Paris because he was from Nantes and was an expert in the dish. The fat gentleman, delighted, invited Verne to his home to demonstrate his cooking skills. Their friendship began here, and they even co-wrote plays, which created favorable conditions for Verne's path to creative success. The name of this fat gentleman was Alexandre Dumas. After graduation, he devoted himself entirely to writing poetry and drama, which led to severe scolding from his father and the loss of his financial support. He had to struggle in poverty, finding joy in reading. He greatly admired Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, and William Shakespeare of England. In Paris, he wrote 20 unpublished plays and some passionate romantic poems. Later, Verne co-wrote the play "Five Weeks in a Balloon" with Alexandre Dumas, which was successfully performed, marking Verne's initial success in the literary world. During his continued creative efforts, Verne felt that literary creation seemed to lack direction, and he noticed that writers at the time were all seeking ways to integrate knowledge from other fields into drama. For example, Alexandre Dumas incorporated history into literature, while Balzac integrated social ethics into it. At this point, Verne realized that geography had not yet been explored. Thus, Verne spent a year experimenting, writing works like "Winter on the Glaciers," which remained unpublished. In 1856, Verne arrived in the northern city of Amiens by train and met a beautiful widow with two children. He fell in love at first sight, proposed, and married her. After moving to Amiens, he began to take his writing seriously, at the age of 29. After writing "Five Weeks in a Balloon," he was rejected by 16 publishers and, in frustration, threw the manuscript into the fire. His wife saved it and sent it to the 17th publisher, where it was finally published. The editor who recognized its value was Hermann Herzog, and from then on, Verne found a kindred spirit, forming a lifelong friendship with him. Hegel signed a contract with Verne, agreeing to publish two science fiction novels each year. After "Five Weeks in a Balloon" was published, Verne's creative period entered a multifaceted exploration phase, experimenting with various writing styles and exploring multiple directions, becoming unstoppable. He published two books annually under the general title "Strange Voyages," including "A Journey to the Center of the Earth," "From the Earth to the Moon," "Around the Moon," "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," and "The Mysterious Island," covering land, sea, and sky. This exploration phase ended, and Verne entered a period of maturity and steady development, creating works like "Around the World in Eighty Days," "The Adventures of Captain Hatteras" (translated as "The Great Raft"), and "Two Years' Vacation." As his reputation grew, so did his wealth. Verne's later years were not entirely happy, with a decline in creative output and physical weakness. His work "The Castle of the Carpathians" has a certain autobiographical nature, reflecting the hidden aspects of his life. On March 17, 1905, Verne suffered a stroke, lost consciousness on the 24th, and died at 8:00 a.m. on the 25th. A grand funeral was held on March 28, 1905, with worldwide condolences mourning this great science fiction writer. Verne's stories are lively, humorous, and full of wit, inspiring people, especially young readers, to love science and long for adventure. For over a century, he has been favored by readers around the world. According to UNESCO's data, Verne is one of the top ten most-translated authors in the world. Verne was an excellent popular fiction writer with the ability to make his imagination tangible, conveying a sense of touch and a comprehensive perspective. He extracted human passion from ordinary literature. However, in his novels, most characters are identical, except for a few exceptions. It seems he could not create more significant characters, and they are all one-dimensional, either purely good or purely evil, with little psychological depth. The gender uniformity in his works also reveals his bias against women, subtly reflecting a troubled mindset. Additionally, Verne's works are filled with clear social tendencies—he was a patriotic (French) nationalist (supporting the struggles of oppressed peoples) and, to some extent, an anarchist (showing a desire for disorder in some works), and ultimately an empire builder (with ambitions to create a cosmic empire). Verne's works are rich in knowledge, but he himself was a cosmic mystic, holding a mysterious reverence for the world. In his novels, he sometimes lacked depth in his reflections and often repeated themes. But overall, Verne's attempts were still great. Though his stories may seem ordinary, they continue to excite us. As Pope Leo XIII said when meeting Verne in 1884, "I am not unaware of the scientific value of your works, but what I cherish most is their purity, moral value, and spiritual strength."