Jules Verne

Japanese: ベルヌ - べるぬ（英語表記）Jules Verne

French author. His series of over 80 novels, "Astonishing Voyages," is a collection of fantasy adventure stories exploring all the lands on earth, the underworld, and the undersea world, and even an exploration of the moon. Many of his works are filled with scientific fantasies, and he is also known as the father of science fiction. After the Second World War, Verne's works are being reevaluated in France. He was born on February 8, 1828, on the island of Feydeau in Nantes, as the eldest son of a lawyer. As he grew up watching the ships passing by in the port of the Loire River, he longed for foreign lands, and at the age of 12, he attempted to stow away on a ship and was brought back. It is said that at that time, he cried out, "From now on, I will only travel in my imagination." In 1847, he went to Paris to study law, but his dream of becoming a writer was undying, so he tried his hand at playwriting while working as a theater secretary. After marrying Honorine in 1857, he became an employee at the stock exchange. In 1862, he had a dramatic encounter with the great editor Jules Hetzel (1814-1886), and thus began his career as an adventure writer. After reading the original manuscript of what would later become "A Two Week Balloon Voyage," Hetzel was convinced that if he serialized it in the "Educational and Amusement Magazine" that he was planning, it would surely fascinate readers of a new era.

[Yasuhiko Kisaichi]

Creating a new adventure novel

Since his boyhood, Verne had been an avid reader of Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Robinson, Poe's fantasy novels, Cooper's adventure novels, Scott's historical novels, and other works. Following Hetzel's suggestion, he created a new genre of adventure novel. He made full use of his knowledge of geography, geology, physics, astronomy, and other subjects, and unfolded an imaginative world of science and poetry, exceeding Hetzel's expectations. His writing skills were formidable, and his imagination was limitless. He published a series of novels, including "Five Weeks' Balloon Voyage" (1863), "From the Earth to the Moon" (1865), "A Trip to the Moon" (1870), a trip to the dark continent of Africa, "Captain Hatteras" (1866), a crazy adventure to the North Pole, "Captain Grant's Children" (1867-68), an exploration of South America, Australia, and New Zealand as he misreads and deciphers a tattered code, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1869-70), "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1873), a story about a deserted island, "The Mysterious Island" (1874-75), and "Two Years' Vacation" (1888. Japanese translation: "The Story of Fifteen Boys Vacation"). He also wrote adventure novels based on historical and political backgrounds, such as "Michel Strogoff" (1876). It is also interesting to note that the book's speculations about future science and technology, such as submarines, airships, rockets, and television, accurately predict today's technological world.

After becoming a popular author, Verne enjoyed life at sea aboard his private yacht, the Saint-Michel. He lived in Amiens from 1870 and served as a city councilman there before dying in glory there on March 24, 1905. His later works, To the Flag (1896, translated into Japanese as The Devil's Invention) and Master of the World (1904), focus on the destructive power of science and are strongly pessimistic. His son Michel is said to have written Eternal Adam (1910), an allegory of the extinction and rebirth of mankind.

[Yasuhiko Kisaichi]

"The Complete Works of Verne, 24 volumes (1967-69, Shueisha)" ▽ "Captain Nemo and Bluebeard by Yasuhiko Watashi (1978, Shobunsha)"

[References] | Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea | Two Year Vacation

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

フランスの作家。80余編の連作小説『驚くべき旅行記』は、地球上のあらゆる土地、地底、海底の世界を探り、果ては月世界探検に至る空想冒険物語集。科学的夢想にあふれた作品も多く、SFの父ともいわれる。第二次世界大戦後、フランスではベルヌの作品が再評価されつつある。彼は1828年2月8日、弁護士の長男としてナントのフェイドー島に生まれる。ロアール川の港に往来する船を眺めながら育つうち、異国への憧憬(しょうけい)を燃やし、12歳のとき密航を企て連れ戻される。そのとき、「これからは空想のなかでしか旅をしないぞ」と叫んだことが伝説のように伝えられている。47年、法律を学ぶためパリに出るが、作家への夢絶ちがたく、劇場秘書を勤めるかたわら劇作を試みる。57年、オノリーヌと結婚後は株式取引所所員。62年、偉大な編集者エッツェルJules Hetzel（1814―86）との劇的出会いから、冒険作家としての道を歩き始める。のちに『二週間の風船旅行』となる元の原稿を読んだエッツェルは、これを企画中の『教育娯楽マガジン』に連載すれば新時代の読者を魅了すること間違いなしと確信した。

［私市保彦］

新しい冒険小説の創造

少年時代から『ロビンソン・クルーソー』、『スイスのロビンソン』、ポーの幻想小説、クーパーの冒険小説、スコットの歴史小説などを耽読(たんどく)したベルヌは、エッツェルの示唆を受け、新しい冒険小説のジャンルを創造。地理学、地質学、物理学、天文学などあらゆる知識を縦横に駆使し、科学と詩の想像世界を繰り広げ、エッツェルの期待にみごとこたえた。その筆力は恐るべきものがあり、想像力は無限の広がりをみせる。暗黒大陸アフリカを旅する『五週間の風船旅行』（1863）、『地球から月へ』（1865）、『月世界探検』（1870）、北極に至る狂気の冒険行『ハトラス船長』（1866）、ぼろぼろの暗号文の誤読・解読につれ、南アメリカ、オーストラリア、ニュージーランドを転々と探検する『グラント船長の子供たち』（1867～68）、『海底二万里』（1869～70）、『八十日間世界一周』（1873）、無人島物語の『神秘の島』（1874～75）や『二年間の休暇』（1888。邦訳名『十五少年漂流記』）などを続々発表する。一方『ミッシェル・ストロゴフ』（1876）などの歴史的・政治的背景を題材にした冒険小説も創作した。また、潜水艦、飛行船、ロケット、テレビなど未来科学技術の想定は、今日の技術世界を正確に予想していて興味深い。

　人気作家となったベルヌは、自家用ヨット「サン・ミシェル号」を駆って海上生活を楽しむかたわら、1870年からアミアンに在住、同市市会議員を務めたのち、1905年3月24日、その地で栄光に包まれて没した。晩年の作『国旗に向かって』（1896。邦訳名『悪魔の発明』）、『世界の支配者』（1904）は科学の破壊力に注目しペシミズムが濃い。人類滅亡と再生の寓話(ぐうわ)をつづる『永遠のアダム』（1910）は息子ミシェルの代作ともいわれる。

［私市保彦］

『『ヴェルヌ全集』全24巻（1967～69・集英社）』▽『私市保彦著『ネモ船長と青ひげ』（1978・晶文社）』

[参照項目] | 海底二万里 | 二年間の休暇

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

<<: The Bernoullis

>>: Bernini - Giovanni (Gian) Lorenzo Bernini