Journey to the Center of the Earth · Chapter
All's Well That Ends Well explained
The expedition returns to Hamburg to a hero's welcome.
What happens
The expedition returns to Hamburg to a hero's welcome. Professor Liedenbrock becomes famous, though the compass mystery remains. Axel marries Gräuben, and Hans returns to Iceland. The compass's reversed poles are later discovered to be caused by the electric storm on the Liedenbrock Sea, resolving the final mystery.
Themes in this chapter
Scientific Curiosity and Ambition
The Professor's relentless pursuit of knowledge and the eventual resolution of the compass mystery highlight the drive to understand even the most puzzling phenomena.
The Limits of Human Knowledge
The unexplained compass initially frustrates the Professor, but the discovery of its reversal underscores how natural forces can confound human understanding.
Characters to notice
- Axel Liedenbrock
Returns home, marries Gräuben, and later discovers the compass mystery.
- Professor Otto Liedenbrock
Receives great fame, gives a public lecture, and finally learns the compass was reversed by the electric storm.
- Hans Bjelke
Leaves Hamburg to return to Iceland, refusing rewards.
- Gräuben
Joyfully reunites with Axel and becomes his wife.
Key passages
“During the electric storm on the Liedenbrock sea, that ball of fire, which magnetised all the iron on board, reversed the poles of our magnet!”
The electric storm's fireball magnetized the iron and flipped the compass poles.
Axel explains the compass reversal to his uncle.
“Farval , said he one day; and with that simple word he left us and sailed for Reykjavík, which he reached in safety.”
Hans said goodbye and sailed safely back to Reykjavík.
Hans departs for Iceland.