Journey to the Center of the Earth · Chapter
The Professor in His Chair Again explained
In this chapter, Professor Liedenbrock, Axel, and Hans discover a perfectly preserved fossilized human body in the subterranean caverns.
What happens
In this chapter, Professor Liedenbrock, Axel, and Hans discover a perfectly preserved fossilized human body in the subterranean caverns. The Professor, overcome with excitement, delivers an impromptu lecture to an imaginary audience, defending the existence of Quaternary man and connecting the discovery to contemporary paleontological debates, including the Moulin Quignon jawbone controversy. He examines the body, identifies it as Caucasian and Japhetic, and speculates on how it came to be in the underground world.
Themes in this chapter
Scientific Curiosity and Ambition
Professor Liedenbrock's fervent lecture and analysis of the fossil man exemplify his relentless pursuit of scientific knowledge and validation.
The Limits of Human Knowledge
The chapter highlights the ongoing debates in paleontology and the uncertainty about how the fossil man arrived in the subterranean world, underscoring the boundaries of scientific understanding.
The Unknown and the Sublime
The discovery of a perfectly preserved ancient human body in an underground cavern evokes awe and wonder at the mysteries of the deep past.
Characters to notice
- Professor Otto Liedenbrock
Delivers an impassioned lecture on the fossil man, defending Quaternary human existence and analyzing the specimen with scholarly fervor.
- Axel Liedenbrock
Observes the discovery and his uncle's lecture, noting his own awe and the Professor's eccentricities.
- Hans Bjelke
Present during the discovery, though not speaking; assists in raising the fossil body.
Key passages
“I make no rash assertions; but there is the man surrounded by his own works, by hatchets, by flint arrowheads, which are the characteristics of the stone age. And unless he came here, like myself, as a tourist on a visit and as a pioneer of science, I can entertain no doubt of the authenticity of his remote origin.”
The Professor argues that the fossil man's tools and context prove his ancient origin, unless he was a modern explorer like themselves.
Professor Liedenbrock defends the authenticity of the fossil man against potential skepticism.
“Had all those creatures slid through a great fissure in the crust of the earth, down to the shores of the Liedenbrock sea, when they were dead and turning to dust, or had they lived and grown and died here in this subterranean world under a false sky, just like inhabitants of the upper earth?”
Axel wonders whether the remains fell into the cavern after death or if these creatures lived and died in the underground world.
Axel reflects on the origin of the numerous fossils in the cavern.