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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Around the World in Eighty Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Modernity, Time, and Control
Imperialism
Chance, Adventure, and Human Connection
Honor, Reputation, and Duty
Summary
Analysis
Fogg, Passepartout, and Detective Fix arrive in Bombay, which is part of British India. While a significant portion of India’s outer regions are controlled by the British Empire, much of the country’s interior is still sovereign. The presence of the British has changed Indian culture, race relations, and commerce, and the new addition of The Great Indian Peninsula Railway has replaced more antiquated modes of transportation.
In 1872, the British Empire exerted control over a huge portion of the globe, including most of India. This passage is the first of many that details just how significantly various countries have been changed by modern industry and the West’s imperialistic presence, which Verne considers to be both positive and negative.
Themes
Again, Fogg has no interest in acquainting himself with the local sights of Bombay and goes to eat in the railway station while Passepartout runs errands before the train to Calcutta leaves. At the Bombay police headquarters, Fix is disappointed to find out that the warrant for Fogg’s arrest has not yet arrived.
Fogg still has no interest in branching out on new adventures—even on this wild journey, he remains set in the same rigid schedule that he keeps back home.
Themes
Literary Devices
After running his errands for Fogg, Passepartout wanders through the streets and observes a Parsee religious carnival “with staring eyes and a gaping mouth.” He happens upon a pagoda and goes inside to admire it, unaware that Christians are forbidden by the British government to enter Indian temples. A group of angry priests begin to beat Passepartout and he narrowly escapes by fleeing back into the streets.
Verne and Passepartout are both Frenchmen, and therefore outsiders of the British culture to which Fogg, Fix, and other characters belong. He uses Passepartout’s character as a neutral observer of both the British Empire and the less powerful countries it has colonized.
Themes
Much to Fogg’s disapproval, Passepartout arrives back at the station only five minutes before the train to Calcutta is scheduled to leave. Fix overhears Passepartout relaying his mishap to Fogg and, rather than following them to Calcutta, devises a different plan and decides to stay in Bombay.
Though Fogg is an even-tempered man, his disapproval of Passepartout here shows just how deeply he values punctuality and schedule, especially when trying to navigate unfamiliar territory.
Themes
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