Talk:Captain Nemo

disposed Indian rajah

Where is it said that Captain Nemo is a 'dispossed Indian rajah'? In the book his exact nature is left an open-ended mystery, right? -- Gaurav 15:51, 23 Aug 2003 (UTC)

In the first book, yes. In the sequel, though, he does the full death-bed biography bit. There's a link to the relevant part of the book in the article now. —Paul A 01:48, 25 Aug 2003 (UTC)

From 20,000 Leagues (FP Walter translation):

"That Indian, professor, lives in the land of the oppressed, and I am to this day, and will be until my last breath, a native of that same land!"

Good point, but not necessarily completely explicit; this might very well be a figure of style to express his support of the Indian cause, quite similarly to what he says about Greece, rather that some litteral. But an interesting clue indeed. Rama 12:57, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

Images

The two actor images Image:Nemo-sharif.jpg and Image:Nemo-shah.jpg don't appear for me using Firefox, but they do appear on other pages. What's up? Anárion 12:30, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

For the sharif image: the image page calls http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Nemo-sharif.jpg but it is actually at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1a/300px-Nemo-sharif.jpg -- the second URL is from the Omar Sharif article. Anárion 12:34, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

This is most puzzling ! I uploaded these images yesterday and they were displayed normally, but today I cannot seem to see them either. I had a similar problem yesterday with the Khaled_Kelkal article. I will try to see what the problem is... Thank you for your vigilence and interest ! Rama 13:56, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

UPDATE : well-informed sources from Wikipedia told me that this is a site-wide problem, which is currently studied by the development team. Rama 14:01, 21 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Omsk

Home port of Osmk ? Where does this information come from ? I though that the Nautilus party had renounced all links with humanity and were based in a desert island (Mystery Island)... Rama 22:22, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

There is no mention of Omsk anywhere in the book, period. Tom129.93.17.106 (talk) 22:34, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Nightwish

I disagree that the song Nemo by Nightwish is about captain Nemo, as the page says. It is about being "nobody", as the latin meaning of the word is. I could be wrong, though so I won't touch it now until I have read the lyrics again. -Anonymous Poster

• The song's lyrics contain the verse "Nemo sailing home" which shows clearly that the Nemo of the song has something to do with sea. Also, words like compass ("...without an honest heart as compass...") are commonly used by sailors and captains.
• "Nemo Sailing home" sounds more like the story of Odysseus, who gave "Nemo"/"No one" as his name to the cyclops Polyphemus. Agree with the original poster that it the song is about being a nobody and not that particular character. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.96.204.3 (talk) 12:41, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Removed "inconsistencies"

I removed this from Trivia:

creating inconsistency with the first part (why did professor Arronax did not notice Nemo Hindu-looks, at the very least?)

How is Nemo described in the 20,000 Leagues? A high-caste sea-washed Indian could be unsurprising for a Frenchman, I think. Here are Nemo's cousins and uncle. --Error 00:54, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

He is described like this:

The second stranger deserves a more detailed description. A disciple of such character-judging anatomists as Gratiolet or Engel could have read this man's features like an open book. Without hesitation, I identified his dominant qualities-- self-confidence, since his head reared like a nobleman's above the arc formed by the lines of his shoulders, and his black eyes gazed with icy assurance; calmness, since his skin, pale rather than ruddy, indicated tranquility of blood; energy, shown by the swiftly knitting muscles of his brow; and finally courage, since his deep breathing denoted tremendous reserves of vitality.

I might add that this was a man of great pride, that his calm, firm gaze seemed to reflect thinking on an elevated plane, and that the harmony of his facial expressions and bodily movements resulted in an overall effect of unquestionable candor-- according to the findings of physiognomists, those analysts of facial character.

I felt "involuntarily reassured" in his presence, and this boded well for our interview.

Whether this individual was thirty-five or fifty years of age, I could not precisely state. He was tall, his forehead broad, his nose straight, his mouth clearly etched, his teeth magnificent, his hands refined, tapered, and to use a word from palmistry, highly "psychic," in other words, worthy of serving a lofty and passionate spirit. This man was certainly the most wonderful physical specimen I had ever encountered. One unusual detail: his eyes were spaced a little far from each other and could instantly take in nearly a quarter of the horizon. This ability-- as I later verified--was strengthened by a range of vision even greater than Ned Land's. When this stranger focused his gaze on an object, his eyebrow lines gathered into a frown, his heavy eyelids closed around his pupils to contract his huge field of vision, and he looked! What a look--as if he could magnify objects shrinking into the distance; as if he could probe your very soul; as if he could pierce those sheets of water so opaque to our eyes and scan the deepest seas . . . !

Rama 01:05, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

From the article: he was meant to be Polish in the first book.

Notice in the description he's not mentioned as having a beard. But in the illustrations he does. Tom129.93.17.106 (talk) 22:32, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Anarchy?

Why is Nemo in the category of fictional anarchists? There is nothing about this in the text. Supersheep 23:00, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

He respects no state, though you could argue that his submarine and his hidden base are his hidden "country". However he doesn't seem to carry his ship democratically, not even as much as bucaneers did. --Error 00:13, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't seem that mere anti-nationalism, or a lack of respect for nation states is enough to be considered an anarchist. Although definitions of what it does mean to be an anarchist can vary. At the least, we should expect the text or the author to explain that the character is specifically meant to be an anarchist, no matter how off others might consider the characterization. As this explanation isn't in the text, the author's remarks on the subject should be produced. I'll remove this from the category, and once a cited source is provided, it can be re-added. Cast 01:07 9 December 2006

Time Period

When Jules Verne wrote The Mysteries Island, I Think he revedied the time of 20000 leaugeus under the sea in the years before the american civil war, i mean of the early sixties years the story happened on 20000 leaugues under the sea. Because i come from gemany, i correct also this paradoxn in german wikipedia.

Many greetings from Germany Philipp Mevius in 2006, August 31th

Latin Odyssey?

"His name is the Latin for "nobody" or "no one", an allusion to the answer given by Odysseus to Polyphemus in the Odyssey." Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Odysseus written by the blind, *Greek* poet, Homer? Every version of the Odyssey that I have seen so far says "No One" or "Nobody", not "Nemo". Also, the Latin language was extremely young when Homer would have been able to write The Odyssey. We're talking 8th, 9th century BC. And since Odysseus was a Greek coming back from a war with the Trojans that at that point was already concidered ancient history; why would Homer, a Greek, have Odysseus (an ancient greek to Homer's time) give the cyclops a name from a language that barely existed in Homer's time and didn't exist yet in Odysseus's time. I find this connection to be tenuous at best. -- Lucy 08:03, September 14, 2006

I've removed this unsourced speculation from the article. If this is mentioned by some reputable critic, then it can be returned to the article once sourced. Gamaliel 23:30, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

While it may be that Verne simply was not paying enough attention to continuity in his writing, another intriguing possibility suggests itself. Since 'Nemo' means 'nobody' or 'no-one' in Latin, it is possible that the mantle of Captain Nemo is one which can be assumed by more than one person, much as many different actors have represented James Bond in the lifetime of the character. In this case, the role of the concerned everyman, Nemo, can continue even after the death of one of his 'incarnations'.

-----

This inconsistency bugged me as well, so I have removed the "an allusion to the answer given by Odysseus to Polyphemus in the Odyssey" text.

While Odysseus did reply (when translated into English) 'no one' , the Odyssey (and therefore his reply) was Homeric Greek, not Latin. If the use of 'Nemo' is, in fact, a reference to this reply, a source should be referenced and it needs to be made clear that 'Nemo' is a Latin translation of the response. --210.1.207.118 04:41, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

There is a word in Greek which is the exact counter-part of Nemo. Oυτις. It means the exact same thing, it is "no one" rendered in the form of a name. I'm pretty sure that the Latin "Nemo" originates from the Odyssey's "Oυτις", being simply translations of eachother. --IronMaidenRocks 18:42, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

no allusion to Indian origins in 20 000 Leagues under the sea?

I haven't got the book with me now, and I've read it a very long time ago, but not its sequel, and I distinctly remember (mainly because it surprised me as I had before seen him as a european) a passage where Nemo relates his origins as an Indian prince. Sorry guys I can't check by myself now.

Perhaps you mean " 'That Indian, professor, lives in the land of the oppressed, and I am to this day, and will be until my last breath, a native of that same land!' "

Yeah, well, I think if we want Verne's real intentions all we have to do is to read the bio passage in Mysterious Island and change "India" to "Poland", "Britain" to "Russia", and "the Sepoy Rebellion" to "the Polish revolt of 1863".

It also works if you replace "India" with "Alderaan", "Britain" with "Galactic Empire", and "the Sepoy Rebellion" with "Battle of Yavin 4". Rama 00:36, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Polish origins of Nemo (later changed to be Indian) have a source on Polish Wikipedia - it is supposedly mentioned in a biography. That was also mentioned today in TV (that's why I'm here) but that's hardly a source. ;) If anybody has another source, or access to this book and can confirm that - it would be nice to cite it properly in the article.

I found it mentioned several times though I don't really know if those would be regarded as proper sources (obviously the blog entry would not), but looks quite credible, right? I'm not editing the article though. I would if I could lay my hands on the referenced book.

Azrael 83.11.214.127 (talk) 09:06, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Nemo-shah.jpg

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Villain

Is Nemo a villain? He seems rather ambivalent to me, doing both good and wrong. I would not characterise him so strongly.

Hero

Shouldn't he also be listed as a Byronic hero? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.116.106.154 (talk) 03:47, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

he became gay?

is that accurate? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.43.141.176 (talk) 02:41, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

No, for at least one good reason: you don't "become gay". It's not a choice (no matter what Jerry Falwell & the right-wing anti-gay loons say. Trekphiler (talk) 19:05, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

I became gay. You wanna police my experience? 69.122.244.46 (talk) 23:27, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

I have no idea what this refers to, but in Verne’s day, or in Nemo’s, to become gay would mean to grow cheerful.

JohnFMayer (talk) 05:16, 18 September 2009 (UTC) John Mayer

My name is Mario Girotti

What was Nemo's given name? (And don't say "Captain"). Trekphiler (talk) 19:05, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

I like the reference to Terence Hill! (though I had to look it up).

As regards the origins of the Captain's name - or rather Jules Verne's understanding of it.

The Latin translation (= no-one) may be perfectly valid but, in the context of the plot, wouldn't the Greek meaning be more pertinent? I don't know if Jules Verne's knowledge of the classics was in any way compromised, but for a man of his era and education to be familiar with only one meaning of the word strikes me as being unlikely.

Surely he would have known that the word 'nemo' (cf Nemesis, the goddess who calls for retributive justice) means "give what is due"? (see http://dict.sorabji.com/oxford/Nemesis.html )

I hope I'm not treading on any toes by including mention of this in the first para.Revera (talk) 10:31, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

To answer the question, Nemo's real name was Dakkar---he was a prince, and like most royalty he didn't have a last name, just the name Dakkar. "Captain Nemo" was an assumed name, a pseudonymn. Tom129.93.17.106 (talk) 22:24, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Originally he was supposed to be a Polish revolutionary

Verne's original intention was to make Nemo a Polish, not an Indian, freedom fighter, a rebel against Russian oppressors. Hetzel wouldn't have it, because his books did a brisk biz in Russia and he didn't want to offend his readers. So Verne left his 20,000 Leagues under the sea and made him an Great Guy in Mysterious Island. Shouldn't this be in the article? Tom129.93.17.106 (talk) 22:29, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Nemo was modeled after Nana Saheb, adopted son of the last Peshwa of Pune, Bajirao II.

Nemo was modeled after Nana Saheb, adopted son of the last Peshwa of Pune, Bajirao II. Nana Saheb was the leader of the War of Independence 1857, quoting a Times of India leader

“ The problem that Indians have with Jules Verne has so far been of a different kind. Unlike the Americans who did not care to read the translations of Verne, which though not competently done had enough to attract their scientific attention, we were delibera-tely deprived of chunks of what Verne wrote about contemporary Indian events. Captain Nemo with his submarine Nautilus, the most-loved of Verne's heroes was an Indian — a projection of Nana Sahib after the Mutiny of 1857. But most of us, dependent on English translations, do not know — perhaps yet — all that he revealed of himself a day before his death.

Verne was translated into English in the age of cynical imperialism by men who did not think they had a duty to be loyal to the French original. A certain Kingston rewrote Captain Nemo's final auto-biographical account and even omitted such lines as: [Captain Nemo or Prince Dakkar of Bundelkund] "raised on the idea of vindication and vengeance, having an irresistible love for his poetic country burdened by English chains, never wanted to set foot on the cursed land to which India owed its enslavement" (The Mysterious Island, translation by Sidney Kravitz, 1992). Kingston's translation was regarded as definitive for nearly a century and a half. It is only very recently that new translations of Verne by dispassionate scholars like Sidney Kravitz and William Butcher have started coming out and we have a chance of getting to know Jules Verne better, a friend we had seen so long through the eyes of often unfriendly people.

”

Yogesh Khandke (talk) 08:20, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

But Verne didn't decide to make Nemo Indian until he wrote Mysterious Island. When he wrote 20,000 Leagues he meant for Nemo to be Polish, but his publisher Hetzel censored that. Tom —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.93.16.21 (talk) 00:02, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

Captain Nemo Was Not an Anti-Hero

Captain Nemo was clearly a Byronic hero, NOT an anti-hero. An anti-hero would be someone like Woody Allen. Captain Nemo had ALL the characteristics of a traditional hero save that his goals were not consistent with the ideals of the viewpoint characters.

JohnFMayer (talk) 05:23, 18 September 2009 (UTC) John Mayer

The discrepancies

I'd have tacked this on to one of the existing threads, but the relevant ones are so old.

There was an essay, reprinted as an appendix to the Philip José Farmer novel, The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, entitled "A Submersible Subterfuge." It makes a good case that Mysterious Island should not be considered canon. Would that be appropriate for the article (with citation, of course)? --Tbrittreid (talk) 00:17, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Nemo's Name

In Mysterious Island, Nemo's real name is given as Prince Dakkar. Where do you get "Armitage Ranjit"? Tom —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.222.198.12 (talk) 22:17, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

Nemo and Flourens

A brief contribution (proposed by me) was recently added to the article "Gustave Flourens", which I think could have its place here too.

Here is what is all about: One of the most important Vernian specialists of our time, Dr William Butcher, made an assuption that Captain Nemo is based on the famous French revolutionary intellectual Gustave Flourens. I found it very interesting and, since I am maybe the only person that studied Flourens's life in depth (Leonidas Kallivretakis, Gustave Flourens (1838-1871) et la Grece, doctoral thesis,Universite de la Sorbonne, Paris 1983; published also in Greek, Athens 1998), I investigated this hypothesis, and the result of that investigation is an article published in The Historical Revue / La Revue Historique, an academic refereed journal.

This could be added here under the title "Character", right after the already existing text. I propose something like this:

"In his notes to modern editions of some of Jules Verne's works[1][2], Vernian specialist William Butcher has suggested that Captain Nemo is based on the French revolutionary intellectual Gustave Flourens, but this hypothesis has been challenged by Flourens' biographer Leonidas Kallivretakis[3].

1. Verne, Jules (2001). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (revised ed.). Oxford University Press. p. xvii.

2. Verne, Jules (2001). Arthur B. Evans. ed. The Mysterious Island. trans. Sidney Kravitz. Wesleyan University Press.

3. Kallivretakis, Leonidas (2004). "Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo and French Revolutionary Gustave Flourens: A Hidden Character Model?". The Historical Review (1): 207-244. http://www.historicalreview.org/index.php/historicalReview/article/view/177/73."

What do you think? LEONKALL 5 October 2010 —Preceding undated comment added 08:02, 5 October 2010 (UTC).

In the same line of thought I suggest that the expression "thirst for vengeance" should be replaced by "thirst for destruction. Nemo was a terrorist, but harrassed by remorse."--83.200.152.224 (talk) 12:17, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

I had reverted the terrorist change mostly because the two sentences no longer made as much sense as the single sentence they replaced. Nemo's being wracked by remorse is in contrast to his attempt to project confidence (so it fits nicely after the "but" in the original sentence). And his being wracked by remorse is not an explanatory or additional detail to his being a terrorist, which is how the sentence is written now.

I'm also not sure the character counts as a terrorist, a very strong and loaded term. The Wikipedia article on terrorism recognizes that the term is hard to define, but tends to always include indiscriminate violence against civilians for the purpose of publicity, which doesn't seem to be supported by the rest of the article. Npdoty (talk) 04:07, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

My purpose was to separate the concepts of vengeance (aimed at individuals) and terrorism (ideologically motivated). Its perfectly true that terrorism is a very loaded term, so there is a tendency to avoid it when talking about actors who have gained a minimum of sympathy. I have changed the text a little - hopefully it is more logic now. --82.125.188.143 (talk) 14:18, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

I still much prefer the original text. I think "thirst for vengeance" describes his character's situation well, and he attacks various European ships, not just those of the "english nation" (or rather "British Empire"). Saying that he "was maybe a terrorist" is vague, and I still don't believe that the text of the article supports the assertion of terrorism.

Perhaps an addition of his ideology to the original text would work for both of us. I propose the following text:

Nemo tries to project a stern, controlled confidence, but he is driven by a thirst for vengeance and a hatred of imperialism and wracked by remorse over the deaths of his crew members and even by the deaths of enemy sailors.

What do people think? Npdoty (talk) 16:43, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

The Weather Channel Naming

While its true there was a winter storm named Nemo, this is a naming convention only used by The Weather Channel. Listing it could potentially add to the confusion that these winter storm names are somehow a universally agreed upon standard. --Newton21989 (talk) 00:29, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

Portrait

I have a portrait of an old man in a foul weather suit smoking a pipe. I am assuming it is Captain Nemo and I need help finding out who this is. It was painted and signed by R. Tolan. Can anyone help me?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.152.254.57 (talk) 04:08, 23 March 2012 (UTC) 

correction of typographical error

"He is said to have died of old age, on board the Nautilus, at Dakkar Grotto on Lincoln Island in the South Pacific. Funereal rites were administered by Cyrus SmithItalic text, one of the castaways protected by Nemo himself, and the vessel was then submerged in the waters of the grotto."

The character's name was Captain Cyrus HARDING, not Smith.

"Throughout the same book, Nemo acts as an agent of Divine Providence, as when the sailor Pencroft laments the absence of tobacco, and a hunting party discover a plant that the young naturalist HarbertItalic text identifies as such."

The character's name was HERBERT, not Harbert. MrsTigercat (talk) 21:19, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Nemo is indeed Indian, Nana Sahib. I would never know or understand how it came to pass that Hetzel was given a first manuscript where Nemo should be Polish, unless Jules Verne wanted to protect Nana Sahib hunted by the British. Nemo or Nana Sahib was the first to man a nuclear powered submarine, designed and conceived by himself. He left artifacts at the South Pole to substantiate that he was Indian and that he was the first to have been there. The Russians as well as Norwegians know this. If we go to Google Earth we will find the exact latitude and longitude where he is to be found (Point Nemo). He has built evidence on the seabed that cannot be eradicated. He will surface again and lay claim to the identity stolen from him. Unfortunately I cannot reference this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.216.99.110 (talk) 10:47, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Harbert and Smith are the real names. The names you mentioned were invented by W. H. G Kingston. Nemo was originally a Pole. However, Hetzel forced Verne to change the identity because he feared the Russians would be offended. And, as William Butcher points out in some works I don't know, Hetzel altered the a great quantity of Verne's original ideas. 68.100.116.118 (talk) 00:33, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

Nemo's born date is 1819

In The Mysterious Island, is told that Captain Nemo lived in Europe since he was 10 years and that he returned to India when he was 30 ad after that is told that he returned to Bundelkund in 1849 200.0.25.182 (talk) 16:30, 21 July 2016 (UTC)12:29 07-21-2016

References

Bigography Question...

Where does it specifically mention Nemo's connection to Tipu Sahib? I have Mysterious Island in front of me, and though it does say he is the son of a Raja, it does not mention the Mysore Wars, that I can see. Where is that reference from? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:E000:62D5:7D00:8E9:8756:AF1F:EF95 (talk) 23:47, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Pronunciation

Where did you have the pronunciation? It's pronounced "Naymoh" in French, how come that you have a detailed pronunciation in English? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.91.51.235 (talk) 22:34, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

"Captain Nemo is depicted as a European, in accordance with the earlier of the two novels"

This statement isn't consistent with the earlier statements that his identity was unknown in the earlier of the two novels, and that Arronax describes him as having 'Southern blood'. Instead it should say "despite his Indian origin as revealed in Mysterious Island". I don't think the miscasting of the hero for decades should be excused that easily. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.253.50.24 (talk) 01:03, 9 September 2024 (UTC)