Le grand combat - Analyse imaginaire de Jules Verne
The Great Battle - A Pattern of the Imaginary in Jules Verne's Work

Summary/Abstract: Jules Verne, an author of great epic inventiveness, always builds up his novels on a "battle" scheme. Similar leitmotifs, situations and characters are found almost everywhere in his work. The conflict is always an explicit one, which opposes definite characters especially through their exteriority and their action. The hero, an exceptional existence, defined by some mythically traits, challengesthe world to an attempt of reaching out his limits, no matter whether he is just a hunter, a sailor, a scholar or just a child. Besides him, there is the adjuvant character that redounds him, while the opponent, mysterious or indefinite, as captain Nemo, delinquent or pervert, plays a role similar to the one of the dragon from the Romanian folk fairy tales. The meaningful space of the novels imposes itself a limit - the hero must conquer it - revealing in this way his "hybris". Althoug being used figures of reconcilement, in the end the opposite camps seem to make it up, as well as the hero concialiates with the world. Due to their conventional character, Jules Verne's novels were often parodied, but their success confirms their value up to our days...

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