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Chapters 29–32

Summary: Chapter 29: Duels and Indians

Fogg, Passepartout, Aouda, and Fix are on the train finishing the last leg of their trip to New York. They will reach New York in exactly four days. Fogg and Fix are busy playing whist when Colonel Proctor passes by, making a comment that Fogg is playing the wrong card, insulting Fogg. Fix stands up, realizing who it is, and challenges Colonel Proctor. Fogg stops Fix, saying this is his fight after he promised himself that he’d be the one to settle the score with Colonel Proctor someday. Colonel Proctor challenges Fogg to a duel, but Fogg asks him if they can meet up in six months because Fogg doesn’t have the time to fight him at the next stop. Colonel Proctor accuses Fogg of trying to weasel out of the fight. Fogg submits, and they agree to exchange shots at Colonel Proctor’s stop, Plum Creek, while the train waits for passengers to deboard.

Suddenly, the conductor announces that they can’t stop at Plum Creek because the train is already twenty minutes late and suggests they fight in the last train car instead while the train moves along. Just as Proctor and Fogg are about to exchange fire, a group of Sioux Indians runs through the train, attacking the passengers. The Sioux try to stop the engine by closing the steam valve but instead open the steam valve wider, causing the train to rush forward. Passepartout slips under the passenger cars to detach them from the engine car. The passenger cars stop right at Fort Kearney, where American soldiers wait, ready to chase the Sioux away.

Summary: Chapter 30: A Prisoner of the Indians!

The group discovers that Passepartout has gone missing. They learn he’s been taken captive, along with three other passengers, by the Sioux. Fogg asks the commander at Fort Kearney to rescue the captives, but the commander refuses, saying he must stay back to protect the fort. Fogg, now in a dire position between losing his bet or saving Passepartout, makes the heroic decision to go after Passepartout. The commander, inspired by Fogg’s bravery and virtue, sends thirty of his men along with Fogg to help. Fogg promises to divide a big sum of money among them if their mission is a success. Fix, meanwhile, feels despair thinking that Fogg might finally escape for good with the stolen money. A whistle blows, alerting the rest of the passengers that the train is ready to leave. Aouda stays behind, unwilling to leave Fogg. As she waits in the cold, Fogg finally appears at dawn, Passepartout and the other prisoners in tow.

Summary: Chapter 31: Fix Lends a Helping Hand

Aouda sobs and greets Fogg. She has obviously grown deeply in love with Fogg. Fogg, unfazed by her emotional display, asks when the next train is due to pass through. He now is twenty hours behind schedule. Fix, whom Fogg asked to stay behind to take care of Aouda, offers Fogg a solution. He knows an American sledge driver named Mudge who can drive them to Omaha, where they can catch a train for New York. The plan is accepted and arranged. Fogg and his group board the sledge and race across the snowy terrain, dodging wolves and bracing against freezing winds. Mudge feels motivated to go fast because Fogg has promised him a generous reward. The group makes it to Omaha, where they catch a train to Chicago and then another to New York. It is now December 11. Fogg has just ten days left to make it to London.

Summary: Chapter 32: Phileas Fogg Turns Pirate

The group has just missed the China, the fastest ship from New York to Liverpool, by forty-five minutes. Still, Fogg remains calm. He spends a restful night at the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York, while the others feel too upset to sleep. The next day, Fogg heads to the harbor, where he finds Andrew Speedy, the captain of the Henrietta, a ship headed to Bordeaux, France. Speedy says he never takes passengers and refuses to take Fogg aboard, even after Fogg offers to buy the ship outright. Speedy relents, however, when Fogg offers to pay a large sum per crew member to take him aboard. Fix, crestfallen at the thought of how little of the stolen money Fogg must have left, boards the ship as well.

Analysis: Chapters 29–32

By chapters 29–32, readers begin to see just how much Aouda’s feelings have developed for Fogg. For nearly half the book, Verne hasn’t given much voice to Aouda. She has stayed behind the scenes for the most part, remaining a helpless, voiceless female figure, a common trope in adventure novels. She plays the “defenseless woman” who is saved by the “brave hero.” But now, readers begin to see a more complex character emerge. Aouda is willing to sacrifice her safety and stay behind for Fogg after the Sioux attack and, in the previous chapters, devises her own plans to keep Fogg safe from Colonel Proctor for fear of him hurting Fogg in a fight. Aouda’s devotion to Fogg is growing, as is her character, binding her closer to Fogg. She’s also developing a deeper friendship with Passepartout, who shares her goal of keeping Fogg safe.

Fix has also become more loyal to Fogg, even if his motivations are unbenign. He dutifully fulfills Fogg’s request to watch over Aouda while he rescues Passepartout from the Sioux and manages to arrange the sledge ride with Mudge across the prairie. Fix continues to prove he is just as determined as Fogg and can be and just as resourceful. Fix can handle himself in the American wild just as well as any other man, and he has what it takes to survive. However, when Fix becomes depressed over seeing how much Fogg pays Speedy to take them across the Atlantic, readers are reminded of Fix’s greed. Fix’s sense of duty is a bit more tarnished than Fogg’s, and while readers note some positive developments, Fix remains a morally ambiguous figure in the novel.

Fogg, for his part, is mostly unaware of people’s efforts to keep him safe and on track to reaching his goal. Fogg has tunnel vision over his games of whist, his watch, and keeping schedules. Earlier in the story, when the train made the incredulous jump over the weak bridge, Fogg didn’t even notice. In contrast, Passepartout seems more aware and finely tuned to his surroundings.

Now, however, readers see Fogg finally faced with a difficult, character-making decision: whether to save Passepartout from the Sioux or leave Passepartout in peril to not lose time. He chooses to save his friend, knowing his actions will likely kill his chances to reach London in time and, furthermore, result in his own death. Fogg’s honor is now complete. Fogg’s inner nature is revealed as is his capacity for sacrifice. Passepartout and Fogg’s friendship is now firmly cemented as well.

Like his depiction of the Hindus in the forests of India, Verne’s depiction of the Sioux also borders on complete caricature. The Sioux rush onto the train, attacking passengers and fumbling with the engine to make the train stop. They are characterized as clumsy, vicious, and dishonorable for attacking unsuspecting and unarmed victims. The Sioux are easily fended off by the soldiers at the station and only manage to capture three individuals. The Sioux are depicted as reckless and ineffective warriors, which is indicative of the prejudiced British imperialist view.

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