Around the World in 80 Days: Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Time and Control

Time is both Fogg’s friend and foe through the novel. At first, Fogg appears to have complete dominance over time, as time drives him to organize his life by a precise, regular schedule. Time, or the passing of each day, hour, and minute, controls all of Fogg’s behavior. Fogg believes he can “conquer” time by exacting perfect control over it. Not only does he follow a strict schedule to master time, but he makes others around him do so as well, as when he asks Passepartout to synchronize his watch to Fogg’s and drives train conductors and ship captains to push their schedules according to his desires. Passepartout, in contrast, won’t even change the time on his watch, a move that seems individualistic and illogical. In the end, time ends up controlling Fogg, as Fogg becomes a slave to time by having to watch the clock obsessively while trying to cross the world in time to win his bet. Time proves that it can’t be slowed, sped up, or controlled, but time does help Fogg in the end when he gains a day. Timetables and schedules appear throughout the novel and become symbolic of modern life and man’s desire to dominate time in the hope of eliminating the natural force of chance.

Respect as a Motivation

Respect plays an important role in motivating the characters’ behaviors throughout the novel. Fogg exemplifies the respectability and elegance of contemporary British life in the nineteenth century. His manner and behavior exude a sense of controlled emotion and social grace. Throughout the journey, Fogg loses a lot of money by paying out unnecessary rewards to elephant drivers, ship captains, and others who help him across the world. While many of these payments may be viewed as prudent if Fogg wants to reach his goal, he also doles the money out to maintain a sense of propriety and grace. Such behavior reveals that maintaining respectability in the modern world can be a costly endeavor. Fogg’s insistence at going to the tailors after the political rally in America to iron his clothing demonstrates the virtues of English dress codes in the nineteenth century. Fogg’s emphasis on looking respectable highly contrasts with the rough-and-tumble appearance of the Americans in this scene. Respect, in its highest form, motivates Fogg to do noble acts such as saving Aouda and rescuing Passepartout from the Sioux, which elevates his character beyond simple modes of social propriety. Respect, here, comes from a deeper sense of honoring bonds like friendship and blossoming love.

Risk and Luck

Throughout the novel, Lady Luck gives and takes away, as is her nature. Weather, representing the capricious forces of nature in the story, offers both risk and luck for Fogg. Fogg is constantly gaining a day and losing a day as he crosses choppy oceans, wild landscapes, and the snowy tundra. The vicissitudes of life, and the way fortunes rise and fall as a part of the natural order, is a dominant theme in the novel. For all his precision and attention to detail, Fogg lives as a risk-taker; after all, Fogg spends his days playing whist, a trick-taking game of risk and chance. Throughout the story, Fogg loses a substantial amount of money trying to beat the clock and achieve his goals. It is through taking a risk, however, that Fogg is able to submit himself to the winds of chance and win some of the greatest prizes of all. He “wins” Aouda’s love, Passepartout’s loyalty and friendship, an appreciation for the journey over the destination, and an overall deeper sense of what’s important in life. In other words, fortune favors the bold, the brave, and those willing to take risks.

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