![]() ![]() He sits in a large chair and lets his ruminations wander. Axel wants to find Grauben and tell her what is going on, but he is worried that his uncle will return and will need his assistance.Īxel himself cannot stop thinking about the document either, but he is filled with an anxiety that will not abate. Axel informs her that Lidenbrock has said that no one is to eat until the mystery is solved. ![]() Martha is distressed that Lidenbrock has left. Eventually, Lidenbrock loses his temper because he cannot figure out any sensible message. ![]() His uncle is momentarily surprised but turns back to his project. They play around with their findings at one point, Axel accidentally writes out that he loves Grauben. Lidenbrock brings Axel's attention back and asks him to write the words vertically. Grauben was a fine mineralogist in her own right as well. He and Grauben were in love and had become engaged, but his uncle did not know of these plans. He looks at the words and concludes that they must be Latin, only jumbled up if he and Axel had the key, then they could figure it all out.Īs Lidenbrock talks, Axel’s thoughts wander to the portrait of Grauben on the wall. There must be some great secret that the man was keeping, Lidenbrock decides. He sees that it is the name of Arne Saknussemm, a 16th Icelandic scholar and alchemist. On the back of the book he sees a mark and leans in to decipher it. He muses how the hands of the two texts that he is dealing with are different, but he cannot identify the creator of the cipher. This insight excites him, and he assumes that there is some great discovery to be made. He concludes that he has found a cipher, since the letters are mixed up. He dictates the letter in an alphabet corresponding to the Icelandic characters, eventually coming up with a bunch of nonsense words. Lidenbrock calls Axel back in to help him. Axel, though, has no qualms about breaking off for a meal. Martha the cook interrupts and says that dinner is ready, but the professor is too absorbed to eat. It contains bizarre markings-the same runes used in the official manuscript. Lidenbrock picks it up and spreads it on the table in wonderment. Before they can talk more about the runes, a filthy piece of paper falls from the book onto the floor. Finally, Lidenbrock says that he is examining the Heimskringla by Snorre Turlseon, a 12th-century Icelandic author who chronicled the Norwegian princes who ruled over Iceland.Īxel asks a few questions, and his uncle snottily tells him that he is looking at a runic manuscript Axel’s pride is a little hurt due to his uncle’s manner. He simply watches and listens while his uncle exults over this text. That day, though, when Axel enters he sees his uncle perusing a book in excitement and delight. Lidenbrock’s study is practically a museum the rocks and stones and gems have always fascinated Axel. Axel admires his frenetic and intelligent uncle, and himself pursues the study of geological science. He is not poor, and houses both his orphan nephew and Grauben, a girl from Virland. Lidenbrock's little home overlooking the canals leans a bit but holds up well. He has big eyes, a sharp nose, and imposing glasses. He is tall, thin, blonde, and possessing of “an iron constitution” (5). Although Lidenbrock does have a small speech impediment that people tend to mock, his name is much honored in the intellectual community. ![]() He is brilliant, of course, but pursues his studies for himself and not for others. Lidenbrock rushes home, disconcerting Martha the cook, who is not ready with dinner yet.Īxel explains that his uncle is eccentric and egoistic, a mineralogist scholar and polyglot. Axel is at the Hamburg house he shares with his uncle, Professor Lidenbrock. ![]()
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