All the Light We Cannot See
Captain Nemo’s Last Words
by Anthony, Doerr,Marie-Laure nears the end of her radio broadcast of Jules Verne’s *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*, having read seven of the final nine chapters. Captain Nemo’s harrowing adventures—escaping a giant squid, confronting a hurricane, and sinking a warship—culminate in a somber organ dirge as the *Nautilus* rests in the ocean’s depths. Though uncertain if her readings have brought solace to listeners, including her great-uncle or Allied soldiers, Marie-Laure finds purpose in completing the story. The tension between her solitary act of defiance and the war raging around her underscores the chapter’s mood.
As she prepares to finish the broadcast, Marie-Laure grapples with fear and resignation. The German soldier downstairs grows increasingly agitated, prompting her to consider surrendering the hidden model house that conceals her. Yet she resolves to complete the story first, clinging to the ritual of reading as a small act of control. Her thoughts drift to the cursed stone in her possession, wondering if its power could reverse the devastation of war and bring her father back. This internal conflict highlights her vulnerability and resilience.
The chapter intercuts Marie-Laure’s predicament with the novel’s climax, where Ned Land and Professor Aronnax plan their escape from the *Nautilus*. Their dialogue—“We’ll die together, Ned my friend”—mirrors Marie-Laure’s isolation and the looming threat of violence. With a knife at her side and fingertips tracing the book’s pages, she embodies both fragility and defiance. The parallel between the fictional characters’ peril and her own underscores the universality of struggle and camaraderie in dire circumstances.
In the final moments, Marie-Laure turns on the transmitter, drawing strength from the image of whelks clinging to their shells to survive predators. This metaphor reflects her own tenacity, hiding in the “grotto” of her attic as war rages outside. The chapter closes with a poignant blend of literary escapism and stark reality, emphasizing how stories provide temporary refuge while the world beyond remains unforgiving. Her quiet determination to finish the broadcast becomes an act of resistance, however small.
FAQs
1. How does Marie-Laure’s reading of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” serve as both a personal comfort and potential connection to others during wartime?
Answer:
Marie-Laure finds solace in completing the narrative arc of Captain Nemo’s story, evidenced by her determination to finish the final chapters despite the surrounding danger. The text suggests her broadcast may have created unseen connections—whether with her great-uncle in a cellar or Allied soldiers in the field—though she cannot confirm this (“if she has brought anyone comfort… she cannot say”). This duality reflects literature’s power to provide personal refuge while potentially creating invisible bonds between isolated individuals in conflict zones. The organ dirge and Ned Land’s escape dialogue mirror Marie-Laure’s own tension between resignation and resistance.2. Analyze the symbolic significance of the stone and model house in Marie-Laure’s internal conflict.
Answer:
The stone represents both hope and burden—when she contemplates its mythical power (“would the earth heal over, would Papa come back?”), it embodies her desperate longing to reverse war’s devastation. The model house becomes a literal and metaphorical bargaining chip in her survival calculus, as seen when she considers surrendering it to the German soldier. These objects form a symbolic triad with Verne’s novel: the stone reflects magical thinking, the house represents tangible reality, and the broadcasted story becomes her active intervention between the two. Her tactile interaction with all three (“fingertips pressed to the lines”) underscores their interconnected significance.3. How does Doerr use marine imagery from both Verne’s novel and Marie-Laure’s memories to develop themes of resistance?
Answer:
The chapter interweaves three aquatic metaphors: Captain Nemo’s violent submarine maneuvers, Ned Land’s stormy escape plan, and Marie-Laure’s memory of whelks surviving predation. Each illustrates different resistance strategies—Nemo’s direct confrontation (“rammed a warship”), Ned’s risky flight (“sea’s bad… wind’s blowing strong”), and the whelks’ defensive withdrawal (“tucked into that grotto”). Marie-Laure synthesizes these approaches by broadcasting (active resistance) while maintaining psychological retreat (“glad to be so near the end”). The hurricane’s eye imagery particularly mirrors her situation—a temporary calm surrounded by destructive forces, requiring decisive action.4. Evaluate how the chapter’s structure builds suspense through parallel narratives.
Answer:
Doerr creates tension through three intercut timelines: the climax of Verne’s novel (Nemo’s violence and Ned’s escape plan), Marie-Laure’s immediate danger (German soldier downstairs), and her imagined consequences of action (“would the fires go out”). Short, alternating paragraphs (“First she will finish. Then she’ll decide.”) mimic the ticking clock of both the plot’s conclusion and her survival dilemma. The transmitted fiction becomes a suspense multiplier—as Ned Land’s escape window narrows in the story, so does Marie-Laure’s opportunity for action in reality. This structure forces readers to simultaneously anticipate both narrative resolutions.
Quotes
1. “Captain Nemo has freed his ship from the giant squid only to stare into the eye of a hurricane. Pages later, he rammed a warship full of men, passing through its hull, Verne writes, like a sailmaker’s needle through cloth.”
This vivid description of Captain Nemo’s actions symbolizes both his power and his ruthless detachment, mirroring the broader themes of war and destruction in the chapter. The imagery of the hurricane and the needle-through-cloth metaphor highlight the juxtaposition of natural and human violence.
2. “Why not, she considers, just slide through the wardrobe and hand the little house to him and find out if he will spare her?”
This internal monologue captures Marie-Laure’s moment of desperation and moral dilemma, representing the tension between self-preservation and resistance. It reflects the precariousness of her situation and the psychological toll of war.
3. “What would happen if the goddess took away the curse? Would the fires go out, would the earth heal over, would doves return to the windowsills? Would Papa come back?”
Marie-Laure’s poignant questions reveal her longing for healing and restoration amidst chaos. The quote encapsulates the chapter’s themes of loss, hope, and the search for redemption in a broken world.
4. “‘The sea’s bad,’ he says to Professor Aronnax, ‘and the wind’s blowing strong …’ ‘I’m with you, Ned.’ ‘But let me tell you that if we’re caught, I’m going to defend myself, even if I die doing it.’ ‘We’ll die together, Ned my friend.’”
This exchange between Ned Land and Professor Aronnax underscores the themes of loyalty and defiance in the face of danger. It parallels Marie-Laure’s own resolve and the broader narrative of resistance against overwhelming odds.
5. “She thinks of the whelks in Harold Bazin’s kennel, ten thousand of them; how they cling; how they draw themselves up into the spirals of their shells; how, when they’re tucked into that grotto, the gulls cannot come in to carry them up into the sky and drop them on the rocks to break them.”
This closing reflection uses the metaphor of whelks to symbolize resilience and the instinct to survive. It ties together the chapter’s exploration of vulnerability and strength, leaving the reader with a powerful image of endurance.