This essay examines hierarchical structures in two versions of Jules Vernes’ Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870). A full translation by Erik Carlquist is compared with a retelling of the story by Peter Gotthardt (2010), and the comparison is intended to show similarities and differences in the hierarchical structures that can be found in the two versions. The essay uses an ecofeminist perspective to locate and analyse the hierarchies, and a postcolonial view is also present to deepen the analysis of the imperialistic aspects that can be found in the novel. The essay examines the relationship between human and nature, civilisation and the primitive and also between four characters in the novels. The essay shows that the hierarchical structures that can be found in the full translation can still be observed in the retelling, even though the retelling is around 300 pages shorter. In both versions, humans are dominant in its relation to nature, and the imperialistic tendencies maintain a hierarchical relationship between civilisation and the primitive, with the nationalistic features and the Western identity further establishing the civilisation as dominant. The hierarchical structures between the characters mainly stay the same between the two versions, although attempts to flatten out the hierarchical relationships can be seen in the retelling.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-192237 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Hedkvist, Emma |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för kultur- och medievetenskaper |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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