Passepartout–Fix relationship

Passepartout and Fix move from adversaries to temporary allies, but not to friends: their cooperation is founded on a shared immediate interest, while Passepartout’s anger and suspicion remain. Fix’s confession makes the alliance possible, and his subsequent assistance confirms that he keeps his word; the quiet distance between them on the train shows how little that change repairs.

From Recognition to Confrontation

When Phileas Fogg and Aouda arrive, Fix recognizes Passepartout despite his theatrical disguise. Rather than explain himself, Fix retreats to his cabin, hoping the number of passengers will keep Passepartout from noticing him. The evasion does not last. The two meet face to face on the forward deck, where Passepartout attacks Fix and strikes him. A group of American passengers watches with amusement and begins betting on the encounter. The scene makes their hostility public: Passepartout responds physically before Fix has a chance to explain, and Fix, once the confrontation ends, remains composed enough to ask whether Passepartout has finished.

The encounter alters the direction of their relationship without immediately softening it. Fix proposes that they speak aside from the other passengers. Passepartout follows, apparently checked by Fix’s composure, but he does not thereby accept Fix’s account or regard him as a friend. The move from open confrontation to private conversation is a pause in the conflict, not its resolution. Fix uses that interval to state plainly what he has done and why his position is changing.

Fix’s Confession and the Conditional Alliance

Fix acknowledges that he has been Phileas Fogg’s adversary. While Fogg was on English ground, Fix’s interest was to detain him until the arrest warrant arrived, and he lists the measures he took to delay the party: sending the Bombay priests after Fogg, getting Passepartout intoxicated in Hong Kong, separating him from his master, and causing Fogg to miss the Yokohama steamer. For Passepartout, the confession gives concrete form to the disruptions he has experienced. His response is not immediate forgiveness; he listens with closed fists.

Fix makes clear that his reversal is strategic rather than a declaration that Fogg is innocent. He still thinks Fogg a criminal, but now expects him to be returning to England. Since the question of Fogg’s guilt can be settled there, Fix says he will follow and, for the present, remove obstacles rather than create them. The same change in circumstance that once made delay useful now makes assistance serve Fix’s purpose. He argues that Passepartout also has reason to cooperate, because England is where he can learn whether his master is honest or guilty.

Passepartout accepts Fix’s apparent good faith but defines the new arrangement carefully. When Fix asks whether they are friends, Passepartout refuses the word and allows only that they may be allies. He adds a warning that any sign of treachery will end the agreement. Fix accepts those terms quietly. Their alliance is therefore real but provisional: it coordinates their conduct toward a common destination without undoing Passepartout’s personal distrust. The distinction between friendship and alliance becomes the relationship’s governing condition.

Assistance Tested in San Francisco

Fix’s promise is tested after the party’s arrival in San Francisco. When Passepartout is waiting for Phileas Fogg, he is armed with half a dozen six-barrelled revolvers. He notices Fix and initially knits his brows, showing that the confession and agreement have not erased his suspicion. Aouda briefly explains their recent adventure, after which Passepartout’s expression becomes calm again. He now recognizes Fix as an ally rather than an enemy because Fix has been faithfully keeping his word.

This recognition is a practical judgment grounded in conduct. Passepartout does not make a new declaration of affection or trust; he revises his immediate assessment because Fix has acted according to the agreement. The scene also places Aouda between the two men as the person who supplies the explanation that changes Passepartout’s response. Fix’s value to the party is no longer merely what he says he will do, but the fact that his promised assistance has become observable.

Cooperation Without Reconciliation

The train journey reveals the limits of this change. Passepartout is seated beside Fix, yet does not speak to him. Their relations have grown cold, and the earlier sympathy and intimacy between them are gone. Fix’s manner remains unchanged, while Passepartout stays reserved and prepared to turn against his former friend at the slightest provocation. The seating arrangement puts them physically together, but the silence emphasizes the distance that the agreement has not closed.

The sequence thus separates useful cooperation from restored personal regard. Passepartout can acknowledge that Fix has kept his word and still withhold warmth; Fix can assist the party without gaining Passepartout’s confidence. Their relationship changes because the chase has entered a new phase, and Fix’s interests now align with Fogg’s onward passage to England. Yet the threat of betrayal remains alive in Passepartout’s caution. By the time they travel together, the immediate antagonism has been restrained, not forgotten: they are allies in action, but their former intimacy has not returned.