Coral Sea

The Coral Sea, a dangerous stretch of water off the northeast coast of Australia, serves as a critical passage in the Nautilus's underwater voyage. It is a region defined by its treacherous coral reefs, which have claimed many ships, and by its role as a repository of maritime history, where the Nautilus encounters the wreck of the Avenger, a French warship sunk in 1794. The sea is both a physical obstacle and a symbolic space where the novel's themes of danger, memory, and vengeance converge.

Geography and Perils

The Coral Sea is characterized by its extensive coral reefs, which pose a significant threat to navigation. The Nautilus enters these waters on January 2, 1868, after having traveled 11,340 miles from its starting point in the seas of Japan. The sea is described as "dangerous waterways" , and the Nautilus's spur is soon to face the daunting shoal where Captain Cook's ships nearly miscarried on June 10, 1770. The reef is 360 leagues long, and the sea breaks against it with "fearsome intensity of thunderclaps" . The Nautilus, however, navigates these waters at great depths, using its slanting fins to descend, so that the high coral walls are not visible from the surface. The sea's dangers are not only natural but also historical, as it is the site of numerous shipwrecks.

Historical Shipwrecks and the Avenger

The Coral Sea is a graveyard for ships, and the Nautilus encounters one of the most significant wrecks in the novel: the Avenger. This French warship, originally named the Marseillais, was launched in 1762 and fought in several battles, including the capture of Grenada in 1779 and the Battle of Chesapeake Bay in 1781. In 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars, it was renamed the Avenger. On June 1, 1794, exactly 74 years before the Nautilus's visit, the ship sank after a heroic battle against English vessels. With its three masts gone and water in its hold, a third of its crew out of action, it chose to go to the bottom with its 356 seamen rather than surrender, its flag nailed to the afterdeck, with shouts of "Long live the Republic!" . The Nautilus visits this wreck at a depth of 833 meters, and Captain Nemo reveals the ship's history, showing a profound connection to this symbol of republican defiance.

The Nautilus's Passage and the Sinking of the Warship

The Coral Sea is also the setting for one of the novel's most dramatic events: the sinking of a warship by the Nautilus. After the Nautilus leaves the wreck of the Avenger, it rises to the surface and is attacked by a warship. Captain Nemo, in a fit of vengeance, rams the ship below its waterline, sinking it with all hands. The Nautilus's spur passes through the vessel's mass "like a sailmaker's needle through canvas" . The sinking is a mass execution, and Captain Nemo, after witnessing the destruction, retreats to his stateroom, where he kneels before a portrait of a woman and two children, melting into sobs . This event, set in the Coral Sea, ties the sea's history of shipwrecks to the novel's central theme of vengeance.

Narrative and Thematic Significance

The Coral Sea functions as a space where the novel's exploration of history, memory, and justice is crystallized. The wreck of the Avenger is not merely a historical curiosity but a personal symbol for Captain Nemo, who identifies with its republican ideals and its defiance against oppression. The sea's treacherous reefs and the shipwrecks they cause mirror the dangers of the human world that Nemo has fled. The Coral Sea is thus a site of both natural and historical peril, where the past is literally buried beneath the waves, waiting to be discovered and interpreted. The Nautilus's passage through this sea is a journey through a watery archive of human conflict and loss.