coral

Coral occupies a unique position in the natural and symbolic world of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It is not merely one marine organism among many but a substance that bridges the animal, mineral, and vegetable kingdoms, and it becomes the chosen material for the Nautilus's most sacred space: a cemetery far from the reach of humanity. Through Professor Aronnax's scientific lens and Captain Nemo's ritualistic use, coral is revealed as a living, growing, and enduring witness to the ocean's power over life and death.

Scientific Classification and Natural History

Professor Aronnax, drawing on his expertise, provides a detailed natural history of coral. He explains that it belongs to the zoophyte branch, class Alcyonaria, and the order Gorgonaria, which contains the group of coral polyps. For centuries, coral was classified variously as mineral, vegetable, or animal, but in 1694, Peysonnel of Marseilles decisively placed it in the animal kingdom. Aronnax describes a coral as a unit of tiny animals assembled over a brittle, stony polypary. These polyps reproduce via a budding process, possessing an individual existence while also participating in a communal life, which he calls "a sort of natural socialism." He notes that naturalists have aptly observed that coral "turns to stone while taking on a tree form." The novel also catalogs specific types, including precious coral, which sells for as much as ₣500 per kilogram, and mentions the formation of compact, tangled units known as "macciota." The coral's bright colors, particularly pink samples, are noted, and it is described as living up to poetic names like "blood flower" and "blood foam."

The Coral Realm and the Underwater Forest

The most extensive encounter with living coral occurs during an underwater excursion to what Aronnax calls "the coral realm." Here, the seafloor is not sand or prairie but a petrified forest of coral. The explorers walk through bushes of precious coral, and as they descend, the bushes shrink and the tree forms magnify, creating actual petrified thickets and long alcoves. At a depth of about 300 meters, the lowermost limit at which coral can begin to form, they find an immense forest of huge mineral vegetation and enormous petrified trees linked by garlands of elegant hydras. At their feet, organ-pipe coral, stony coral, star coral, fungus coral, and sea anemone form a carpet of flowers strewn with dazzling gems. This landscape is described as an indescribable sight, a wonder that Aronnax laments he cannot share with his companions due to their metal helmets.

The Coral Cemetery: A Grave for Eternity

The most profound use of coral in the novel is as a burial ground. After a crewman dies from a wound sustained during a collision, Captain Nemo leads a funeral procession to a clearing in the heart of the coral forest. In the center of this clearing, on a pedestal of roughly piled rocks, stands a cross of coral, its long arms appearing to be made of "petrified blood." The crew digs a grave in the limestone soil, and the body, wrapped in white fabric, is lowered into it. Captain Nemo and his men kneel in prayer, and the grave is covered with rubble. Nemo explains to Aronnax that this is their peaceful cemetery, hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the waves, where their dead can sleep serenely, "out of the reach of sharks!" and, he adds solemnly, "of men!" This act transforms coral from a scientific curiosity into a sacred, protective medium, sealing the dead away for eternity in a place Nemo believes is beyond the reach of both natural predators and human society.

Symbolic and Thematic Significance

Coral's dual nature as a living animal that creates a stony, enduring structure makes it a powerful symbol for the novel's themes. It represents the paradoxical coexistence of life and death, growth and permanence, within the ocean. The coral cemetery is the ultimate expression of Captain Nemo's desire for a final, inviolable refuge, a place where his crew can rest in peace, forgotten by the world but not by him. The description of the cross as "petrified blood" links the living, red coral to the sacrifice and death of the crewman, creating a powerful image of life transformed into an eternal monument. Coral, in this context, is not just a part of the underwater landscape but the very fabric of the Nautilus's most sacred ritual, embodying the novel's central tension between the vibrant, living sea and the finality of death within its depths.