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Map
of the route taken by Phileas Fogg, starting in London, then proceeding
east to Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Hong Kong , Yokohama, San Francisco, New
York, and across the Atlantic
ocean to Ireland, then Liverpool England, and back to London. The route
planner below is for a circumnavigation on water in under 80 days, using
hydrogen, as per the author's prediction in The Mysterious Island. It
would be a major achievement if this was arranged to honor the 150th
anniversary of his publication.
Princess Aouda is drugged and
about to be burned on her husband's funeral pyre when she is rescued by
a very brave (or rash) Passepartout. She is a character in Around the World in Eighty Days by
Jules
Verne, an Indian princess, who after rescue, accompanies by Phileas Fogg and
Jean Passepartout to Hong Kong, and
beyond. She is the daughter of a Bombay Parsi merchant, she was married against her will to the old raja of Bundelkhand. At the death of her husband, she is about to be sacrificed by Hindu monks as a sati at her husband's funeral pyre.
At first, Fogg attempts simply to deliver her to relatives along the way on his trip. However, when that proves impossible, she
becomes their permanent companion. Along the way, she is more and more attracted to the intriguing and noble Fogg as she shares in the adventures. When they finally reach Britain and appear to have arrived too late to meet the deadline, Aouda fears that she
has ruined Fogg by causing him delays in his journey, although he firmly denies she was a problem. Now in love with the gentleman and also wishing to help him in his impoverishment, Aouda proposes to Fogg, and he joyously
accepts - for he too fell in love during their escapades.
As it turns out, this gesture by Aouda saves the day for them all, for it prompts Passepartout to discover that by traveling east, they inadvertently arrived in London a day early and now have just enough time to sprint to the
Reform Club to win the wager. The company set off for the club and arrive just in time.
Afterward, Aouda offers to end the engagement since the original motivation has been removed. However, Fogg, deeply in love and grateful for all Aouda is and has done for him, will not hear of it and they are happily married with Passepartout given the honor of giving her away at the
wedding.
ADAPTATIONS
In the novel, Aouda changes out of her traditional sari for a typical European dress provided by Fogg. However, to emphasise the concept of the character as an Indian princess, most adaptations have her keeping her sari at least until the company completes the challenge.
The popular Spanish-Japanese animated adaptation, Around the World with Willy Fog, compromises on this detail by having Fog invite Aouda, here named "Romy", to change out of the dark-coloured funeral sari she was forced to wear for her sati and into a lighter-coloured one which she wears for remainder of the voyage. In the sequel series, Willy Fog 2, Romy eventually dons a European dress that mirrors her old dress' color-scheme although she keeps her Bindi mark.
FILM AND TV CASTING
Aouda was played by:
Shirley MacLaine in the 1956 film adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days
Arlene McQuade in the "Have Gun, Will Travel" episode "Fogg Bound"
Julia Nickson in the 1989 three-part TV mini-series.
Shivaani Ghai in the upcoming 2021 series.
In the 2004 Disney live action film, Aouda is replaced by Monique La Roche, a French would-be impressionist (played by Cécile de France).
...
PLOT
- AROUND
THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS
The story starts in London on October 2, 1872. Phileas Fogg is a wealthy, solitary, unmarried gentleman with regular habits. The source of his wealth is not known and he lives modestly. He fires his former valet, James Forster, for bringing him shaving
water two degrees too cold. He hires as a replacement
Passepartout, a Frenchman of around 30 years of age.
Later that day in the Reform Club, he gets involved in an argument over an article in
The Daily
Telegraph, stating that with the opening of a new railway section in India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80 days.
Fogg accepts a wager for £20,000 from his fellow club members, which he will receive if he makes it around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by his manservant
Passepartout, he leaves London by train at 8.45 p.m. on October 2, 1872, and thus is due back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, on December 21.
Jules
Verne is known as the Father of Science Fiction
Where
Jules Verne's suggested that it might be possible to travel Around The
World In 80 Days, we would like to extend that ethos to include
traveling in a Zero
Emission yacht (ZEWT or ZEV) driven by electric
hydro-jets? With the advent of solar power and liquid
hydrogen, it is a distinct possibility - on a scale of the wager
that the legendary Philleas Fogg entered into at the Reform Club in
1872.
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