Around the World in Eighty Days / Adventure and Identity
This noble lord, who was fastened to his chair, would have given his fortune to be able to make the tour of the world, if it took ten years; and he bet five thousand pounds on Phileas Fogg. When the folly as well as the uselessness of the adventure was pointed out to him, he contented himself with replying, “If the thing is feasible, the first to do it ought to be an Englishman.” The Fogg party dwindled more and more, everybody was going against him, and the bets stood a hundred and fifty and two hundred to one; and a week after his departure an incident occurred which deprived him of backers at any price. The commissioner of police was sitting in his office at nine o’clock one evening, when the following telegraphic dispatch was put into his hands: _Suez to London._ ROWAN, COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, SCOTLAND YARD: I’ve found the bank robber, Phileas Fogg. The polished gentleman disappeared to give place to the bank robber.
Microstory
The grand hall echoed with the whispers of the elite as the noble lord, bound to his chair by both wealth and circumstance, gazed out at the tumultuous world that lay beyond his reach. With a heart racing with fervor, he placed his bet on Phileas Fogg, envisioning the thrill of victory that would crown an Englishman as the first to conquer the globe. Yet, as news of the bank robber's identity shattered the evening's tranquility, the lord's dreams crumbled like dust, leaving him to ponder the price of ambition in a world quick to judge and slow to forgive. (AI-generated story)
The snippet captures the dramatic tension surrounding Phileas Fogg's audacious wager to circumnavigate the globe in an era marked by the burgeoning imperial ambitions of Britain. It highlights the inherent contradictions of the Victorian age, where adventure and wealth coalesced amidst societal skepticism. The noble lord's willingness to gamble on Fogg underscores the public fascination with individual achievement and risk, while the turn of events reveals the fragility of reputation and credibility in a scrutinizing society. This juxtaposition encapsulates the broader themes of adventure, identity, and the impact of societal norms on personal aspirations. (AI-generated commentary)