''The Lighthouse at the End of the World'' (french: link=no, Le Phare du bout du monde) is an adventure novel by French author
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
. Verne wrote the first draft in 1901.
[William Butcher, ]
Jules Verne: The Definitive Biography
', Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006, p. 292. . It was first published
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...
in 1905. The plot of the novel involves
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
in the South Atlantic during the mid-19th century, with a theme of survival in extreme circumstances, and events centering on an isolated
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
. Verne was inspired by the real lighthouse at the
Isla de los Estados
Isla de los Estados (English: Staten Island, from the Dutch ''Stateneiland'') is an Argentine island that lies off the eastern extremity of Tierra del Fuego, from which it is separated by the Le Maire Strait. It was named after the Netherlands ...
, Argentina, near
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...
and
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
.
The novel was adapted into the 1971 movie, ''
The Light at the Edge of the World
''The Light at the Edge of the World'' is a 1971 adventure film, adapted from Jules Verne's classic 1905 adventure novel ''The Lighthouse at the End of the World'' (''Le Phare du bout du monde''). The plot involves piracy in the South Atlantic d ...
''.
Plot summary
![San Juan del Salvamento faro1898](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/San_Juan_del_Salvamento_faro1898.jpg)
Verne sets the plot by stating, "The
Argentine Republic
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
had displayed a happy initiative in constructing this lighthouse at the end of the world," within Elgor Bay and the harbor of Saint-Jean "forms a kind of pendant to Elgor Bay." The
despatch boat ''Santa-Fé'' arrived on Oct. 1858 to construct the lighthouse, which was inaugurated on 9 Dec. 1859, standing 103 feet in height on top of a mound 120 feet high, and illuminated by oil. The lighthouse guided ships into the
Le Maire Strait
The Le Maire Strait (''Estrecho de le Maire'') (also the Straits Lemaire) is a sea passage between Isla de los Estados and the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego.
History
Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten discov ...
or south of the island, and was to be staffed by 3 keepers over the next 3 months, until the return of the ''Santa-Fé''.
Unbeknownst to Vasquez, Moriz, and Felipe, the chief
lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...
and his helpers, the island was the domain of a dozen marooned pirates, who bide their time in
wrecking.
[
Two of them are murdered by a band of newly arrived pirates led by one Kongre. Vasquez, the only survivor, spends several months until the dispatch boat ''Santa-Fé'' is due to return, surviving off the pirates' hidden stores of food in a cave. After the ''Century'', an American ship from ]Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, crashes on the island due to the light's having been put out by the pirates, Vasquez bands with the sole survivor of the wreck – First Officer John Davis – to stop the pirates from escaping into the South Pacific.
They manage to scavenge
Scavengers are animals that consume Corpse decomposition, dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a h ...
a cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
from the wreckage and shoot the pirates' ship, the ''Maule'', as it is about to leave the bay they are situated in. The shell only causes minor damage, however, and the pirates
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
' carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
is able to fix it in only a few days. The night before the ship is about to attempt to leave again, Vasquez swims to the ''Maule'' at its mooring and plants a bomb in the rudder. This causes, yet again, only minor damage, and is fixed in only one day. The next day however, Carcante, the second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...
of the pirate ship, spots the ''Santa-Fé'' on the horizon. Fortunately for the pirates, it will not arrive until nighttime, and the ''Santa Fe'' can't possibly get into the bay without light from the lighthouse. This will give the pirates the perfect chance to slip out and sail around the southern side of the island, which they know quite well by now.
Vasquez and Davis, however, return to the lighthouse and turn the light back on. The troop of pirates tries to regain the lighthouse and kill the two, but they find the bolted iron door to the staircase too reinforced to break down. Kongre, the band's leader, orders Carcante and the carpenter to climb the side of the lighthouse and murder Vasquez and Davis at the top, but they are shot as soon as their heads peek over the banister
A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom or ...
. Kongre and the remaining pirates realize it is all over for them and flee to the island's interior. Most surrender afterward, a few starve, and Vasquez watches as Kongre commits suicide. Vasquez returns home with the ''Santa-Fé'' after making sure the island is safe for the new lighthousemen.
See also
*Green flash
The green flash and green ray are meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur transiently around the moment of sunset or sunrise. When the conditions are right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the Sun's upper limb; ...
*Warping (sailing)
Warping or kedging is a method of moving a sailing vessel, typically against the wind or out from a dead calm, by hauling on a line attached to a kedge anchor, a sea anchor or a fixed object, such as a bollard. In small boats, the anchor may be thr ...
*Careening
Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fasteni ...
*Treenail
A treenail, also trenail, trennel, or trunnel, is a wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to fasten pieces of wood together, especially in timber frames, covered bridges, wooden shipbuilding and boat building. It is driven into a hole bored through two ...
*Oakum
Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibre used to seal gaps. Its main traditional applications were in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships; in plumbing, for s ...
*''Jamaica Inn
The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamle ...
''
References
External links
Map of the island with key geographical points referenced in the novel
Further reading
Google Books online version
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lighthouse At The End Of The World, The
1905 French novels
French adventure novels
Novels by Jules Verne
Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina
Novels about pirates
French novels adapted into films
Novels published posthumously
Novels set on islands
Novels set in Argentina
Works set in lighthouses