Dr. Ox's Experiment (french: Une fantaisie du docteur Ox, "A Fantasy of Doctor Ox") is a humorous

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1872.A Fantasy of Dr Ox, Jules Verne, trans. Andrew Browne, Hesperus Press, 2003Jules Verne,
Le Docteur Ox
'. Re-edited by J. Hetzel, 1920.Pierre Schoentjes (2000): "Rhétorique de l'argumentation et rhétorique de la fiction dans ''Une fantaisie du docteur Ox''". in ''Récits de la pensée : études sur le roman et l'essai'', edited by Philippe Gilles. Sédès, Paris.Volker Dehs (2015): "L'Abécédaire du ''Docteur Ox''". ''Bulletin de la Société Jules Verne'' volume 188, pages 34-67.Pierre-André Touttain (1978): "Une cruelle fantaisie : Le Docteur Ox". ''Revue des Lettres Modernes. Jules Verne 2 : l'écriture vernienne''. Minard. Paris. It describes an experiment by one Dr. Ox, and is inspired by the real or alleged effects of oxygen on living things.

Plot

The setting of the story is the imaginary village of Quiquendone in

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

(now part of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

) whose citizens are described as "well-to-do folks, wise, prudent, sociable, with even tempers, hospitable, perhaps a bit heavy in conversation as in mind"; and where even "the dogs don't bite, and the cats don't scratch". Van Tricasse, the town's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, claims that "the man who dies without ever having decided upon anything in his life has very nearly attained to perfection." A prosperous scientist Dr. Ox comes to the authorities and offers to build a novel gas lighting system, at no cost to the town. The offer is gladly accepted. Dr. Ox and his assistant Gédéon Ygène (whose surnames happen to form the word ''oxygène'', "oxygen") propose to use electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, and pump the two gases through separate pipes to the city. The doctor's secret plan is however to conduct a large scale experiment on the effect of oxygen on plants, animals and humans, and so he pumps an excess of the invisible and odorless gas through all lamps. The enriched air has remarkable effects on the town. It accelerates the growth of plants, and causes excitement and aggressiveness in animals and humans. Eventually the excited citizens of Quiquendone decide to go to war against the neighboring village of Virgamen, to avenge an old offense: in 1195, a cow belonging to that town had dared to step into a Quiquendonian field and eat some mouthfuls of their grass. However, as the army was on the way to battle, an accident at Dr. Ox's plant causes oxygen and hydrogen to mix, producing a huge explosion that destroys the plant. The story ends with the town back to its traditional slow and quiet way of life. Dr. Ox and his assistant, who were not at the plant when the accident happened, disappeared without trace.

Publication history

The story ''Une fantaisie du docteur Ox'' ("A fantasy of Dr. Ox") was first read in 1872 at the Hotel of the City of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

.T. Jeunet (1873), in the ''Journal d’Amiens'' Quote: "Last year, Mr. Jules Verne, acceding to lively demands, agreed to give a reading in the grand room of the Hôtel de Ville d’Amiens. This reading was extracted from a charming literary fantasy that appeared shortly thereafter in the ''Musée de Familles''; and is going to be published, within a year or two, with beautiful illustrations, by the publisher Hertzel. Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Jules Verne and the kind authorization of the editor, the''Journal d’Amiens'' can now publish in installments this work, still unavailable in bookstores, of the popular author of the ''

Extraordinary Voyages The ''Voyages extraordinaires'' (; ) is a collection or sequence of novels and short stories by the French writer Jules Verne. Fifty-four of these novels were originally published between 1863 and 1905, during the author's lifetime, and eig ...

''." It was published in installments between March and May of the same year in the magazine ''

Musée des Familles ''Musée des familles'' (''"Museum of Families"'') was an illustrated French literary magazine that was published in Paris from 1833 to 1900. It was founded by Émile de Girardin. Contributors of the magazine included Alexandre Dumas, Théophil ...

'', and from January 6 to February 6 in '' Journal d'Amiens''.Jules Verne (2000): ''Contes et nouvelles de Jules Verne''. Éditions Ouest-France.Jules Verne (2011): ''Une fantaisie du docteur Ox''. Collection "2 euros", number 5298. The story was re-published in 1874 by Hetzel as the main piece of a Verne short-story anthology, ''

Doctor Ox ''Doctor Ox'' (french: Le Docteur Ox) is a collection of short stories by Jules Verne, first published in 1874 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. It consists of four varied works by Verne: *" Une fantaisie du Docteur Ox" ("Dr. Ox's Experiment," 1872), il ...

'', that included three older tales. The spicy, ironic, satyric, and erotic elements of the original text were significantly expunged for this version.Jules Verne (1874), letter to Hetzel. Quote: "My dear friend, on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest, I will send you myself the Doctor Ox, and we will see what has to be suppressed for the kids."Olivier Dumas (1984): '"Le docteur Ox, censuré par Hetzel". ''Bulletin de la Société Jules Verne'', volume 71, issue 3

Notes

The town of Quiquendone may have been intended as a caricature of

, where Verne was living at the time.Jules Verne, letter to Charles Wallut. Quote: "On the wish of my wife, I am establishing myself at Amiens, a town that is wise, policed, with even temper..." The name of the town sounds in French as ''qui qu'en donne?'', which could be translated as "who gives?". The effects of oxygen on living things, as described in the story, are grossly exaggerated or even imaginary.

Derived works

On the stage

Dr. Ox reappears as the main villain of the play '' Journey Through the Impossible'', written by Verne in 1882. The original story was adapted by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

as ''

Le docteur Ox ''Le docteur Ox'' is an opéra bouffe in three acts and six tableaux of 1877 with music by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was by Arnold Mortier and Philippe Gille, adapted from the 1872 short story '' Une fantaisie du docteur Ox'' by Jul ...

'', an opéra-bouffe in three acts and six tableaux, premiered on 26 January 1877 with a libretto by

Arnold Mortier Arnold Mortier (1843 – 2 January 1885) was a 19th-century French journalist, playwright, and librettist. Arnold Mortier was responsible for the drama column at ''Le Figaro'', gathered in a collection entitled ''Les soirées parisiennes de 18NN p ...

Philippe Gille Philippe Emile François Gille (10 December 1831 – 19 March 1901) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, who was born and died in Paris. He wrote over twenty librettos between 1857 and 1893, the most famous of which are Massenet's '' Mano ...

and Verne himself. Another version by Annibale Bizzelli, ''Il Dottor Oss'', was published in 1936.Annibale Bizzelli, Antonio Lega, Tullio Serafin, and Jules Verne (1936): ''Il dottor Oss : fantasia lirica : due atti in tre quadri''. Published by G. Ricordi & C., Milan. In 1964

Pierre Max Dubois Pierre Max Dubois, sometimes given as Pierre-Max Dubois (1 March 1930 – 29 August 1995) was a French composer of classical music, conductor, and music educator. He was a student of Darius Milhaud, and though not widely popular, was respected ...

adapted the story as a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

son a libretto by José Bruyr. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb41438574s/PUBLIC It was also adapted by

Gavin Bryars Richard Gavin Bryars (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer and double bassist. He has worked in jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, avant-garde, and experimental music. Early life and career Born on 16 January 1943 in ...

as '' Doctor Ox's Experiment'', an opera in two acts with a libretto by Blake Morrison, first performed on 15 June 1998.

Other

The H.G. Wells's novel '' The Food of the Gods'' (1904) has similarities to ''Dr. Ox's Experiment'', "both dealing with the alterations in humankind and its environment due to changes in the chemicals the species is supplied". The story was adapted to comics strip form by Mathieu Sapin, and it inspired a 1950 comics album by

André Franquin André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...

André Franquin (1950): Il y a un sorcier à Champignac, part of the

Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (french: Spirou et Fantasio, wa, Spirou eyet Fantasio) is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European ...

series. It also was adapted in 1964 by

Mino Milani Mino Milani (3 February 1928 – 10 February 2022) was an Italian writer, cartoonist, journalist and historian. During his career he also used several pseudonyms, including Stelio Martelli, Eugenio Ventura, Piero Selva, Mungo Graham Alcesti and ...

with illustrations by Grazia Nidasio for the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

children's magazine

Corriere dei Piccoli The ''Corriere dei Piccoli'' (Italian for "Courier of the Little Ones"), later nicknamed ''Corrierino'' ("Little Courier"), was a weekly magazine for children published in Italy from 1908 to 1995. It was the first Italian periodical to make a re ...

and extended with several original stories featuring the same character, published therein from 1964 to 1969.Mino Milani and Grazia Nidasio (2013): ''Il dottor Oss. Tutte le storie 1964-1969''. Published by Comicout. An audio version was broadcast by the

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" sta ...

in 2017.Hervé Prudon (2017), '' Une expérience du Docteur Ox]''. Radio broadcast by

, 2017-05-25, wit
online transcript

References

External links

Dr. Ox's Experiment
(Translation from 1874)
Dr. Ox's experiment, and other stories
Internet Archive
E-book
at University of Adelaide * (English and German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Ox's Experiment 1872 short stories Short stories by Jules Verne Short stories set in Belgium Ox, Dr. Works set in Flanders Works adapted into operas