The stories of Jean-Marie Cabidoulin
The Histories of Jean-Marie Cabidoulin (also Monsieur Cabidoulin and the Great Sea Serpent , From the Tales of the Cooper Jean-Marie Cabidoulin or The Sea Serpent ) is a novel by the French author Jules Verne . The novel was first published in 1901 by the Pierre-Jules Hetzel publishing house under the French title Les Histoires de Jean-Marie Cabidoulin . The first German-language edition appeared in 1901 under the title Die Historien von Jean-Marie Cabidoulin . The English title of the novel isThe Sea Serpent: The Yarns of Jean Marie Cabidoulin , The Sea Serpent or The Stories of Jean-Marie Cabidoulin .
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The whaler Saint Enoch is set to sail on his next whaling trip. There are two reasons why the ship cannot begin its journey. Two important positions in the occupation have not yet been filled. There is a lack of important ship's doctor and the onboard Böttcher . The coopers are required to preserve the catch on the whale hunter, as their job is to repair defective barrels and to close the barrels after the trans has been extracted . Captain Bourcart is unhappy with the situation as the season in the South Seas is approaching. The young Dr. Filhiol applies as a ship's doctor. Captain Bourcart is immediately enthusiastic about him. Dr. Filhiol has an additional tip. He suggests fifty-two-year-old Jean-Marie Cabidoulin to join the expedition. Cabidoulin is an old fur seal and has been sailing the oceans since he was a boy. He is full of superstitions and makes dark prophecies , which makes him unpopular with the other seafarers. However, Captain Bourcart has no alternative and agrees to hire Cabidoulin.
The Saint Enoch can now set sail for her voyage. The everyday life of a sea voyage begins on board. The whaling is carried out with small boats exposed. Whaling is successful. However, Cabidoulin keeps spinning his seaman's yarn . He keeps talking about the great sea serpent . She never met him himself, but he is full of premonitions about it. He convinces the team that an accident is imminent. However, the whaling expedition continues to be successful. After a successful hunting season in the South Seas , the hold of the ship is filled with drums. Bourcart tips an American captain that he can sell the cargo well in Vancouver . Another season in the northern seas follows. After a year and a half, Captain Bourcart left the fishing luck. A fishing season can last up to three years. But now the crew are no longer sighting whales . The rivalry with the British whaler Repton does not improve the situation either.
After a while, strange events pile up. Terrified fishermen are on the run from a huge something that cannot be identified. The crew sees several injured or dead whales that have been slashed, but cannot find a reason. Since the crew still does not have a successful catch, the captain decides to sail south again from the northern seas. The Repton chooses the same route. The Saint Enoch drives onto a reef in the middle of the deep sea . While the crew examines this unusual object, the Repton goes down in a boiling lake in front of the French. Despite the previous rivalry, the Saint Enoch people are trying to save the British occupation. The Saint Enoch consists entirely surprising without sails with the cliff in motion. The crew suspects a tidal wave as the cause. However, the real reason remains hidden from them. Cabidoulin is of course convinced that it is the Great Sea Serpent. The Saint Enoch is suddenly thrown onto a formation of the pack ice and destroyed in the process. The members of the two ship's crews on board are miraculously saved. Captain Bourcart decides to abandon the wreck and to begin a march towards inhabited areas. The seafarers are finally rescued by another ship and after a few detours come back to Europe . Cabidoulin firmly believes that he will never board a ship again. However, the cause of the strange events will forever remain a mystery.
literature
- Heinrich Pleticha (ed.): Jules Verne manual . Deutscher Bücherbund / Bertelsmann, Stuttgart and Munich 1992.
- Volker Dehs and Ralf Junkerjürgen: Jules Verne . Voices and interpretations of his work. Fantastic Library Wetzlar, Wetzlar 2005.
- Volker Dehs: Jules Verne . Jules Verne. A critical biography. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2005. ISBN 3-538-07208-6
