Literary notes about antipodes (AI summary)
The term "antipodes" has been wielded in literature not only to denote literal opposites on the globe but also to evoke contrasts in character, thought, and circumstance. In many adventure narratives, such as Jules Verne’s works ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]), it marks a precise geographic extremity—often the exact opposite end of the Earth, emphasizing the vastness and unpredictability of the world. Meanwhile, authors like Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and John Dewey deploy "antipodes" metaphorically to contrast attributes or ideas, such as frankness versus deceit or isolated thought versus interconnected truth ([7], [8]). Its usage ranges from humorous or ironic quips, as seen in Congreve’s playful remarks ([9], [10], [11]), to more profound philosophical reflections, like in Nietzsche’s and Rabelais’ texts where it challenges the conventional order of things ([12], [13], [14]). This diversity in application highlights how the concept of "antipodes" serves as a versatile literary tool for expressing both physical divergence and deep-rooted conceptual opposition.
- The General Grant passed, on the 23rd of November, the one hundred and eightieth meridian, and was at the very antipodes of London.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - We have crossed the one half of the globe to come out right at the antipodes of Europe!"
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Chapter XXII IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT FINDS OUT THAT, EVEN AT THE ANTIPODES, IT IS CONVENIENT TO HAVE SOME MONEY IN ONE'S POCKET
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - From Quebec to the Tuamotu Islands, from Paris to the Antipodes, doesn't it mean: I'm hungry, give me a bite to eat!"
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - But in the meanwhile I must seek this narwhal in the North Pacific Ocean, which, to return to France, was taking the road to the antipodes.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - but for this little instrument we might make a mistake, and run the risk of coming out at the antipodes!"
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Adrian's soul was painted in his countenance, and concealment or deceit were at the antipodes to the dreadless frankness of his nature.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - The conception of mind as a purely isolated possession of the self is at the very antipodes of the truth.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - If I travel, aunt, I touch at your antipodes—your antipodes are a good rascally sort of topsy-turvy fellows.
— from The Way of the World by William Congreve - The sun’s a good pimple, an honest soaker, he has a cellar at your antipodes.
— from The Way of the World by William Congreve - If I travel, aunt, I touch at your antipodes—your antipodes are a good rascally sort of topsy-turvy fellows.
— from The Way of the World by William Congreve - [Pg 31] for me;—in Munich live my antipodes.
— from Ecce Homo by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - Ay, ay, this is the world, and t’other is the country; may I never piss if this be not an antichthonian land, and our very antipodes.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - I believe, said Epistemon, that this is the language of the Antipodes, and such a hard one that the devil himself knows not what to make of it.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais