The Hero’s Journey in Jules Verne’s Books: What Story Are You Living Now?

Somewhere across a submarine gliding beneath the waves, a balloon rising over an unknown continent, a volcano opening onto a lost world, or a clock ticking toward a journey around the Earth, you recognised something. Not the machines, the maps, or the adventures. The ache underneath: the private logic of one character’s curiosity, courage, loyalty or longing — and why, against all evidence, they kept moving forward anyway.

That recognition was not merely entertainment. It was a mirror.

Jules Verne spent his career asking one recurring question: what happens when an ordinary person believes that knowledge, courage, invention or exploration can change the limits of their life? His characters begin inside familiar roles, are drawn beyond the known world by curiosity, duty or desire, and return changed by what they discover — about the world, and about themselves.

This framework draws one defining character from twelve of Verne’s most enduring works, one per archetype, to map which phase of your own story you are living now. It will not merely name your type. It will show you which chapter of your own book you may be stuck in.

The Three Phases of the Journey

Your life moves in one long narrative arc. To understand where your career, leadership or creative energy is bottlenecked, identify which act you are currently inhabiting.

Act I: The Preparation — The Ego’s Armour

These archetypes describe how you create safety, identity and belonging in the world you already know.

1. THE DREAMER — Phileas Fogg, in Around the World in Eighty Days*
   Believes that discipline, planning and a bold wager can turn an impossible idea into reality.
   Shadow: Mistaking control for freedom, and confusing a successful plan with a meaningful life.
2. THE ORPHAN — Michel Ardan, in From the Earth to the Moon*
   Longs for a place among people who understand his vision, courage and hunger for something larger.
   Shadow: Believing that recognition will heal the feeling of being an outsider.
3. THE LOYALIST — Passepartout, in Around the World in Eighty Days*
   Finds purpose in service, loyalty and doing what must be done for the person who depends on him.
   Shadow: Becoming so devoted to duty that he forgets he has a journey of his own.
4. THE CAREGIVER — Professor Lidenbrock, in Journey to the Centre of the Earth*
   Protects knowledge, guides others and takes responsibility for leading people into the unknown.
   Shadow: Carrying everyone else’s safety while neglecting his own fears and limits.

Act II: The Journey — The Soul’s Awakening

These archetypes appear when the old world cracks and you are forced to seek an identity that is truly your own.

5. THE EXPLORER — Captain Nemo, in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas*
   Leaves the familiar world behind in pursuit of freedom, knowledge and a life beyond ordinary rules.
   Shadow: Mistaking isolation for independence, and allowing pain to become a prison.
6. THE REBEL — Captain Nemo, in The Mysterious Island*
   Refuses to accept the injustices and constraints imposed by the world he has left behind.
   Shadow: Believing that withdrawal is the same as freedom.
7. THE LOVER — Axel, in Journey to the Centre of the Earth*
   Follows love, loyalty and curiosity into a journey he never expected to make.
   Shadow: Confusing dependence with devotion, and allowing fear to disguise itself as caution.
8. THE CREATOR — Cyrus Smith, in The Mysterious Island*
   Turns knowledge, ingenuity and cooperation into a new life on an unknown island.
   Shadow: Believing that every problem can be solved through reason alone.

Act III: The Return — The Spirit’s Mastery

These archetypes represent wisdom, influence and the capacity to act within large systems without losing your soul.

9. THE RULER — Captain Nemo, in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas*
   Builds a self-contained world governed by his own rules, knowledge and authority.
   Shadow: Mistaking control for freedom, and turning independence into isolation.
10. THE WARRIOR — Captain Grant, in In Search of the Castaways*
    Endures hardship and continues searching when others would surrender.
    Shadow: Becoming so defined by survival that peace feels unfamiliar.
11. THE SAGE — Professor Lidenbrock, in Journey to the Centre of the Earth*
    Sees patterns in nature, history and science that others overlook.
    Shadow: Becoming so absorbed in knowledge that he forgets the human cost of the journey.
12. THE MAGICIAN — Michel Ardan, in From the Earth to the Moon*
    Uses imagination, humour and vision to make the impossible feel possible.
    Shadow: Retreating into performance when reality demands a harder kind of truth.

THE “WHICH JULES VERNE CHARACTER ARE YOU LIVING RIGHT NOW?” TOOL

Rate each statement honestly in relation to your current professional and personal reality:

1 = Strongly Disagree | 2 = Disagree | 3 = Neutral | 4 = Agree | 5 = Strongly Agree

Act I: The Preparation Indicators

1. I believe that one bold plan, achievement or fresh start will finally make my life feel meaningful.
   The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Phileas Fogg accepts a wager that turns an ordinary life into an extraordinary journey.
2. I long to be accepted by people who understand my vision, courage or difference.
   The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan joins a group of inventors and dreamers who share his hunger for the impossible.
3. I take responsibility for others, even when no one has formally asked me to.
   The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout becomes indispensable to Fogg’s journey.
4. I believe that if I remain knowledgeable and reliable, I can protect people from what threatens them.
   The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Professor Lidenbrock leads others into the unknown with confidence and expertise.
5. I fear that without a major achievement, I will be seen as a failure.
   The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Fogg’s identity becomes bound to winning the wager.
6. I feel different from the people around me, and I fear that difference makes me unwelcome.
   The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan is an outsider whose imagination makes him difficult to categorise.
7. I find it difficult to put my own needs ahead of the people who rely on me.
   The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout places Fogg’s journey above his own desires.
8. I often carry worry quietly because I do not want to burden anyone else.
   The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Professor Lidenbrock continues leading even when the risks grow.
9. I believe that if I work hard enough, I can overcome the disadvantages I began with.
   The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan believes vision and courage can open doors others consider closed.
10. I feel most secure when I have a clear duty or role to fulfil.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout finds direction in serving Fogg.
11. I am drawn to people who seem different because I understand what it is to feel unseen.
    The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan recognises fellow dreamers who do not fit ordinary life.
12. I fear that if I stop being useful, I will lose my place in the world.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout’s value becomes tied to what he can do for Fogg.
13. I keep hoping that recognition will heal the rejection I have experienced.
    The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan seeks a world where his vision will finally be understood.
14. I find it difficult to ask for help, even when I am overwhelmed.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Professor Lidenbrock continues carrying responsibility rather than sharing it.
15. I believe that if I am good enough, patient enough or strong enough, I will finally belong.
    The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan hopes that courage will earn him a place among the bold.
16. I take pride in being the person others can count on.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout’s reliability becomes central to his identity.
17. I sometimes confuse being needed with being loved.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout’s service becomes inseparable from his sense of worth.
18. I fear that my anger or pain could make me dangerous to the people I love.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo struggles with the darkness within his own story.
19. I believe that endurance is a virtue, even when it costs me dearly.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Passepartout continues because Fogg depends on him.
20. I fear that the world will only value me if I achieve something exceptional.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Fogg seeks proof that his disciplined life has meaning.

Act II: The Journey Indicators

21. I am searching for a purpose large enough to match my inner sense of destiny.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): Cyrus Smith and his companions must create a future from nothing.
22. I refuse to let my past, pain or circumstances decide who I become.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo builds a life beyond the world that wounded him.
23. I remain loyal to people and memories that others have forgotten or abandoned.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search for Captain Grant is sustained by loyalty across distance and danger.
24. I believe that imagination can help people survive what reality has done to them.
    The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan turns an impossible idea into a shared mission.
25. I am willing to leave safety behind in pursuit of something I believe matters.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Axel follows Professor Lidenbrock into the unknown.
26. I resist becoming defined by the worst thing that has happened to me.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo seeks freedom from a world that has betrayed him.
27. I keep a promise even when everyone else has moved on.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search continues because a promise has not yet been fulfilled.
28. I believe that a story can give people courage to face what they fear.
    The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan makes space travel feel not only possible, but irresistible.
29. I am drawn to a quest because ordinary life has never felt large enough for me.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Axel is pulled into a journey that changes his understanding of himself.
30. I struggle to separate freedom from isolation.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo mistakes solitude for independence.
31. I feel responsible for keeping a memory, promise or truth alive.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search for Captain Grant becomes an act of loyalty.
32. I believe that facing fear directly is more honest than pretending it does not exist.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Axel must confront the terrors beneath the surface.
33. I am willing to sacrifice comfort for a purpose I believe in.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): Cyrus Smith and his companions build a new life through hardship and cooperation.
34. I fear that if I stop fighting, the past will win.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo remains at war with the world that hurt him.
35. I believe that friendship can be a form of salvation.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): The castaways survive because they learn to rely on one another.
36. I sometimes use humour to make sense of what I cannot yet say directly.
    The Scene (From the Earth to the Moon): Michel Ardan uses wit to face fear and uncertainty.
37. I fear becoming like the people or forces that once hurt me.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo fears becoming as ruthless as the world he rejects.
38. I am willing to risk being misunderstood in order to remain loyal to the truth.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search continues despite doubt, danger and opposition.
39. I believe that a meaningful quest can give my life a direction nothing else can.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): The journey gives Axel a new sense of courage and identity.
40. I am more interested in meaning than in comfort.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): The castaways choose survival, cooperation and creation over ease.

Act III: The Return Indicators

41. I understand how fear, desire and division can be used to control people.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo sees the violence and hypocrisy of the world above the waves.
42. I face danger directly rather than waiting for someone else to act.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search party continues despite shipwrecks, wild animals and unknown terrain.
43. People come to me when they need guidance through something unfamiliar or frightening.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Professor Lidenbrock guides Axel through a world beyond ordinary experience.
44. I can find meaning in memory, love and loss even when the present feels painful.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Captain Nemo carries grief, anger and memory beneath the sea.
45. I believe that control is necessary to protect what matters.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Nemo believes that only control can preserve his freedom.
46. I am willing to confront injustice even when others deny it exists.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): Captain Nemo refuses to accept the injustices that shaped his life.
47. I try to help others see what they are not yet ready to face.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Professor Lidenbrock pushes Axel beyond his assumed limits.
48. I use memory to keep love alive after loss.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Nemo’s past continues to shape his choices beneath the sea.
49. I fear that if I lose control, I will become the thing I fear.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Nemo’s need for control grows from his fear of vulnerability.
50. I sometimes mistake vigilance for peace.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Nemo’s independence protects him, but also imprisons him.
51. I believe that loyalty requires remembering what others want to forget.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search continues because Captain Grant has not been forgotten.
52. I am willing to fight for a truth even when it isolates me.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Nemo chooses a solitary path because he cannot accept the world as it is.
53. I try to protect people from darkness, even at a cost to myself.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Professor Lidenbrock takes responsibility for those who follow him.
54. I believe that love can survive distance, danger and time.
    The Scene (In Search of the Castaways): The search for Captain Grant is sustained by love and loyalty.
55. I fear becoming cynical after seeing how cruel people can be.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): Captain Nemo struggles with the bitterness left by betrayal.
56. I believe that courage means acting despite fear, not pretending fear is absent.
    The Scene (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): Axel learns that courage grows through action.
57. I try to guide others without taking control of their lives.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): Cyrus Smith helps the group build a future without removing their agency.
58. I know that healing requires facing the past, not merely escaping it.
    The Scene (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): Nemo cannot find peace while he remains at war with his history.
59. I believe that stories can preserve what power tries to erase.
    The Scene (The Mysterious Island): The castaways create a new civilisation through memory, knowledge and cooperation.
60. I believe that the most important journey is returning to the people and truth I left behind.
    The Scene (Around the World in Eighty Days): Fogg’s journey changes what he understands about time, love and life.

THE NARRATIVE SCORING KEY

Add your scores for each archetype cluster:

Act I: The Preparation Score

• The Dreamer (Around the World in Eighty Days): 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 — maximum 25
• The Orphan (From the Earth to the Moon): 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 — maximum 25
• The Loyalist (Around the World in Eighty Days): 3, 7, 11, 15, 19 — maximum 25
• The Caregiver (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 — maximum 25

Act I total: / 100

Act II: The Journey Score

• The Explorer (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): 21, 25, 29, 33, 37 — maximum 25
• The Rebel (The Mysterious Island): 22, 26, 30, 34, 38 — maximum 25
• The Lover (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): 23, 27, 31, 35, 39 — maximum 25
• The Creator (The Mysterious Island): 24, 28, 32, 36, 40 — maximum 25

Act II total: / 100

Act III: The Return Score

• The Ruler (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas): 41, 45, 49, 53, 57 — maximum 25
• The Warrior (In Search of the Castaways): 42, 46, 50, 54, 58 — maximum 25
• The Sage (Journey to the Centre of the Earth): 43, 47, 51, 55, 59 — maximum 25
• The Magician (From the Earth to the Moon): 44, 48, 52, 56, 60 — maximum 25

Act III total: / 100

READING YOUR MAP: WHERE ARE YOU STUCK?

Look at your three Act totals. The highest total shows the psychological territory you currently inhabit. The strongest archetype within that Act reveals the story you are living.

Stuck in Act I: The Preparation?
You may be waiting for recognition, acceptance or a breakthrough to make your life feel real. You may be carrying responsibility for others while your own needs remain unspoken. The challenge is not to abandon ambition, loyalty or compassion. It is to ask whether they still serve your deeper story.

Stuck in Act II: The Journey?
You have left the old version of yourself behind, but you have not yet built a stable new identity. You may be pursuing a quest, resisting a past that threatens to define you, protecting a memory or trying to turn knowledge into meaning. The challenge is to turn survival into authorship.

Stuck in Act III: The Return?
You have acquired insight, influence or survival skills, but your shadow may now be running the house. You may confuse control with freedom, vigilance with peace, or isolation with independence. The challenge is to use your power without becoming imprisoned by it.

THE PEN IS IN YOUR HAND. LET’S WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER.

Discovering your archetype score gives you a real diagnosis, but a diagnosis does not automatically rewrite the script. Knowing you are the Dreamer does not stop you from chasing a version of success that cannot heal you. Knowing you are the Caregiver does not finish the work of claiming your own life.

The real crisis is not your archetype. It is mistaking a temporary phase of your story for your permanent identity.

When you find yourself stuck in the same professional loops, repeating the same shadow behaviours, or hitting a wall in your creative growth, your story has reached a structural bottleneck. You may be trying to solve an Act II problem with an Act I tool — or an Act III problem with an Act II escape.

Private One-on-One Story Coaching

If you are standing at a real professional crossroads — leaving a career, launching something of your own, or trying to find emotional flow in your work again — you do not need a generic business consultant. You need to rewrite your narrative architecture.

In a private, intensive Story Coaching Conversation, your diagnostic scores become the map for a real pivot:

• Break the structural bottleneck: Identify exactly where you are stuck between Acts, and give yourself real permission to leave the old phase behind.
• Disarm your dominant shadow: Name the precise way your current survival mechanism is quietly sabotaging your income, your relationships, or your freedom.
• Activate your dormant archetypes: Deliberately bring the strengths of your lowest-scoring archetypes into your current work to restore balance and energy.
• Author the return: Move from a passive character reacting to the world around you into the deliberate author of your own business, your time, and your legacy.

You already know which Jules Verne character’s choices made sense to you from the inside.

Now, let’s figure out how to write your own ending.

Book Your Private Story Coaching Conversation

Private One-on-One Story Coaching with Peter de Kuster: €295 for a 2.5-hour online session.

Bring your scores, your current crossroads, and the story you keep repeating. In one intensive conversation, we will identify the Act you are stuck in, disarm your dominant shadow, and map the next chapter of your business, career, or creative life.

To book your session or ask a question, email Peter at peterdekuster2023@gmail.com.

The pen is in your hand. Let’s write the next chapter.