Journey to the Centre of the Earth characters

Appears from the start

A young man living with his uncle in Hamburg and studying geology under him. Axel narrates the expedition with far less confidence than the professor possesses: he understands the scientific issues, fears the obvious dangers, and is torn between self-preservation and loyalty to his uncle and Grauben.

Also known as Professor Lidenbrock, Otto Lidenbrock

Appears from the start

Axel's uncle, a Hamburg professor of mineralogy and geology. Learned, impatient, and extraordinarily stubborn, he becomes obsessed with a runic manuscript and refuses to abandon any question once it has captured him. His authority and relentless energy drive the expedition.

Appears from the start

The professor's long-suffering housekeeper in Hamburg. She is accustomed to his explosive impatience and tries to keep the household functioning when his latest scholarly obsession disrupts meals and ordinary life.

First appears in chapter 2

A sixteenth-century Icelandic scholar and traveler whose coded note is found inside an old manuscript. The message claims that the shadow of a mountain peak points to an entrance by which he reached the center of the Earth, turning him into Lidenbrock's guide across three centuries.

First appears in chapter 6

Lidenbrock's goddaughter and Axel's beloved. Calm and practical, she encourages Axel to face the expedition rather than let fear decide for him, trusting that the journey will give him confidence and looking forward to marrying him after his return.

First appears in chapter 8

The captain of the vessel that carries Lidenbrock and Axel from Copenhagen to Iceland. He provides the practical sea passage linking their railway journey from Hamburg with the overland expedition toward Snæfellsjökull.

First appears in chapter 9

A learned Reykjavík host who welcomes Lidenbrock as a fellow scholar. His knowledge of Iceland and its people helps the professor arrange the next stage of the journey and secure a dependable local guide.

Also known as Hans

First appears in chapter 11

An Icelandic eider hunter hired to guide Lidenbrock and Axel to Snæfellsjökull. Quiet, physically capable, and unshakably composed, he agrees to remain with them on fixed weekly pay and responds to danger with patient practical action.

First appears in chapter 40

A colossal human figure glimpsed in the subterranean distance among a herd of mastodons. Whether a living survivor of a remote age or a deceptive impression of scale, the sight warns the explorers that the underground world may contain more than extinct animals.