Summary of Chapter Fifteen: “In which the bag of bank notes disgorges some thousands of pounds more”
When the train arrives in Calcutta, Fogg is rushing his party to the steamer when a policeman stops him and asks them to follow to a carriage in which they are taken to a judge’s house. Aouda fears it has to do with her and tells Fogg to leave her to her fate so she won’t detain him, but Fogg refuses. The steamer is to leave at noon, so Passepartout is nervous, but Fogg remains calm and says they will be on board by noon.
Judge Obadiah presides while three Indian priests come in to complain of Passepartout’s desecration of their temple in Bombay. Everyone had forgotten this escapade, but Fix had stirred up the priests to delay Fogg’s departure. He still did not have a warrant for an arrest, but he sat in a corner of the courtroom watching. The judge sentences Passepartout to 15 days in prison and a fine of 300 pounds and Fogg to one week and 150 pounds.
Fogg, completely confident, gets up and offers bail, which is set at 1,000 pounds each. Fogg opens his bag and pays, and they are set free, to Fix’s dismay. Fix vows to follow Fogg to the end of the world, upset that he is spending money from the Bank of England and that there will be none left to recover for the reward. Fogg has already spent over 5,000 pounds.
Commentary on Chapter Fifteen
Every attempt by Fix to delay Fogg’s journey has been thwarted so far, but he will continue his attempts for the whole trip. Fogg once again proves to have unlimited patience, confidence, and money to solve any problem that comes up. Aouda begins to show her enthusiasm for Fogg’s goal by not wanting to be a hindrance, even at the cost of her life. Fogg already shows his complete loyalty to her, as he is loyal to his servant, Passepartout. The three are inseparable in their unified desire for Fogg to succeed, while they are always shadowed by the fourth companion, Fix, who is trying to sabotage the endeavor. Fogg has spent one fourth of his resources so far to remain precisely on schedule.
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