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The Reader and the WriterA Substack with podcast for those who love literature and wonder over the beauty and mystery of a story well told. Author: Shari Dragovich and Rhea Forney
Our lives, from their beginnings, are storied, and find their fullness when nestled securely within the Great Story; the one that opens, In the Beginning Here on The Reader and the Writer, we delight in and give witness to that Great Story by reading and discussing those excellent works of literature written since. thereaderandthewriter.substack.com Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Twenty Thousand Leagues | Part 7
Tuesday, 13 October, 2026
Welcome to our final episode of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea! In this episode, Rhea and Shari try to make sense of the story’s ending by “reading like a writer,” so, as Virginia Woof says, they can “get the right end of the string.” They discuss all the ways the ending was problematic for them, and then took all those problems and considered them more closely. They examine the “argument” Verne seems to be having throughout the novel (What is the highest good?), and how this is expressed through Nemo and Arronax in the end. They talk about the narrative as presenting us with a world at once “scientifically verifiable and stable,” and undercutting that stability through narrative that Arronax presents us in his storytelling. They discuss the two Great Conversations Twenty Thousand Leagues is having: one with Virgil’s Aeneid, and the other with the Teacher of Ecclesiastes. Finally, they tease out the difference between a character’s vision and the story’s vision; and wonder how the writer behind them may be asking us to grapple with their contradictory meanings. If you’ve been reading Twenty Thousand Leagues along with us, HIGH FIVE!! You did it! Well done, good and faithful reader. ;-) We are so thankful you stuck it out with us these thousands of leagues under the sea. If you are a paying subscriber, look for this week’s show outline to post later this week. This one is full of really great information; to include all of Ecclesiastes 7, and a detailed summary of Aeneas’s wanderings. Our next deep read is Lila, by Marilynne Robinson. We will be reading it over the next four weeks. Here is the breakdown (Note: there are no chapters, thus the page breakdown):* Episode 1 | October 20th: pp. 3-68* Episode 2 | October 27th: pp. 68-132* Episode 3 | November 3rd: pp. 132-198 (end of page)* Episode 4 | November 10th: pp. 199-261As always, thanks so much for reading and contemplating with us. We love to hear from you, so send us a message or offer a comment below. Let us know what you thought of the end of Twenty Thousand Leagues! And, if you liked this episode, please consider re-stacking it so others can enjoy it, too! Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! This post is public so feel free to ❤️ it and share it with deep readers like you!The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe
