Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part E (2025)

This research conducts a comparative analysis of two seminal works of subterranean fiction: Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864) and Premendra Mitra’s Patallok (1944). While both narratives utilize the foundational motif of a descent into a hidden world, they diverge radically in their generic allegiances and philosophical objectives, reflecting their distinct historical and cultural contexts. The analysis argues that Verne’s novel, often hailed as a cornerstone of science fiction, employs a veneer of 19th-century scientific rationalism to legitimize a core of mythic-fantasy. Its centre is a primordial world of prehistoric life and elemental forces, framing the journey as an archetypal hero’s quest for discovery and conquest, where conflict is primarily man versus environment.In stark contrast, Mitra’s Patallok represents a shift towards sociological science fiction, using its advanced, utopian subterranean society as a critical mirror for the surface world’s failings. The journey is not for glory but for rescue and dialogue, and the central conflict is ideological, pitting utopian isolationism against the realities of a war-torn world. The study further contends that Mitra masterfully employs a mythic structure—the hidden kingdom and the wise sage—to frame a sophisticated science-fictional allegory. Ultimately, this comparison reveals a fundamental dichotomy: Verne uses science to dress a fantasy adventure, resulting in a triumphant exploration of the physical unknown, while Mitra uses a mythic framework to articulate a science-fiction critique, resulting in an ambiguous, philosophical inquiry into human nature and societal progress. The two works thus exemplify the versatile capacity of speculative fiction to explore both the external wonders of the cosmos and the internal landscape of human society.