| Jacques Paganel | |
| Series: | Voyages Extraordinaires |
| Creator: | Jules Verne |
| Occupation: | Professor |
| Gender: | Male |
| Nationality: | French |
Jacques Eliacin François Marie Paganel is one of the main characters in Jules Verne's 1867-68 novel In Search of the Castaways (original title Les Enfants du capitaine Grant). Paganel represents the absent-minded professor stock character.
Verne gives a memorable characterisation of his hero:
In the novel, Paganel is the "Secretary of the Geographical Society of Paris, Corresponding Member of the Societies of Berlin, Bombay, Darmstadt, Leipsic, London, St. Petersburg, Vienna, and New York; Honorary Member of the Royal Geographical and Ethnographical Institute of the East Indies"http://jv.gilead.org.il/pg/cstwy/1/06.html. After many years of being a cabinet professor, he decides to take a voyage to India, but by mistake boards the protagonists' yacht Duncan (which is going to Patagonia), the first of Paganel's absent-minded actions.
A further mistake was to learn the Portuguese language accidentally, rather than Spanish. Paganel studied The Lusiads of Camoens over six weeks, believing the poem to be written in Spanish.[1]
Nevertheless, Paganel proves to be an important member of the search party. His interpretation of the documents is vital in the advancement of the novel; he also provides numerous geographical references and is a constant source of humor.
Actors who have played Paganel on the screen include: