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The Time Machine


 In this relatively short novella (little more than 30,000 words) Wells combines two prophecies, the first into the year 802701 in which society has become divided into two distinct groups, the Eloi and the Morlocks, the second is a journey to the end of all life on Earth as we know it. These two prophecies are related, but they have distinct messages for the late nineteenth century reader, coming at the issues of progress and evolution from two contrasting angles. The first offers one portrait of evolutionary decline, extrapolating the divisions within Victorian society between the Aristocracy, and the subterranean proletariat. Here, it could be argued, Wells's point is a social one: unless these divisions are bridged warfare between the two classes is inevitable. The final vision on the beach is, however, more cosmically pessimistic: in the longest possible term vision Man is but a fleeting moment in the pattern of evolutionary decline into chaos and entropy. It is significant that there are hints of this same cosmic pessimism in The War of the Worlds, which presents the Martian invasion as a logical outcome of their attempt to survive as a race in the face of the cooling of their world: one footnote worth mentioning here is that this view of cosmic pessimism (taken to the extremes of the literal fear that the Sun was burning itself out) was widespread at the end of the nineteenth century. Clearly the two prophecies, taken together, express an alternative, pessimistic rather than idealistic, view to the orthodox Victorian belief in the inevitability of Progress and Perfectibility.
  1. The novella begins with the unnamed Time Traveler and his guests, including the unnamed narrator, discussing the nature and theory of time. Why begin with this device, recognizing that the use of "framed narratives" is a typical one for 'unrealistic' stories such as this? How effectively does the opening lead us into the tale, and introduce us to some of the issues to be explored later (Progress, Evolution, the 'unexplained' and the limits to scientific inquiry)? Why is it important that the Traveler is not named - does it suggest that his identity is unimportant when measured against the cosmic scheme of things? Or does it turn him into a Messianic figure, a representative of a Race rather than simply an individual? Note that, when the account begins, the Time Traveler describes his journey as "flinging himself into futurity" and having a "horrible anticipation... of an imminent smash" In Chapter 3 what do you notice about the Traveler's fears, expectations and observations, and what do they reveal both about him and his time? You might look particularly at his doubts on whether or not he will be traveling to a more or less advanced society, whether or not he will be witness to Progress or Decline? There are parallels in that the Traveler is a kind of late-Victorian 'imperialist' of a kind, as well as an empirical scientist and discover, an explorer of time as well as space.

  1. The Eloi. The Traveler's first encounters with the Eloi (Chapter 4) lead him to see a vision of man's perfection, but this impression changes fairly rapidly and he refers to this "too perfect triumph of man". All the way through the narrative the Traveler relentlessly makes assumptions, tries out hypotheses and tests them. What strikes you about these changing first impressions of the Eloi. Look particularly at paras "Seeing the ease and security..." to the end of the Chapter, and the comments on energy, "languor and decay".

  1. The Morlocks. The introduction of the fearful Morlocks, in Chapter 5 (para: "My impression of it is, of course, imperfect;...") compels the narrator to reconsider his initial hypothesis, and to bring out the socially allegorical significance of the division of society into 'Haves' and 'Have-nots'. Look at the Traveler's deductions at this point, and be prepared to consider the changes to his theories about, and sympathies towards, the Morlocks. Look particularly at the penultimate page of Chapter 5.

(iv)The realization that the Morlocks live off the Eloi changes the Traveler's assumptions and theories, but how? Look at his conclusions at the end of Chapter 7 and the moral he draws from this realization. The Traveler's own assumptions, and background, come into question when he ventures into the Museum and encounters the Morlocks, mixing calm rationalism with murderous rage and fury. What does this suggest about the Traveler and his psychological and moral background? Near the end of Chapter 10, following the fight with the Morlocks and the capture of Weena, the Traveler ventures towards a kind of conclusion, (para: I grieved to think how brief the dream of human intellect had been..". What does this conclusion tell us and how, in the course of the novella as a whole, conclusive is it.

  1. Into the Future. The Traveler's second journey is into the future to arrive on the beach. Why, do you think, Wells provided this second vision of the future as apocalyptic darkness, and how does it bear upon the world of 802701 and of the late nineteenth century? What alternative visions or journeys could Wells have included, and how might this have affected the bearing of the story as a whole?

  1. Conclusion. The novella ends with the Traveler's return to the Future, and the narrator's epilogue? How do you respond to this epilogue, and how do you think it squares with alternative possibilities or conclusions? Clearly it provides an alternative view of History and Time to that provided by late Victorian devotees to the notion of Progress, or to other Christian and/or humanist notions of Man and his place in the scheme of things.

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