UNPACKING THE INVISIBLE MAN: READING THROUGH THE ANALYTIC OF INVISIBILITY, MONEY AND ROMANTICISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i2.2024.1634Keywords:
Capitalism, Invisibility, Romantic, Science Fiction, TechnologyAbstract [English]
This paper examines the enduring imaginative appeal of The Invisible Man by Herbert George Wells, hereinafter referred to as H.G. Wells, through the trope of invisibility and money. In doing so, the paper also analyses the novel's thematic concerns that reflects England's transition amidst economic, social, and scientific changes. Further, it shall also elaborate on the intertwined conflict between Romantic ideals and urbanization in showcasing, the scientific hubris and the parochial attitudes of society, in exploring themes of literal, social, and psychological invisibility. Conclusively, it reads Wells' novella as a cautionary tale signalling the dangers of unchecked ambition and underscores the need for ethical responsibility through the contrasting characters of Griffin and Dr. Kemp who highlight the potential for both harm and good in scientific endeavours.
References
Agarwal, B. B. (2016). A Street Performer in Scotland [Photograph]. Photograph by the author.
Cantor, P. A., & Hufnagel, P. (2006). The Empire of the Future : Imperialism and Modernism in H. G. Wells. In Studies in the Novel, 38(1), 36–56.
Grosz, K. (Illustrator). (1933). The Invisible Man [Style A teaser poster]. Universal Pictures.
Guidotti, F. (2015). The dis-appearance of the body in an age of science : H. G. Wells’s Invisible Man. In R. Calzoni & G. Perletti (Eds.), Monstrous anatomies : Literary and scientific imagination in Britain and Germany during the long nineteenth century. Göttingen : V&R unipress. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14220/9783737004695.235
Kiarasa. (2011, March 12). The Invisible Man. DeviantArt.
Nicholson, N. (1957). H. G. Wells. London : Arthur Barker Ltd.
Sack, H. (2018, August 13). H. G. Wells and the shape of things to come. SciHi Blog.
H. G. Wells and the Shape of Things to Come | SciHi Blog
Shelley, M. (2022). Frankenstein. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved from 2022
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Strimpl, L. (Illustrator). (1912). The Invisible Man [Cover illustration]. Calmann Lévy.
Wells, H. G. (2007). The Invisible Man (C. Priest, Introduction). UK : Penguin.
A modern utopia. Project Gutenberg. (2004)
The chronic argonauts. Project Gutenberg Australia. (2024)
The Invisible Man. New Delhi : Heritage Publishers. (2008)
The Invisible Man [First edition cover]. London : Pearson. (1897)
Woolf, V. (2006). Modern fiction. In B. Bose (Ed.), Mrs. Dalloway. Delhi : Worldview Critical Edition. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5117/9781904633242
Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Brown. In B. Bose (Ed.), Mrs. Dalloway. Delhi : Worldview Critical Edition.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Binoy Bhushan Agarwal, Dr. Rosy Sinha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
