Alex Touchet

H. G. Wells was one of the singular most formative authors in the genre of science fiction. Wells was among the first of authors to introduce the concept of a “time machine” to popular literature; he even coined the term. The Time Machine, written in 1895, stands apart from other novels of its time as one of the most innovative pieces of literature of its time. The novel’s importance does not come only from its scientific imagining, but the themes presented along with it. H. G. Wells offered his era much more than mere scientific dime novels.

The Time Machine introduced multiple dystopian ideas in a time where literature was often saturated with utopian themes. For example, people such as Edward Bellamy were writing novels such as Looking Backward: 2000–1887 and Equality in the 19^th century: these books were very Marxist in nature and often focused on the proposed dangers of capitalism in society versus the success of socialist strategy. H. G. Wells did not take this route when writing his first novel. When his protagonist the Time Traveler travels forward into the future and encounters a strange society filled with shallow and complacent beings, it seems Wells is taking the utopian route. When night falls, however, the Time Traveler discovers the truth of the society he has landed in, and it is far from utopian.

Wells seemed to have some disregard for the utopian presentations of reality prevalent in other literature at the time. He did not write this story to have a happy ending. In fact, it seems rather tragic. The Time Traveler’s adventure does not bring him to a glistening society in which people live together in perfect community, bolstered by technology. Instead, he discovers a primeval food chain where a caricatured “upper class” is juxtaposed against nocturnal ape-like creatures that feast on their flesh. He travels to the literal end of the world, and instead of returning to his time to warn humanity of its impending fate, he disappears from his time. H.G. Wells was not writing to convey wishful fairytales, but to demonstrate what he believed to be the reality of human society. Many of his early works may be described as almost pessimistic (The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds) in the same manner The Time Machine seems to be.

H.G. Wells was one of the greatest science fiction authors not only because of the revolutionary ideas he presented, but also because of the themes he channeled through his novels. His books were formative to the earliest era of science fiction, and his creation of the term “time machine” spawned countless stories revolving around the theme of time travel. Few authors would be able to say they were the creator of a common literary trope, but H.G. Wells is among the privileged who can.