THE INVISIBLE MAN

SUMMARY:
The Invisible Man starts with a stranger arriving at the town of Iping. He's a private guy,
which is a problem when you live in a town where the major export is gossip. The stranger
doesn't get along with the villagers, especially the people who own the inn where he's staying.
He spends most of his time trying to do something scientific in his room. But eventually
after the villagers (rightfully) accuse him of robbery the stranger snaps. He takes off all his
clothes and reveals that he's wait for it invisible! (Yeah, we know, it's in the title.)
The Invisible Man fights the village and flees, leaving his important scientific notes behind.
To get them back, he forces a homeless dude named Marvel to help him. They go back to
Iping and get the Invisible Man's stuff, but the villagers attack and craziness ensues. The
Invisible Man beats them to a pulp and wreaks some major havoc.
At another town (Port Stowe), the Invisible Man steals money and drops it into Marvel's
pockets. Like the lousy sidekick he is, Marvel runs away to Burdock, money in hand (or in
pocket, we guess). The IM tries to kill Marvel, but a bunch of people at a bar fight him off;
one person even shoots him, but it's just a scratch. The Invisible Man takes shelter in a house
that happens to be owned by an old college friend named Kemp, and this is where we learn
that our not-so-hero's name is Griffin.
While staying in his digs, Griffin tells Kemp his back story, which is several chapters long
(and we mean long). Here's the gist: he was poor and he wanted to study invisibility (as most
young people do), so he stole money from his father, who then committed suicide (we're not
entirely sure why). Finally Griffin figured out the invisibility thing and proceeded to do a few
things: (1) burn down his landlord's building; (2) wander around London; (3) steal from a
department store; and (4) put on a ridiculous outfit from a theatrical costume shop and go to
Iping to work.
Turns out Kemp had alerted the police to Griffin's whereabouts when he arrived, but when
they come to arrest him, he escapes. (Remember, he's invisible, so it's not too tough.) Kemp
works with the police to catch Griffin, who in turn, tries to catch Kemp. In the end, a bunch
of people in Burdock gang up on the Invisible Man and kill him. As he dies, Griffin loses his
invisibility and we get our first glimpse of the Visible Man.
Finally, in the epilogue, we learn that Marvel still has Griffin's scientific notes, which still
carry notes of his inventions.
THEMES: ISOLATION
The Invisible Man is about a guy with no friends, no family, and, well, just no one at all. It
seems like no matter where he finds himself, he's isolated from the larger community he's
as alone in Iping as he is in London. If the Invisible Man were just a hermit who lived alone
by choice, that would be one thing. But our guy is a genius scientist who is surrounded by
people; they just don't understand him. That might be the worst form of isolation: surrounded

by people but always alone. And it's worth mentioning that some critics think that science
becomes dangerous when it's isolated from the larger community; if we think of Griffin as a
symbol for science-gone-wrong, this makes a lot of sense.
Questions About Isolation
Are any of the other characters in this book isolated? Maybe the costume shop owner from
Chapter 23? He's described as alone but is "alone" the same thing as "isolated"?
How is the Invisible Man isolated? Is it mostly because of his physical issues (i.e. he's stinkin'
invisible)? Or is he mentally isolated, too?
At first, the Invisible Man claims that all his best work happens when he's alone (19.37).
Then he notes that a man can't accomplish much alone (24.22). Those ideas seem
contradictory, but are they? Does the Invisible Man have a change of tune? And does Wells
seem to take a particular side on the issue?
Many critics think this novel shows us that isolation is a bad thing. Do you agree? Or are
there some ways in which isolation is a good thing? Would the Invisible Man be better off,
for instance, if there were no people around him at all?
COMMUNITY:
To show how isolated the Invisible Man is, Wells exposes us to variety of communities in The
Invisible Man. There's the small village (Iping), the larger village (Burdock), the city
(London), the intellectual community (the scientific world), the marriage (Mr. and Mrs. Hall),
and just about every other community you can think of. (Landlord and tenant? Check.
Friends? Check. Police officer and citizen consultant? Check.) Unfortunately for Griffin, he
seems to be on the outside of each of these communities, which leads him to be the subject of
gossip and rumors or even violence. Not that he doesn't deserve it (sorry, Griff).
Questions About Community
The invisible man seems like the ultimate outsider in this book, but what about the other
characters? For instance, does Marvel have a place in the community even though he's a
wanderer?
What happens when different communities come into contact? For instance, what happens
when the police community (Adye) meets the scientific community (Kemp)? Or when Griffin
deals with his landlord? How do they deal with issues of power?
How do the different communities act towards outsiders in this novel?
BETRAYAL:
In The Invisible Man, betrayal is always tied up with priorities. Let us explain: the Invisible
Man doesn't steal from his dad just to be mean. He steals because he cares more about his
scientific experiments than anything else (including his family). On the same token, we

expect someone to keep their friend's secrets, but when Griffin outlines his supervillain plan
to take over England, Kemp decides that he has a more important priority than loyalty to his
friend: protecting his country and neighbors. So whenever we see a betrayal whether of
another character or of a principle we have to ask: what does this show us about the
betrayer's priorities?
Questions About Betrayal
Are you shocked by Griffin's betrayal of his father or Kemp's betrayal of Griffin? Do you feel
like these betrayals are justified?
The narrator seems to sympathize with Griffin after he is betrayed by Kemp. How does that
affect your reading of the story?
CHARACTERS:
INVISIBLE MAN:
Griffin
Griffin, the Invisible Man. He arrives at a village inn and takes a room. Wearing dark glasses
and bushy side whiskers, and having a completely bandaged head, he causes much curiosity
in the village. Later, it develops that these are a disguise for his invisibility. Getting into
trouble over an unpaid bill, he escapes and begins to terrify the people with his mysterious
thefts. Wounded, he flees to a former acquaintances rooms. He reveals that, to get money for
his experiments in invisibility, he robbed his father of money belonging to someone else; as a
result his father committed suicide. Going thoroughly mad, he sends his former friend a note
announcing that he plans to kill a man each day; his friend is to be the first victim. After a
grotesque struggle, the Invisible Man is held by two men and struck with a spade by another
man. As he is dying, his body slowly becomes visible.
Dr. Kemp
Dr. Kemp, a physician. Griffin knew him when both were university students. To Kemp,
Griffin reveals his story. Later, he says that he plans to use Kemps rooms as a base for his
reign of terror, and he threatens Kemps life. Kemp goes to the police, with whose aid he
finally succeeds in destroying Griffin.
Mr. Hall
Mr. Hall, the landlord of the Coach and Horses Inn, where Griffin takes a room.
Mrs. Hall
Mrs. Hall, his wife. The Halls are the first to be puzzled by unexplainable activities on the
part of their guest. Unintimidated, however, Mr. Hall swears out a warrant for Griffins arrest

after the lodger becomes abusive because of ill feeling over an unpaid bill. After a struggle,
Griffin at last unmasks and escapes in the ensuing horror and confusion.
Colonel Ayde
Colonel Ayde, chief of the Burdock police. Kemp goes to him with his information about
Griffin. Ayde is wounded by his own revolver, which Griffin has snatched from his pocket.
Marvel
Marvel, a tramp whom Griffin frightens into aiding him. Griffins turning on Marvel is the
occasion for some eerie scenes of pursuit.
Mr. Wicksteed
Mr. Wicksteed, who is found murdered. A weird manhunt for Griffin follows.