The Invisible Man
H.G. Wells (1897)
“A scientist makes himself invisible and discovers that the power to be unseen does not bring freedom — it brings madness, isolation, and a descent into terror.”
EraVictorian / Early Science Fiction
Pages192
Difficulty★★★☆☆ Challenging
AP Appearances2
Character Analysis
A brilliant physicist and a moral void. Griffin is not corrupted by invisibility — he is revealed by it. His contempt for others, his willingness to use violence, his grandiose self-image all predate the experiment. Invisibility merely removes the social constraints that kept these qualities in check. He is the novel's argument that power without accountability produces not freedom but madness.
How They Speak
Educated, precise, contemptuous. Uses scientific vocabulary naturally. Addresses everyone with impatience or disdain.