optimisticfutures reviewed The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
None
3 stars
The Time Machine by HG Wells was first published in 1895 and I first read it in the 1990s some 100 years later. My memory was of the idea of treating time as a fourth dimension of equal standing to the three spatial dimensions. The distant future that Wells dreamed up did not linger in my mind when I came to re-read it.
It’s a simple story, told in the first person by the Time Traveller as he recounts it to his friends after returning from a trip to the year 802701. There is little detail of his machine, and only a brief argument in the opening scene as to how time travel might be plausible.
After leaving Victorian England, he landed in the same place, in a much changed, future world. He recounts his confusion and the process of making sense of his surroundings. First, he meets the pretty …
The Time Machine by HG Wells was first published in 1895 and I first read it in the 1990s some 100 years later. My memory was of the idea of treating time as a fourth dimension of equal standing to the three spatial dimensions. The distant future that Wells dreamed up did not linger in my mind when I came to re-read it.
It’s a simple story, told in the first person by the Time Traveller as he recounts it to his friends after returning from a trip to the year 802701. There is little detail of his machine, and only a brief argument in the opening scene as to how time travel might be plausible.
After leaving Victorian England, he landed in the same place, in a much changed, future world. He recounts his confusion and the process of making sense of his surroundings. First, he meets the pretty and delicate Eloi who don’t do much other than eat fruit, frolic and decorate their world with flowers. There is little evidence of an economy to support their carefree life. Later he encounters the agile, subterranean Morlocks who appear to take care of some kind of machinery below ground. Over time, the rather grisly truth of the relationship between the two races dawns on our traveller.
It becomes apparent that both are descended from humans and represent the eventual dichotomy between the upper and lower classes of the England he has travelled from. It’s hard to evaluate the plausibility or the effectiveness of this speculation on social matters from the perspective of the 21st century. The tale appears to assign much of the power in their relationship to the Morlocks, and little to the Eloi, which runs counter to how we know the future is turning out. Maybe it made more sense back then.
There are some insights into the state of technology and scientific knowledge at the end of the 19th century. The Time Traveller takes safety matches with him into the future, and knows how to make explosives. Knowledge of the life of stars is demonstrated in a brief (and rather pointless) detour to see the final days of our sun. Evolution takes a central role in the story. There are also hints at themes of human nature and the purpose of life which could be interesting, but are not well fleshed out.
This is a hero’s journey with a male protagonist overcoming challenges alone. He’s strong, brave and resourceful. Precisely two women are noticed in the book – one that crosses the room as the time machine begins it’s journey and one of the Eloi race whom our hero rescues and befriends. All of his friends listening to the story are men. While that might have been realistic back in 1895, it makes for a very alienating read in 2026.
All credit to Mr Wells for writing about time travel and the idea of a machine that would make it possible. However, re-reading this makes me even more convinced that the classics belong in history classes and do not deserve the prominence they get. As we grapple with complex scientific and social developments in the 21st century, we need to read more contemporary stories that can give us insights and frame our understandings of this world that we now inhabit. For me, the Time Machine has not stood up well to the passing of time.
