Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man

This article examines The Invisible Man in the context of Wells’s educational and scientific writings of the early 1890s. The insular inhabitants of Iping village are unable to comprehend Griffin’s invisible persona—which reiterates the emphasis on the necessity of teaching scientific method in Well...

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Main Author: Steve McLean
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée 2007-03-01
Series:Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cve/11343
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author Steve McLean
author_facet Steve McLean
author_sort Steve McLean
collection DOAJ
description This article examines The Invisible Man in the context of Wells’s educational and scientific writings of the early 1890s. The insular inhabitants of Iping village are unable to comprehend Griffin’s invisible persona—which reiterates the emphasis on the necessity of teaching scientific method in Wells’s educational journalism. The novel’s didactic purpose in highlighting the importance of broadening the public understanding of science is related to John Tyndall’s work on the scientific imagination. Wells’s position in The Invisible Man is also that scientists should endeavour to communicate their ideas as widely as possible. Griffin’s unwillingness to do so is understood in the context of ‘Popularising Science,’ an article in which Wells outlines the mistakes made by men of science who refuse to popularise their subject matter. Griffin’s eventual alienation from society is understood both as a consequence of the public inability to grasp scientific thinking and his own reticence to communicate.
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publisher Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
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spelling doaj-art-9b707b801ba24868873122c6742d84592025-01-30T10:20:53ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492007-03-016510.4000/cve.11343Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible ManSteve McLeanThis article examines The Invisible Man in the context of Wells’s educational and scientific writings of the early 1890s. The insular inhabitants of Iping village are unable to comprehend Griffin’s invisible persona—which reiterates the emphasis on the necessity of teaching scientific method in Wells’s educational journalism. The novel’s didactic purpose in highlighting the importance of broadening the public understanding of science is related to John Tyndall’s work on the scientific imagination. Wells’s position in The Invisible Man is also that scientists should endeavour to communicate their ideas as widely as possible. Griffin’s unwillingness to do so is understood in the context of ‘Popularising Science,’ an article in which Wells outlines the mistakes made by men of science who refuse to popularise their subject matter. Griffin’s eventual alienation from society is understood both as a consequence of the public inability to grasp scientific thinking and his own reticence to communicate.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/11343
spellingShingle Steve McLean
Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man
Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
title Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man
title_full Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man
title_fullStr Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man
title_full_unstemmed Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man
title_short Science Behind the Blinds: Scientist and Society in The Invisible Man
title_sort science behind the blinds scientist and society in the invisible man
url https://journals.openedition.org/cve/11343
work_keys_str_mv AT stevemclean sciencebehindtheblindsscientistandsocietyintheinvisibleman