Chapter 1:

The narrator recounts the explanation of two difficult ideas by a man he refers to as the Time Traveler (hereafter known as "TT") to an after-dinner group. The group includes a Psychologist, a Medical Man, a Provincial Mayor, and a few other men. The TT explains that Time adds a fourth dimension to the three dimensions of space. We overlook the fourth dimension because "our consciousness moves along it." He argues that Time, therefore, is a dimension of space. The Medical Man believes the difference between Space and Time is that one cannot move in Time and "get away from the present moment." The TT counters that we are always doing just that, "passing along the Time-Dimension with a uniform velocity."

He tells them he has invented a Time Machine and has "experimental verification" of it. The audience speculates on what one might find with this machine in the future, such as a "communistic society." The TT leaves and returns with a small device. He sets it on the table and says it is only a model for a full Time Machine. He explains that its two levers move the traveler forward or backward in time. He says he will send the machine off into the future, and has the Psychologist perform the act. The machine disappears. The men are astounded. The TT says he has nearly completed a larger machine, with which he intends to travel through time himself. When asked, he admits he does not know if the model has gone into the past or the future. The men reason that it would have been visible to them when they first came in (if sent to the past) or it would be visible now (if sent to the future). The TT asks the Psychologist to explain why this is not true; the Psychologist argues that the machine travels through time too quickly for them to appreciate it. The men are willing to believe this, at least for now. The TT shows them his larger machine, made of several metals and substances, in the his laboratory.

Analysis

Though the TT uses scientific ideas about time and relativity that were circling around the 1890s (Albert Einstein would later draw them together for his groundbreaking 1905 paper on relativity), "The Time Machine" is ultimately not a deep scientific investigation into relativism and time. Wells completely ignores one of the paradoxes of time travel that many believe prohibits its existence: that of cause-and-effect. For instance, if there were time travel, then someone could go back in time and kill his past self, but this is impossible since his future self would not exist in the first place. Wells skirts this paradox by eventually sending the TT only into the future and not backward into the past.

Rather, Wells uses scientific ideas to comment on his contemporary Victorian England. One of the major theories of the time adapted Charles Darwin's theories on evolution for social purposes. In "Origin of the Species," Darwin argued that different environments encouraged the reproduction of those species whose varying traits best suited them to survive; their offspring, in turn, would be better adapted for the new environment, as would their offspring, and so on. Social Darwinism, developed by British philosopher Herbert Spencer, frequently misapplied this concept of "natural selection" to justify 19th-century social stratification between the rich and poor. The catch-phrase "survival of the fittest" (actually coined by Spencer, not Darwin; Spencer also popularized the term "evolution") does not mean the surviving members of an environment are the "best," but merely the best fit for their specific environment (for instance, Spencer's pale British skin would not survive long in sun-baked Africa). Therefore, evolution does not lead to the "perfectibility" of any species, as is generally perceived, but to the increasing adaptability and complexity of a species. Social Darwinism ignored this idea and contended that the social environment was much like the cutthroat natural environment, and that those who succeeded were biologically destined to do so and to continue in their march to human perfection. Conversely, those who failed were naturally inferior specimens of humanity. Social Darwinists found much evidence for their elitist theories in England, where the gap between the rich and poor had opened up even more with the industrial boom of the early 19th-century. However, Wells will later introduce the concept of entropy (from the Second Law of Thermodynamics). The principle of entropy states that systems tend toward disorder and loss of energy over time, an idea many perceive as contradictory to evolution.

We see evidence of this "advanced" society immediately in "The Time Machine." The men gather in a Victorian salon over dinner to discuss ideas of the day, a luxury they can afford as members of the elite class. Moreover, they have been refined into increasingly complex and evolved "sub-species" of man: they are all defined by their professions, and even these professions are specialized (two kinds of doctors, for the mind and body, and a mayor of a province). The TT, also defined by his "profession" of time travel, appears to be the ultimate social scientist who uses "experimental verification" to test his hypotheses.

Finally, Wells foreshadows a major theme of the novel when the narrator brings up the possibility of a "communistic society" in the future. Wells, a Socialist with a Communist bent for much of his life, believed in economic equality as Communism advocated. The ill effects of capitalism, with its close ties to Social Darwinism and entropy, will be explored in greater depth later in the novel.

Chapter 2:

The narrator says the TT's audience remained skeptical of the TT, who always seems too clever and mysterious. They do not discuss time traveling until they reconvene next Thursday. But the TT is absent, having left a note for the men to have dinner without him if he is not back by seven. The new group consists of the Psychologist, the Medical Man, an Editor, a Journalist, and a Silent Man. As they discuss time travel, the TT enters, dirty, disheveled, and limping. He leaves to clean up, then returns and devours mutton, grateful to be eating meat again. He admits he has been time traveling, but reveals little else until he's finished eating, when he says he will tell the story of his eight futuristic days. The narrator feels he is unable to communicate adequately the TT's storytelling ability, though he transcribes his words verbatim.

Analysis:

This short chapter serves to establish only the mystery of the TT's adventures--why is he so ragged? why is he so ravenous for meat?--and further ingrain the state of Victorian luxury and advancement. The men dine on mutton and wine, and new specialized professionals have been added to their ranks (the Editor and Journalist, whose names--Blank and Dash--humorously reinforce their professions).

The narrator distances himself from the TT by confessing to his inability to communicate the intensity of the TT's voice. Through this distancing, Wells accomplishes two tasks. First, the TT's exploits are slightly more plausible to his audience; the narrator and the men have been skeptical all along, much as Wells's audience would be. Second, one may make the argument that when the TT takes over the narrative after the unobtrusive narrator steps out, Wells aligns himself with the TT. In other words, he is the true TT, and will forecast human future much as the TT does.

There is one piece of logical confusion in this chapter. If the TT has a time traveling machine, why would he show up to dinner late--in other words, why not go back in time just a little bit more to when dinner starts? It suggests that the TT does not have perfect control over the Time Machine, and that his adventures have not been flawless exercises.

Chapter 3:

The TT (now narrating the story) shows his audience the Time Machine, now in slight disrepair, though it still works. (Description of his journey will be recounted in present tense.) That morning, he uses it and quickly jumps ahead over five hours. He gives it a second run and watches the world around him as the advance of time continues to speed up. After a while, the laboratory disappears--he assumes by destruction--though he remains on the same hill in the open air. He watches trees and buildings rise and fall, and his pace soon rises to over one year for every minute of his existence. He looks forward to seeing more of the developments of civilization he witnesses, such as great buildings and lush environments. Though it is not a problem while he travels at such high speed, he worries about colliding with some substance when he stops.

He finally does stop, and he and the machine are flung through the air and land in a garden during a hail-storm. He sees a huge winged statue of white marble (which he later calls the White Sphinx) in the distance through the hail. After the hail stops, he looks at the statue and worries about what might have befallen mankind. He sees other huge buildings and panics, and when the sky clears he feels vulnerable. As he attempts to readjust the Time Machine, it turns over and strikes him.

Before he mounts the machine, however, his courage returns. The TT notices robed figures in a nearby house who are watching him. Some run toward him, and one approaches him. The creature is small, wears a purple tunic and sandals, and strikes the TT as beautiful but frail. Observing the creature's calm lack of fear, the TT regains his confidence and lets go of the machine.

Analysis

The TT is portrayed as the consummate Social Darwinist, believing society and mankind will advance in the future, and fearful that the opposite may have occurred. While the future he lands in seems advanced in some ways--there are huge buildings within an exotic environment--the White Sphinx is reminiscent of the sphinx of ancient Egypt. The White Sphinx will play an important role later.

Important in the chapter is the TT's immediate impression of the creatures. While evolution implies that species increasingly adapt to their environments and thus, generally, grow stronger in their complexity, these creatures have simple bodies (which may account for their beauty) which are frail. How exactly they survive with their "unfit" bodies is another mystery in the novel. In fact, this chapter reveals how Wells generally reveals his mysteries--bit by bit. We learn how he receives the cut on his chin visible when he had returned to the past (from the overturned Time Machine), and to appreciate the novel's careful plotting, one must read closely for clues.

It is crucial to note that the TT does not move in space, but only in time. Therefore, we can read the novel as a projection of England's future. Even the momentary hail is somewhat similar to England's dreary climate.

Chapter 4:

The creature comes up to the TT and laughs, then speaks in a "strange tongue" to two other creatures that have followed him. Soon a group assembles, and one addresses the TT. He indicates that he does not understand. The creature touches the TT's hand, and soon the others touch him to verify he is real. The TT is calmed by their childlike gentleness. When they feel the Time Machine, he adjusts the levers to render it inoperable. He observes their fine features more closely, finding in their large eyes a "certain lack of interest." He points to the Time Machine and himself, then to the sun in an attempt to bring up the subject of time. One of the creatures points to the sun and imitates the sound of thunder to ask if the TT came from the thunderstorm. The TT is stunned to think these creatures from the future (802,701, to be exact) could be fools. However, he nods and makes a thunderclap sound. The creatures bestow the TT with countless beautiful flowers and bring him to a huge nearby building. He tries to get a better look at the forested area beyond them filled with tall, spiky white flowers.

The TT is led into a great hall with partially-stained windows and exotic fruits resting on stone slabs. They all sit down on cushions, and invite the TT to devour the fruit with them. He observes the hall some more, and notes that though it is in disrepair, it is still beautiful. The few hundred creatures watch him intently. The TT explains that all the creatures eat is fruit, and he gives a list of animals he later found out became extinct. At first, he explains, he was confused by the strange fruits and flowers, but he later came to understand their significance.

The TT tries to learn the creatures' language, but they soon lose interest in teaching him. He marvels at their laziness and lack of curiosity. He goes outside as the sun sets and is confused by the repositioning of the world--the Thames River has shifted more than a mile. He decides to climb a crest in the distance to get a better look at the area. As he walks past he inspects the ruined landscape, such as the remains of a granite and aluminum structure. He realizes there are no small houses, only huge buildings, and arrives at a conclusion: "'Communism.'" He also realizes that the creatures do not bear distinguishing marks of gender, and that the children are merely smaller versions of their parents. He reasons that this is all understandable in a peaceful, Communist environment where there is no need for survivalist specialization of the sexes. However, he explains he was later to find out that his initial assumptions were very incorrect.

The odd appearance of a well briefly diverts the TT on his walk. He finally reaches the crest and finds a strange corroded yellow metal fashioned into a seat. He sits in it and enjoys the stunning view of the unfenced gardens dotted with the occasional "silvery or white figure" and "cupola or obelisk." He interprets his observations, though he explains that he later found out he had only received a "half-truth." He believes he has happened upon the end of humanity, and that the advances of civilization--in agriculture, medicine, shelter, community, pacifism, and so on--logically enfeeble its inhabitants, since hardship forces humans to use their intelligence for survival. He also believes their population checks have possibly been too effective, accounting for the abandoned ruins. However, he explains, his explanation was "simple" and "plausible--as most wrong theories are!"

Analysis:

The TT has a scientific mind that forms hypotheses on the basis of sound observation--although, as he frequently admits, his hypotheses in this early stage will all prove to be wrong. His theories rest on his two major observations: that the creatures he encounters are weak and lazy, and that their civilization seems to be an advanced Communist state. However, he hints that his theory about Communism would prove to be wrong.

Therefore, what we can extrapolate from his theories is an argument against evolution as the ultimate end, a goal of perfection, since the TT observes that life does not naturally adapt to stronger and more complex states. Rather, he perceives a blend of evolution and entropy in the world of 802,701 (see the analysis of Chapter I for explanations of these two theories); while civilization has evolved into some sort of perfection, it has outstripped the progress of its inhabitants. Within these increasingly self-sufficient civilizations, the inhabitants weaken, their energy dissipated through entropy: "Under the new conditions of perfect comfort and security, that restless energyŠwould become weakness." There is no longer "survival of the fittest" for, as the TT points out, "what we should call the weak are as well equipped as the strong." However, it remains unclear so far what these creatures represent in Wells's time.

There is more foreshadowing of a mystery revolving around why the creatures eat only fruit. When Wells introduces odd features in the landscape, such as the well that diverts the TT, it should also give the reader pause. Finally, the TT explains he has only seen a "half-truth" in the environment so far; what this other half is will be essential to unlocking the various mysteries so far.

Chapter 5:

As the TT thinks more on top of the crest, the full moon comes out, the creatures go into buildings, and he decides to find someplace to sleep. He looks at the garden with the White Sphinx and is shocked to find the Time Machine is gone. Scared he may be stranded in the future, he runs down to the garden. The one thought that consoles him is that without the levers, the Time Machine is inoperable. In a panic, he runs around the garden looking for the machine, startling what he takes for a small deer in the dim light. He goes into the great stone building from before, lights a match, and finds a second great hall inside it where many of the creatures sleep.

Several of the creatures awaken when the TT cries out for his Time Machine. He calms down and goes outside again, only to hear their "cries of terror" as they run about. He gropes about in the darkness for the Time Machine, "touching strange creatures in the shadows," until he falls asleep on the ground and wakes up to the new day. He resolves to make the best of his situation and possibly build a new machine, but first he will search for the old one. Interrogations of the creatures are fruitless, but he finds hints that the machine was dragged into the hollow bronze pedestal under the White Sphinx, as well as nearby footprints of a creature he imagines might be a sloth. However, he does not know how to open the pedestal, and when he indicates to the some of the creatures that he wishes to open it, they seem deeply offended and leave. He bangs against the pedestal and believes he hears something move inside. After banging against it with a pebble, he beseeches himself to be patient.

Over the next couple of days, the TT learns some more of the creatures' simple language and tries to forget about his missing Time Machine until he has gained enough knowledge to recover it. The environment proves uniformly beautiful, but the deep, circular wells continue to puzzle him, as does the vacuum they produce and the thudding sound from below. He connects the presence of the wells with the tall towers spread about and concludes that there is a subterranean ventilation system, an idea that will prove to be wrong. He admits he learns little about transportation and other features of the society, other than receiving a "general impression of automatic organization." The absence of any elderly or ill creatures perplexes him, as does the absence of any burial grounds or tombs. Though he cannot believe the society is fully automatic, he cannot find any other explanations.

On his third day, the TT saves a young female creature from drowning in the shallow river. Later, she presents him with a garland of flowers. Her name is Weena, and the TT explains it was the beginning of a "queer friendship which lasted a week, and which ended--as I will tell you!" Weena follows him around like a puppy, and she is distressed when she cannot keep up with his explorations and is left behind. The TT explains that he did not know until it was too late what he had "inflicted upon her" each time he left her behind, nor did he understand what she meant to him. He learns that her only fear is of the dark, and that after dark, the creatures sleep only inside in groups. Still, the TT continues to sleep away from the groups. Weena eventually sleeps next to the TT.

The TT resumes talking about the night before he rescued Weena. He awakes at dawn, and twice sees white, ape-like creatures running alone up a hill, and once sees several of them carrying a dark body. Once the sun rises, he sees them no more and wonders if they were ghosts. Though the rescue of Weena that day makes him forget them, he says they would soon take a "far deadlier possession of my mind." On his fourth morning, while seeking shelter from the heat in one of the ruins, the TT finds a dark, narrow gallery. Entering it, he comes across a pair of eyes watching him in the darkness. He speaks and touches something soft, then sees a small, white ape-like creature run behind him in the sunlit space. He follows it into a second ruin where he finds a well. Lighting a match, he peers inside it and sees the creature climbing down metal foot and hand rests on the wall.

The TT realizes that man has evolved into two distinct animals, the "Upperworld" creatures and the nocturnal ones below. Wondering what the relationships is between the two, he resolves to descend into the well, though he is afraid to do so. Two of the Upperworld creatures are distressed to find him looking in the well, and leave him. He comes up with a new theory of how their world operates: the new species he has found are subterranean and live in tunnels ventilated by the towers and wells, and work to ensure the functioning of the Upperworld. He believes the human race has split as a result of the widening gap between the "Capitalist and the Labourer," and that the poor have been increasingly relegated to underground areas, while the rich have remained on the surface. The lack of interaction between the "Have-nots" (the poor workers) and the "Haves" (the rich) has cut down interbreeding and created two distinct species who have adapted to their own environments. Nevertheless, he believes that the species are equally happy. He believes humanity has not triumphed merely over nature, but over "Nature and the fellow-man." The TT explains that he is not sure if this is the correct explanation, but it seems the most plausible one to him. He wonders why the Morlocks--the name of the Underworld creatures--have taken his Time Machine, and why the Eloi--the Upperworld creatures--cannot return it to him, if they are the masters, and why they are afraid of the dark. Weena refuses to answer his questions, even crying.

Analysis

The TT finally receives enough clues in this chapter to make some more grounded theories. The future is not a Communist state, as he previously believed, but an excessively capitalist one that has completely divided the Haves and the Have-nots. Moreover, the TT sees a natural integration of capitalism and evolution in human history. The differences between the rich and poor in his contemporary England, especially in places of habitation, have led to the physical evolution of two distinct species.

We may read this evolution as a harsh critique of capitalism; though the TT believes the two species are equally happy, we have already seen enough defects just in the Eloi--notably their weakness and stupidity--that indicate Wells's disapproval of the capitalist evolution. The Eloi (their name even sounds like "elite") are representatives of the upper-class of Victorian England, childishly leading lives of luxury, while the Morlocks (their name is fittingly crude) are projections of England's oppressed workers, toiling underground to provide for their masters. But there is evidence that the Eloi fear the Morlocks, and that they cannot get the Time Machine back from them suggests there is more to their relationship than the TT initially assumes.

This chapter also details the TT's scientific method in a variety of settings. Each time, he calmly devises an experiment with a possible hypothesis in mind, runs "tests" (such as throwing a piece of paper into the well), refines his ideas, and settles on a conclusion. However, he admits that nearly all of his conclusions turn out to be wrong.

Finally, the TT gains an ally in Weena. The TT indicates that something bad will happen to her, but for now she is interesting as a representative of femininity in the future. Though the TT has previously labeled the sexes indistinct, Weena seems in love with the TT. He grows attached to her, as well, but they seem to fit into contemporary gender stereotypes--he as the strong male, she as the dependent female.

Chapter 6:

The TT is frightened by his discovery of the Morlocks, and cannot muster the courage to go underground and confront them about his stolen Time Machine. Instead, he explores the Upperworld more, one day happening upon a huge green structure which he calls the Palace of Green Porcelain. Finally he decides to descend into the well, an action that greatly distresses Weena.

He climbs down the well as the thudding sound of some machine grows louder in the dark. He rests in a tunnel, and is woken by three Morlocks. They flee when he lights a match, and the TT cannot communicate with them as they speak a different language from the Eloi. He finds his way into a large, dark, machine-filled cavern where the Morlocks eat meat. Running low on matches, he does not light another, and soon feels the Morlocks groping him. He shouts at them, then lights a succession of matches as he escapes. He nearly faints as he ascends into the Upperworld, where Weena kisses him. He explains he was "insensible" for a brief time.

Analysis:

This short chapter sets the stage for the TT's inevitable confrontation with the Morlocks. He verifies that there are, indeed, machines underground which the Morlocks tend to, though it is not clear for what purpose. He also learns that meat exists in the future, and that the Morlocks eat it, though he does not know what kind of meat it is.

We also see how unequipped the TT is for the Underworld of the Morlocks. He has difficulty climbing up and down their shafts, and he requires a match to navigate in the darkness. By contrast, he is much at home in the world of the Eloi, even fitter than they are. It is understandable that the TT, a member of the Victorian ruling class, would have more in common with the elite Eloi than with the toiling Morlocks.

Chapter 7:

The TT feels hopeless in his fight against the Morlocks, whom he despises. As the moon wanes and the nights have longer periods of darkness, Weena talks about the "Dark Nights." The TT begins to understand why the Eloi fear the darkness, though he does not know what kind of "foul villainy" the Morlocks practice at night. He revises his hypothesis: while the Eloi and Morlocks may have once had a master-slave relationship, now the Morlocks are growing in power while the Eloi are fearful. He thinks about the meat he had seen the Morlocks consume, though he is not sure why the image comes into his mind.

The TT decides he will defend himself fearlessly against the Morlocks. First he must find weapons and a safe place to sleep. The only place he can think of is the Palace of Green Porcelain. He starts off the long trek with Weena. As night comes on, he gets lost and decides to rest on a hill while Weena sleeps. In the morning, they have fruit with some other Eloi, and the TT comes up with a new theory about the Morlocks: they breed the Eloi like cattle for food. He tries to think of this as just desserts for the ruling class for having lived off the working class for so long, but he cannot lose his sympathy for the human-like Eloi.

The TT comes up with a plan. First, he will find a safe shelter. Then he will use a torch as a weapon against the Morlocks. Finally, he will acquire some kind of battering-ram to break open the pedestal under the White Sphinx, where he imagines the Time Machine is still kept. He also plans to bring Weena back to his own time. He and Weena make their way to the Palace of Green Porcelain.

Analysis

The TT's Victorian upper-class disgust with the poor comes out in this chapter. First, he "instinctively" loathes the Morlocks, much as someone raised in class-conscious English society would immediately react to poverty. When he figures out that the Morlocks are the true masters of the Eloi, his sympathy with the Eloi overshadows whatever ideas he may have about the rich being justly punished. The Eloi, the last vestiges of the humanity he embraces, are too much like the TT for him to revel in their defeat.

Yet the TT does acknowledge that the Morlocks' growing power is a logical progression of class tension. His idea that the Morlocks, driven by necessity, have overtaken the ruling classes is thoroughly Marxist. Wells, a Socialist for much of his life, knew Karl Marx's basic recipe for how Communism would start in societies (note that Russia did not become a Communist state until 1917, which is why the narrator at the beginning is so in wonder of the possibility of a Communist society): the working class--the proletariat-- eventually gains a "class consciousness," an awareness of themselves as oppressed, and then unites to overthrow the ruling class. While we see no evidence that the Morlocks have this class consciousness, the TT does posit that they have turned to the Eloi for food when their supply was depleted.

The TT comes up with a decidedly human plan to defeat the Morlocks, using three staples of early man: shelter (the Palace of Green Porcelain), fire (the torch, which doubles as a weapon), and a tool (the battering-ram, or some tool to break open the pedestal). It is a great irony that in his adventures in the future, he relies on ancient survivalist intelligence.

Chapter 8:

The TT finds the Palace of Green Porcelain falling into ruins. Inside, he finds a long gallery that functions as a museum, with skeletons of extinct creatures and a few surviving objects from the TT's time. After searching through other galleries which fail to interest him, he enters an enormous room with huge machines. He does not know what their functions are, but wonders if he can use them against the Morlocks. With Weena's prompting, the TT notices that the gallery slopes downward into darkness. He sees small footprints near the source of darkness, and feels the Morlocks are near. When he hears noises in the darkness similar to those from the well, he breaks off the lever of a machine. He restrains his desire to kill the Morlocks with his new "mace," as it may impede his progress in regaining the Time Machine.

The TT passes through a ruined library, then goes upstairs to a well-preserved gallery of chemistry. He finds a box of matches and a jar of camphor, a flammable substance which he decides to use as a candle. He does not find anything with which to break open the pedestal. He finds other weapons, but none as good as his broken lever. He also locates idols from several countries, and some dynamite which no longer works. He decides to camp out with a fire for protection, and feels hopeful that he will be able to pry open the pedestal with his lever.

Analysis:

It is fitting that the lever of a machine should play an important role here. Much as the rich have always used industry to enslave the poor, the TT relies on a relic of industry to defend himself against the Morlocks. He does not merely wish to defend himself, however; we see his bloodthirsty nature emerge as never before as he contemplates descending into the darkness and slaying the Morlocks. His taste for murder is a blend of modern and primal impulses. He has both the disgust for the poor befitting a member of the English aristocracy as well as the savage violence of a Neanderthal--even the lever, which he calls a "mace" (a Medieval weapon), resembles more a blunt club.

Continuing this primal regression, the TT has also regained fire. It is ironic that this is more useful than almost any of the more modern advancements the Palace displays. As the TT muses, the charred, ruined literature strikes him as an "enormous waste of labour." While he means that the work has been in vain, since it is now ruined, he may be indirectly commenting on the worthlessness of high culture when compared to bare necessities like fire and shelter. Once again, the TT's travels in the future ironically bring him back to a more basic way of life.

Chapter 9:

The TT treks with Weena through the woods, hoping to reach the White Sphinx by the next morning. They gather sticks for a fire that night. At night, about a mile before a safe clearing, the TT spots some hiding Morlocks. He decides to distract them by setting fire to the sticks and leaving them there. He takes Weena through the woods, the fire spreading behind them. Soon, the Morlocks are on him and Weena. The TT lights a match and scares them off. Weena seems to have fainted, and he carries her with him. The action has disoriented him, and he is now lost. He decides to camp out, and gathers more sticks for a fire. He fends off the Morlocks with the light from his matches, punching one when it blindly approaches him.

The TT nods off, and wakens when the Morlocks are on him again. His matches are gone and his fire has gone out. He grabs his lever and strikes them. They flee, but the TT soon realizes the forest fire he previously set is the source of their fear. Unable to find Weena, he takes his lever and follows the Morlocks until he finds an open space. The TT strikes the Morlocks until he understands that they are blinded by the fire, and he does not need to impair them any further. He does not locate Weena among them. He endures the rest of the agonizing night, feeling it is some kind of nightmare.

In the morning, when the fire dies down, he cannot find Weena, whose body he believes was left in the forest. He restrains his desire to massacre the Morlocks. He limps on to the White Sphinx, feeling lonely without Weena. He discovers some loose matches in his pocket.

Analysis

As frequently occurs in adventure stories, the hero makes an ill-planned decision that ends up in tragedy for one of his allies. The TT's forest-fire may thin the ranks of the Morlocks, but in Weena he loses his sole companion. Once again, he is returned to a primal state of emotion. Without her, he feels the basic emotions of loneliness and mourning, as well as the "strange exultation" of violence when he fights the Morlocks. And, of course, the chapter centers around fire, one of man's most important discoveries.

However, to call Weena one of the TT's "allies" is not entirely correct. Though the most intimate contact we witness between them is a kiss at one point and their sleeping next to each other, she fulfills the conventional role of the hero's romantic interest. Though more childlike than womanly, she is the TT's sole source of companionship. As he notes, her affectionate nature makes her seem more human than she really is. If Wells did not include her in the story, the TT's violence against the Morlocks would seem less justified; as it is, he attacks them to avenge her death. This clever device makes us overlook the underlying well of the TT's loathing for the Morlocks: classism. As we see repeatedly, his membership in the ruling class bonds him with the Eloi and makes him resent the Morlocks' reversal of class-based power. His love for Weena humanizes him as much as it does her, and allows Wells to comment on Victorian classism with greater subtlety.

Chapter 10:

The TT returns in the morning to the hill he had perched on his first night, and reflects on how wrong his initial assumptions were. He thinks the human intellect had committed suicide by creating a perfect state in which the rich had "wealth and comfort" and the poor had "life and work." Such a perfect balance can exist for only so long, he believes, before it is disrupted--in this case, by the Morlocks' need for food, which they find only in the Eloi.

He naps, then heads down to the White Sphinx. He is surprised to find the bronze pedestal has been opened, and the Time Machine is inside, cleaned and oiled. He throws away his weapon and goes inside. Suddenly, the bronze panels close up, and the TT is trapped. The Morlocks laugh as they approach him. The TT feels safe, knowing he has only to reattach the levers on the machine to make his exit. However, his matches require a box to light. In the darkness, he fights them as he gets into the machine's saddle and reattaches the levers. Finally, he pulls a lever and disappears.

Analysis:

Without fire or his weapon, the TT is reduced to the basics--hand-to-hand combat and human ingenuity. He must reattach the levers on the Time Machine while fighting the Morlocks, once again combining modern science (fixing the machine) with primitive violence (he even head-butts one of the Morlocks). It is also ironic that the White Sphinx is his last location in 802,701 AD. A symbolic and literal barrier for the Time Traveler, the sphinx also blocked entrance for the Greek hero Oedipus. But the sphinx has a direct relationship to the Time Traveler's plight; a symbol of futurity and of man's submission to God, the Egyptian Sphinx faces the rising sun god Ra each day in worship. The TT, on the other hand, must in some ways defy God by embracing rational science as he gains mastery over time, and he must also break into the sphinx to escape from the future and go back in time (of course, here he is let in as a trap, but he must still defeat the Morlocks inside). Finally, as has been previously noted, the sphinx still holds power in the future, much as it did in the ancient past.

The TT explains his theory again on how the Eloi and Morlocks evolved. Although it has been dissected before, it is worth stating again what it means to the concept of evolution. Wells argues that evolution is not necessarily leading mankind to a perfect state (utopia) as many believe, or if it is, then our utopian goal will soon backfire and become a dystopia (an anti-utopia). The direct significance his argument bears on Wells's own time is that the rich are gradually becoming useless, while the poor are being driven to revolution by their need to survive.

To make his Marxist ideas palatable to his Victorian audience, Wells refrains from presenting direct rhetoric against class divisions--indeed, TT believes the division of rich and poor is a "perfect world," reflecting his classist Victorian values. Instead, Wells provokes anxiety in his upper-class readership. If they continue in their ways, not only will they become stupid and lazy, but their slaves will rise up against them.

Chapter 11:

The TT notices that, in the confusion of his fight with the Morlocks, he accidentally sent himself into the future, rather than the past. Though he speeds up through time, the alternation of day and night slows down, as does the passage of the sun. Finally, the sun dully ceases to rise and set, and the earth rests with one side facing it, much as one side of the moon faces the earth. The TT slowly reverses the Time Machine until it stops. He observes the reddish landscape and the moss-like vegetation everywhere. There is no wind, and the water of the sea barely moves. The TT has difficulty breathing and believes the air is more rarefied than normal.

He spots a large white creature flying away, and then sees a huge, crab-like thing crawling toward him. Another one comes up behind him and touches him with its antennae. The TT quickly pulls his machine's lever and watches more of the giant crabs crawl along the beach as he shoots forward through time. The environment keeps up its deathly appearances as the sun grows larger and duller. After thirty million years, all life save the green vegetation ceases to exist, and it starts to snow. An eclipse turns everything completely dark. After the sun becomes visible again, the TT stops the machine. He feels sick and confused and "incapable of facing the return journey." He sees a black creature crawl out from the sea, and his fear of remaining in this environment compels him to climb back into the Time Machine.

Analysis

With the TT's journey into the decaying, dying future, Wells suggests that entropy, the gradual dissipation of energy within an increasingly chaotic system, is the fate of the universe (for a fuller discussion of entropy, see the analysis for Chapter I). It makes sense that Wells would believe this, since entropy seems at odds with evolution--evolution implies that life becomes more complex and fitter with time, whereas entropy leads to chaos and death. As he has already shown with the Eloi and Morlocks, evolution leads to dystopian imperfection, not utopian perfection, and should not be considered as a vision of progression. Moreover, this dystopia is governed by entropy; the Eloi have little energy, physical or mental, and they live in chaotic fear of the Morlocks.

The TT's ideas are turned upside-down, and it makes sense that at the end of his journey he sees a life-form crawling out from sea. Just as life began in the water, so does it end. However, the universe no longer has the resources of the sun and the earth's movement to reproduce life, so the TT's adventure ends on a highly pessimistic note.

Chapter 12:

The TT relates to the men his travel back to the present time. The one difference he found was that his machine landed in a different corner of his laboratory, since it was moved by the Morlocks. Then, after gaining his bearings, he found the party having dinner.

He says he does not expect the men to believe him, but tells them to take it as a fictional story, and asks what they think of it. The men are quiet, and the Editor implies he does not believe the story. The Medical Man asks where the TT got the withered white flowers he has put upon the table; the TT insists that Weena put them in his pocket. The TT leads the men to the Time Machine, now slightly damaged and dirty. He says goodbye to his guests.

The narrator stays up at night thinking about the TT's story, unsure if it is true. He goes to the laboratory the next day and touches the Time Machine's lever. The machine shakes. He asks the TT if his story was true. He promises it was, and says he will prove it in half an hour when he's done working on the machine. He leaves, and the narrator realizes he has to meet someone soon. As he goes into the laboratory to tell the TT, there is a gust of wind and some odd sounds, and neither the TT nor the Time Machine is present. When a servant tells him he has not seen the TT outside, the narrator understands he has traveled into time again. He waits for him a while longer, but even three years later, the TT has yet to return to the present.

Analysis:

When the TT asks the men to take his tale as a fictional version of humanity's fate, Wells's makes a similar plea to the reader. He does not want his reader to view "The Time Machine" as a mere entertainment, but as a serious projection of the future, one plausibly backed by social and scientific arguments. That none of the TT's guests (save the narrator) will believe him suggests not that they merely find the idea too fantastic, but that they are unwilling to believe such a future awaits for them. As members of the ruling class, they do not heed the TT's warning of a class revolution. Instead, they remain concerned with the immediate future--when the cabs stop running, for instance--and not with preventing the dystopia the TT has described.

Wells removes the pessimistic tone Chapter XI ended on by allowing the TT to travel again through time, and with ambiguous results. That he chooses not to return to the present says something about his change in attitude. Obviously, time travel is an exciting, seductive lifestyle, and continuing adventures would be difficult to pass up. But maybe the TT understands that he no longer belongs with the Victorian elite, and sees in them the beginnings of the lazy, effete Eloi. Perhaps he has even dedicated himself to preventing the class-divided dystopia he originally saw (and saving Weena, too).

Epilogue:

The narrator wonders if the TT went into the past or the future, and where his adventures may have taken him. While the TT believed mankind's progress turned out to be destructive, the narrator believes human civilization may still do some good as it matures. The narrator also chooses to view the future as largely unknown. He now owns the two white flowers from the future--proof, he says, that "even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man."

Analysis:

The epilogue is a humanistic wrap-up to a decidedly inhuman story. Wells urges his readers to remember what ultimately bonds man--not his mind, but his heart--and as such may be his final plea for the Victorians to look at their own society and the class divisions that tear it apart.

The narrator also expresses optimism for the future though he knows what is in store for man. This is another upbeat note that suggests humans still have free will to change the course of their lives. Wells again encourages his audience to act, and not let entropy dissipate whatever energy they have to change the future.

• Biography of H.G. Wells
• About The Time Machine
• Character List
• Major Themes
• Short Summary
• Full Summary and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-2
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 3-4
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 5-6
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 7-8
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 9-10
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 11-Epilogue
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• Test Yourself! Quiz 1
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