In this blog post, we will examine Herbert George Wells’ life and works, with a particular focus on the background and key themes of ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’.
“But from the depths of the cosmos, beings who had degenerated into beasts—and others who, resembling human minds, possessed superior intelligence yet were cold and ruthless—were watching our Earth with envious eyes, slowly but surely devising plans to attack us. And humanity awoke to this reality in the early twentieth century.”—Chapter 1 of ‘The War of the Worlds’
Author’s Biography
Herbert George Wells was born on September 21, 1866, in Bromley, Kent, England, as the youngest of four siblings to Sarah Neill, a maid in an aristocratic household, and Joseph Wells, a shopkeeper and cricket player. The Wells family was extremely poor, and it was not a happy home. His parents separated shortly thereafter but never remarried.
From a young age, Wells loved to read. He attended Thomas Morley’s school for a few years but had to leave due to lack of funds and find a job. Since his father had injured his leg and could no longer play cricket—nor could he afford Wells’s school fees—Wells became an apprentice at a draper’s shop at the age of fourteen. This experience later became the subject matter for his works; for example, in ‘Kipps’ (1905), Arthur Kipps, an orphan and apprentice at a draper’s, inherits a vast fortune and, after receiving a crash course in education, rises to the upper class.
In 1883, Wells entered the London School of Science and Teachers’ Training on a scholarship, where he was exposed to fascinating fields such as biology and evolutionary theory that would aid his writing. The background knowledge he acquired while studying under Thomas Henry Huxley—the grandfather of Aldous Huxley—influenced several of his works, including ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’. Some of his works, including this novel, deal with eugenics, ethics in scientific experimentation, Darwin’s theories, and religious issues, and have been adapted into films on multiple occasions.
“I must confess that I have lost faith in the reason of this world, which turns a blind eye to the agonizing chaos of this island. It seemed as though some blind fate, some infinitely ruthless mechanism, was carving and shaping the very fabric of existence. I, along with the research-obsessed Moreau, the alcohol-obsessed Montgomery, and the animal-men bound by instinct and mental shackles, were mercilessly and inexorably torn apart and crushed by the infinite complexity of the ceaseless wheel of fate.”—Chapter 16 of ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’
Wells failed to meet the requirements for his degree and thus lost his scholarship; as a result, he was strapped for cash and moved to Fitzroy, London, to live with his uncle and aunt. He split his time between working as a private tutor and studying at his uncle’s school whenever he could. He married his cousin, Isabel Mary, in 1891, but they divorced four years later; he then married his student, Amy Christine Robbins Jane, in 1895, and they had two sons.
Even during his marriage, Wells had romantic relationships with numerous women; the writer Amber Reeves gave birth to his daughter in 1909, and in 1914, the writer and feminist Rebecca West gave birth to his son.
Wells published a novel he had been working on for some time in 1895. Following ‘Select Conversations with an Uncle’, he published ‘The Time Machine’, ‘The Wonderful Visit’, and the short story collection ‘The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents’; in 1896, he published the collection of short pieces ‘Certain Personal Matters’, and in 1897, ‘The Invisible Man’.
“It was sad to think how fleeting the dreams of human intellect had been. Intellect has committed suicide. Human intellect, which ceaselessly pursued convenience and comfort and sought a harmonious society based on the principles of safety and permanence, finally reached that ideal—only to end up like this.”—Chapter 10 of ‘The Time Machine’
Following ‘When the Sleeper Wakes’ (1899) came ‘Love and Mr. Lewisham’ (1900), ‘The First Men in the Moon’ (1901), which humorously depicts interactions between humans and giant, insect-like aliens living on the moon while satirizing humanity’s bellicose and imperialistic tendencies, and the bestseller ‘Anticipations’ (1901), which envisioned the world of the year 2000. The following year, Wells joined the Fabian Society but resigned after a dispute with George Bernard Shaw, and in 1905, he published ‘A Modern Utopia’.
“Man is an unnatural animal and a mischief-maker of nature. He increasingly defies the harsh and capricious hand of nature that nurtures him.”—Chapter 5 of ‘A Modern Utopia’
Wells energetically published fiction, nonfiction essays, and articles on politics, liberalism, democracy, and social institutions. These included ‘Tono-Bungay’ (1909), ‘Floor Games’ (1911), ‘The Great State: Essays in Construction’ (1912), ‘An Englishman Looks at the World’ (1914), and ‘The War That Will End War’ (1914); following ‘The Outline of History’ (1920), he published ‘A Short History of the World’ (1922) for a general audience.
Wells collaborated with his son, George P. Wells—a zoologist and writer—and biologist Julian Huxley to publish ‘The Science of Life’ (1930); that same year, he met Tagore in Geneva, Switzerland, and discussed modern civilization, government, and education. After publishing ‘The Shape of Things to Come’ (1933), he released ‘The Holy Terror’ (1939) and ‘The New World Order’ (1939), and in 1945, he published his final work, ‘Mind at the End of Its Tether’.
H. G. Wells died on August 13, 1946, at his home in Regent’s Park, London. In the preface to the 1941 edition of ‘The War in the Air’ (first published in 1908, revised in 1921), Wells wrote:
“Readers, I urge you to take another look at the warning I issued twenty years ago. Is there anything I need to add to that preface now? If so, it would be nothing but my epitaph. When the time comes, I shall certainly have it inscribed thus: ‘I told you so, you fools.’”
Work Commentary: ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’
In ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’, published in 1896, Wells explores the meaning of society and community, human nature and identity, the act of “playing God,” and Darwinian perspectives. The background knowledge and perspectives underlying this work were clearly acquired by Wells while studying biology and evolutionary theory under Huxley at the Science Teachers’ College. Immediately after the novel’s publication, a controversy erupted in Britain over animal experimentation, and the following year, the “British Union Against Vivisection” was formed.
Late 19th-century Britain was a battleground for the total clash between progress and conservatism, labor and capital, conscience and imperialism—all driven by rapid industrialization. Given the miserable lives of the common people, the rise of the labor and socialist movements, the issue of Irish home rule, the Bulgarian-Turkish crisis, the surge of patriotism sparked by the invasion of Sudan, and the political rivalry between Gladstone and Disraeli—it seems only natural that Wells, who came from a working-class background, would reject oppressive religion, denounce humanity’s imperialistic nature, and advocate for the importance of reshaping human nature through education.
“This exclusivity [of the wealthy] undoubtedly stems from their high level of education and refinement, as well as from the widening gap between them and the rude barbarism of the poor. … If this gap widens further—as the duration and cost of higher education for the wealthy increase, and as they become more captivated by a cultured lifestyle and the facilities supporting it continue to expand—…” — Chapter 5 of ‘The Time Machine’
Due to the work’s boldness and intrigue, it has been adapted into films on several occasions: in 1933 as ‘Island of Lost Souls’, in 1977 under the same title as the original, and in 1996 as a film starring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer. The work’s influence was so great that it spawned parodies and sequels; Brian W. Aldiss even featured a character named Dr. Moreau in his novel ‘Moreau’s Other Island’ (1980). In Andrew Swan’s works, human-animal hybrids are sometimes described as “Moreaus.”
Dr. Moreau, as portrayed in Alan Moore’s comic book, is so intriguing that it could be considered a comical sequel to the original. In this comic, Moreau’s name is Alphonse, and having survived the trials of the original story, he continues his experiments in the English countryside, creating cat-men, bear-men, toad-men, and rabbit-men. Edward Frendick also appears as a mad outsider, constantly under surveillance by Morro’s animal-humans. There is even a joke that the virus that destroys the Martians in Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds’ was actually created by Dr. Morro.
The Ethics of Biological Experimentation
The narrator of this novel is Edward Frendick, a wandering, upper-middle-class bachelor, and the preface is written in the form of a letter from his nephew.
No one believes the protagonist’s bizarre account of his adventures after returning from an 11-month disappearance; the story—which includes an escape from a shipwreck in the South Pacific, strange events on an island reached after many twists and turns, and a plot that ultimately reveals the events to be the result of animal experimentation—still offers many thought-provoking insights even today, more than 100 years after its publication.
Setting aside the question of whether the premise—surgically modifying animals to resemble humans—is realistic (in terms of feasibility, it is far more realistic than ‘The Time Machine’, and even more plausible given 21st-century DNA manipulation technology), the cruelty of biological experiments that disregard the suffering and lives of animals compels us to reflect on human cruelty.
“It’s because the suffering is visible to your eyes and audible to your ears that it makes you uncomfortable; it’s because you yourself are tormented by suffering; it’s because suffering arouses your sense of guilt; it’s because, so to speak, you are an animal—that’s why you can more clearly imagine what animals feel.”— “14. Dr. Moreau Explains”
When we consider the victims of the Iraq War, the industrial cruelty exposed by the recent U.S. beef scandal, or the reality of slaughter in certain regions, “unknown suffering” often tends not to be recognized as suffering at all. Some argue that if the amount of suffering felt by a living being could be quantified, the magnitude of that suffering would directly correspond to the extent of that individual’s dignity. While we cannot directly compare human dignity with animal dignity, it is possible to discuss the relative levels of dignity between humans and animals such as dogs and cattle.
While pain can be reduced through the use of anesthetics, we cannot help but also consider the dignity of life itself, separate from that. At the extremes of this line of thought coexist a nihilistic conclusion that views all life as merely a collection of atoms, and a realist view that humans are merely a part of the food chain. After all, aren’t humans themselves ultimately being sacrificed by nature or civilization?
The Hwang Woo-suk scandal a few years ago served as a wake-up call to the Korean scientific community regarding the importance of research ethics. A culture that prioritizes results over process can backfire as a fatal boomerang, just as Wells warned.
Human Nature and Identity
In this work, can the “half-humanized animals” or “half-animal humans” modified by Dr. Moreau truly be called human? If we consider the ability to use language, the capacity for thought, and bipedal locomotion to be characteristics of humans, there is room to view Moreau’s creations as beings possessing human attributes.
“Their simple form of respect was based primarily on the ability to inflict fatal injuries on their opponents. “— “21. The Return of the Animal-Men”
The observation that the animal world, where hierarchy is determined by the degree of aggression, and human society, where respect is based on the extent of power and wealth, do not seem vastly different is one that deserves widespread agreement. Even if emotions such as consideration or compassion are considered the exclusive domain of humans, this is not necessarily the case when we look at modern society, where indifference and coldness toward our own kind are on the rise.
This is similar to the question, “Is it human?” that arises when considering robots in science fiction films that possess the ability to reason and have a physical structure similar to humans. Perhaps it is more important to honestly acknowledge human imperfection and seek out true humanity.
“This habit of men and women becoming absorbed in joy and pain, my friend, is nothing other than the mark of beasts…….
It is nothing but a sign that they were beasts to begin with! Pain, pain and joy—these are needed only while we struggle in the mire.”— “14. Dr. Moro Explains”
Religion and Imperialism
‘Their sins will grow day by day. Let us leave them to live in folly until the time is ripe. Let them not know that I am the Master.’ ‘Your plan is delightful, Master.’”— “21. The Return of the Animal-Men”
In the story, “I” declares that he will kill everyone except for the loyal dog-men—a satire on Christianity and the Last Judgment—but Wells openly satirizes religion throughout the entire work. The plot in which Dr. More meets a catastrophic end while imitating the image of the Creator can be interpreted as a warning that “such consequences follow when one imitates God.”
The scene where Frendick acts like Jesus to ensure his own survival may make readers uncomfortable. Wells criticizes the oppressive nature of religion and the disconnect between its ideals and reality, revealing his own perspective as a proponent of real-world socialism.
Even the “law” revered by the animal-men is, from their perspective, nothing more than a bothersome set of rules. It is also interesting to reflect on the emergence and evolution of law in human society through the lens of the animal-men’s “law.” In modern times, the law has become so overly complex that it sometimes feels as though it is monitoring the individual’s every move.
“I wanted to slaughter them. I wanted to set traps and fight them with a knife. If I’d had enough bullets, I would have set out to slaughter them right away.”— “21. The Return of the Animal-Men”
Left alone, Frendick even kills a few of the dangerous Animal-Men to ensure his own survival. In works where no overwhelming enemy—such as the Martians in ‘The War of the Worlds’—appears, the protagonist himself may be the most violent entity. The characters of Moro and Frendick resemble Britain’s imperialist actions at the time.
“None of them possess a calm, rational mind. It seems as though their animal nature is raging within them. It seems that the degeneration of the people of this island nation will soon be reenacted on a massive scale.”— “22. In Solitude”
Wells may have been reminded of the animal-men created by Morro when he observed his compatriots, who were prone to jingoism and easily aroused. However, he tended to leave a glimmer of hope at the end, and in this work as well, he concludes by hinting at hope through a reference to one of the “twinkling stars in the sky.”
“I do not know why I derive boundless peace and comfort from the twinkling stars in the sky. That comfort and hope—which we must seek beyond our inner animal nature—must be found not in our daily affairs, vulgarities, and worries, but in those vast, immutable laws. I cannot live without such hope.”— “22. In Solitude”
Two years after the publication of this work, Wells wrote ‘The War of the Worlds’, a story in which Martians emerge from one of the “twinkling stars in the sky” to threaten humanity. Meanwhile, a note of gratitude to those who assisted in the publication of the complete translation of this essay and contributed to its publication appears at the end of the original text.
