H.G. Wells’s 1895 novel, The Time Machine, depicts the far future evolution of humanity into two distinct species: the Eloi and the Morlocks. This division, usually interpreted by means of the lens of social Darwinism prevalent in Wells’s time, displays anxieties about class stratification and the potential penalties of unchecked industrialization. Whereas not explicitly termed “racial” within the novel’s language, the clear organic and social distinctions between the Eloi and the Morlocks increase questions on the way forward for humanity and the potential for evolutionary divergence to create new types of social hierarchy.
The novel’s portrayal of those divergent human descendants serves as a strong social commentary. It explores the potential risks of unchecked technological development and the widening hole between social lessons. By depicting the Eloi’s childlike innocence and the Morlocks’ subterranean savagery, Wells prompts reflection on the moral and social implications of progress and the potential for humanity to devolve each bodily and morally. Understanding this bifurcation presents insights into late Victorian anxieties surrounding social change and the long-term penalties of business society.
