Technology, Class Division and Evolutionary Concerns in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine

Abstract

H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (1895), often regarded as the first modern science fiction novel, explores the possibility of time travel alongside profound socio-political and evolutionary concerns. Through the imagination of Eloi an d Morlocks in the year 802,701 A.D., Wells critiques the class divide of Victorian England, linking it to Darwin’s theory of natural selection. This paper examines the novel not merely as a futuristic fantasy but as a text deeply embedded in debates around science, technology, industrialisation and class struggle. Wells anticipates the paradox of technological advancement—while it promises comfort and progress, it simultaneously risks creating weakness, inequality and dependence. The novel thus becomes both a scientific speculation and a social allegory, portraying the ambivalent consequences of innovation and the essential role of compassion in the survival of humanity.