Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Invisible Man, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom, Anonymity, and Immorality
The Future vs. the Past
Greed and Self-Interest
Skepticism vs. Belief
Humans, Science, and Nature
Summary
Analysis
Doctor Kemp is sitting in his office overlooking Burdock. The bookshelves are piled high with books and “scientific publications.” Doctor Kemp himself is tall, slim, and fair-haired. He hopes to soon be admitted as a fellow of the Royal Society. Looking out his window, Doctor Kemp sees a short man running through the field, and assumes it is “another of those fools” who keep talking about the Invisible Man.
Doctor Kemp observes that the man is clearly in a great rush, but that he is moving very slowly, as if his pockets were weighed down with lead. As the man comes nearer, it is clear from his face that he feels abject terror. Suddenly everyone in the village begins to lock themselves inside, while others shout: “The Invisible Man is coming! The Invisible Man!”
This scene could come straight out of a horror story. In the minds of local people, the Invisible Man has been turned into a monster, the kind of mythic figure children fear.
Themes
