The Invisible Man by H G Wells is one among the first popular science fiction novels. Published in 1897, the novel revolves around the life and death of a scientist who can become invisible. Griffin is the name of this scientist.
Griffin is a gifted scientist who decides to use his abilities in a rather sinister way. He carries out research in the field of optics and devises an experiment to become invisible. However, his insanity grows with the success of his experiment and this leads him to make increasingly foolish blunders. He uses his invisibility to loot and murder anyone who stood in his way.
In the end, he realizes that his powers are rather useless. Though he could terrify people, loot and kill them, he is not able to enjoy his spoils. He feels terribly lonely and isolated from the rest of the world. Griffin’s body finally becomes visible after he is killed. Though people come to know that he was terribly lonely and misunderstood often, nobody feels an ounce of sympathy because of his evil deeds. Griffin is known by many names in the novel. At first, he is the Stranger who arrives at Iping, then he is the Voice that startles everybody.
The invisible Man was influential in establishing Wells as the ‘father of science fiction’. There have been many invisible characters since this novel, like Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman. Unlike Griffin, Susan Storm uses her invisibility for good deeds.
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