Shruti Sonani

Imagining the Future: A Critical Science Fiction Reading of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells Abstract This study critically examines The Time Machine as a foundational work of science fiction, emphasizing its status as a novella that integrates scientific speculation with social and evolutionary critique. Wells employs the concept of time travel not merely as a narrative device but as a methodological tool to project contemporary Victorian anxieties into a distant future. The division of humanity into the Eloi and the Morlocks is interpreted as an evolutionary outcome of industrial class stratification, revealing the author’s engagement with Darwinian thought and social theory. Furthermore, the novella challenges linear notions of progress by depicting a future characterized by degeneration rather than advancement. Through its frame narrative and speculative logic, The Time Machine establishes science fiction as a serious literary form capable of philosophical inquiry into technolo...