With Montgomery’s introduction, the reader is already exposed to the attribute of “institutional power” which Connell names as one feature of hierarchical schemes (cf. silly ass who owns her – he’s captain too’” (100-1). Montgomery introduces him by explaining “‘. The hierarchy in here is especially illustrated by Captain Davis.

The first microcosm to be scrutinized is the community on the ship which at the beginning of the story saves Prendick from his impasse on the Lady Vain. Thereby, also performative aspects of these characters are taken into account. Raewyn Connell’s definition of hegemonic systems shall provide a framework, which serves to identify primarily striking characters matching Connell’s systems and their relations within these social microcosms. Afterwards hierarchies within the Beast Folk are illustrated. Thus, the society on the ship Ipecacuanha works as a starting point of analysis, followed by the examination of the overall hierarchy on the island. The social microcosms, which shall be examined, are either classified by their geographic or cultural confines. By illustrating their malfunctions, he shows that such hierarchical forms fail to persist and Wells thereby implicitly critisises the social hierarchy system. I want to argue that Wells creates microcosms of society which represent certain forms of hierarchies in The Island of Doctor Moreau. Therefore, the question arises, in how far Wells’ critique on authorities and hierarchical structures can also be detected in his book The Island of Doctor Moreau. However, there also seem to be topics of subjection and hierarchy within the story. In the Island of Doctor Moreau, in contrast, society appears to be more complex due to the greater network of character constellations. The Time Machine, for instance, could be read as a critique on the expanding gap between working class and upper class. Although these books belong to Wells’ later works, his first books also seem to contain such forms of critique. He seeks to replace these old authorities and established institutions with a new world order that works for the sake of all men (cf. e.g., 1: 13-15), trying to motivate each individual person to think for himself. Furthermore, in his later work The World of William Clissold, which is often considered a rather philosophical work portraying Wells’ ideas on society, the protagonist illustrates his critique on malfunctions of authoritarian institutions such as churches, monarchies or old-fashioned schoolmasters (cf. In The Outline of History Wells states that societies created by subjection can never work whereas an equal voice for everybody is a necessary feature for a stable society (cf. Though, in many of his works, apart from science, his political view as a socialist also seems to play an important role. Wells is predominantly known for his revolutionary science fiction novels.

Wells the island of doctor moreau