The Island of Dr Moreau
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science-fiction novel written by H.G. Wells, addressing ideas of society and community, human nature and identity, religion, Darwinism, eugenics, and the dangers of unchecked and irresponsible scientific research.
The novel
When the novel was written in the late 19th century, England's scientific community was engulfed by debates on animal vivisection. Interest groups were even formed to tackle the issue: British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection was formed two years after the publishing of the novel.
The novel is presented as a discovered manuscript, introduced by the narrators' nephew; it then 'transcribes' the tale.
Summary
After being rescued from shipwreck and brought to a mysterious island, Edward Prendick discovers that its inhabitants are the macabre result of experimental vivisections, the work of the visionary Dr. Moreau. In an attempt to create a race without malice, the doctor has transformed various beasts into strange looking man-creatures, "human in shape, and yet human beings with the strangest air about them of some familiar animal."
Prendick slowly begins to recall the stories of infamous Moreau, known for his experimental science and work with morbid growths. Exposed by a journalist who published a pamphlet called The Moreau Horrors!, Moreau was shunned by the scientific community and forced to leave England.
Moreau and his assistant, Montgomery, eventually share more and more with Prendick concerning their eleven years of work on the island. The animals are held in check by a series of prohibitions which have been "woven into the texture of [the beast's] minds beyond any possibility of disobedience or dispute." These creatures have deemed these prohibitions as "the Law," which are repeated ad nauseam.
Not to go on All-Fours; that is the Law. Are we not men? Not to suck up Drink; that is the Law. Are we not men? Not to eat Fish or Flesh; that is the Law. Are we not men? Not to claw the Bark of Trees; that is the Law. Are we not men? Not to chase other Men; that is the Law. Are we not men?
According to Moreau, the Law is ever repeated and ever broken as it battles in the creatures' minds against the deep-seated, ever-rebellious cravings of their animal natures.
Apart from the Law, Moreau had infected the creature's dwarfed brains with a kind of deification of himself. Moreau explains that he fashions and attempts to educate the creatures only to find that when his influence is taken away, the "beast creeps back in and begins to assert itself again" through a reversion process. Once the beast-men begin to revert, Moreau releases them into the wild, taking no interest in them due to a sickening sense of failure. The loosed creatures form a community—"a mockery of rational life" according to Dr. Moreau—in an attempt to maintain a sense of humanity.
Prendick has no choice but to remain on the island as Moreau's guest. As he continues to observe life on the island, Prendick, along with Montgomery, eventually discover instances where the law has been broken: scratches on trees, creatures sucking water from a stream, and several mutilated and half-eaten rabbits. Realizing that one of the beasts has tasted blood, Moreau confronts the perpetrator, a rebellious leopard-man. When accused of the offense, the leopard-man assaults Dr. Moreau and is killed in defense.
The slaying is the catalyst to a downward spiral of events. Moreau's most recent experiment, a puma, escapes before the transformation is complete. Moreau pursues the escaped puma and both are fatally wounded in a confrontation. With the knowledge of their creator's death, the animals begin to rebel, continually breaking the Law and imposing anarchy. Montgomery is forced to kill several of the beasts in self-defense. Overcome with a feeling of hopelessness, Montgomery becomes drunk and leaves Moreau's compound only to be slaughtered by some of the feral beasts. Prendick attempts to rescue Montgomery, but in his haste, accidentally sets the compound on fire.
With both Moreau and Montgomery slain and the compound burned to the ground, Prendick is forced to live for a time among the beasts. Appalled by the creatures' reversion process to their bestial natures, Prendick eventually makes his way back to the burned compound, surviving in Robinson Crusoe style until he happens upon a stranded sloop and is finally able to make his way out to sea.
Prendick is eventually rescued eleven months after his original disappearance at sea, and returns to England. His attempt to relay his experiences are written off as madness, the assumed effect of his tenure on the island.
Movie adaptations
The novel has been made into a movie on three occasions: 1933 (as Island of Lost Souls), 1977, and 1996. Moreau was played by, respectively, Charles Laughton, Burt Lancaster, and Marlon Brando.
The most recent adaptation alters some of the original story to facilitate a more modern feel. Moreau's experimentation is focused on the altering of DNA, as opposed to vivisection. The Beast People's physical condition is maintained by a series of serums, while their moral and humanitary conditions are held in check by not only the Law, but also with brutal electroshock tactics. The creatures eventually cast off the shackles of the Law and the imposed serums, and eventually revert back to their beastial forms.
Popular culture
- Dr. Moreau is also featured in the Alan Moore's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. While never referenced in the novel, Moreau's first name is attributed as Alphonse in the comic series.
- On their 1983 album Good For Your Soul, the eclectic New Wave band, Oingo Boingo, included a tribute to The Island of Dr. Moreau with the song No Spill Blood.
- In The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror XIII, one of three featured short stories is titled The Island of Dr. Hibbert—a parody of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
- In the Sliders episode "This Slide of Paradise" (1997), the main characters visit a compound where Dr. Vargas (played by Michael York) engages in Dr. Moreau-style experiments producing animal/human hybrids.