What would you do if no one could see you? In this gripping H.G. Wells story, a brilliant scientist named Griffin discovers how to become invisible — but instead of using his genius for good, he turns into a lawless, lonely criminal. A perfect lesson on how great power without conscience is dangerous.
Author
H.G. Wells — the famous English “father of science fiction.”
Genre
Science fiction / mystery — based on his novel The Invisible Man.
Main character
Griffin — a gifted but eccentric and unscrupulous scientist.
Setting
London streets, a shop, and the quiet village of Iping in England.
The mysterious footprints (the title explained)
The story opens with a puzzling sight. Two boys in London are amazed to see fresh, muddy footprints of bare feet appearing on the steps of a house — but there is no person, no body, attached to those feet! The footprints seem to come from nowhere, grow fainter, and finally disappear. This eerie scene gives the lesson its title, “Footprints without Feet.” The explanation is that a man has become invisible, and only the mud on his feet makes his steps briefly visible. This opening hooks the reader and introduces the central wonder of the tale — invisibility.
Who is Griffin?
The invisible man is Griffin, a brilliant scientist. After years of secret experiments, he discovered a way to change the human body’s refractive index so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light. As a result the body becomes transparent and invisible. Griffin first tested the formula on himself and succeeded. But although he was a genius, he was also lawless, selfish, short-tempered, and dishonest. He used his amazing discovery not to help mankind but to escape responsibility, steal, and harm others. Wells uses him to show that intelligence without morality leads to ruin.
Griffin sets his landlord’s house on fire
Griffin’s troubles began with his own landlord. The landlord disliked him and tried to evict him from the rooms. To take revenge, Griffin set the house on fire. To escape unseen from the angry landlord and the scene of his crime, he removed all his clothes and became completely invisible. This is how his strange, wandering life as a homeless invisible man began.
The cold misery of being invisible
Being invisible was not the freedom Griffin imagined. It was the cold season in London. Walking naked and barefoot in the freezing weather was painful and miserable. He could not wear clothes, because clothes would make him visible. His feet picked up mud, leaving the famous footprints. Hungry and cold, Griffin slipped into a big London store (Drury Lane) after closing time. There he ate food, wrapped himself in warm clothes and blankets, and slept comfortably. But the next morning, before he could escape, the shop assistants arrived. To get away he had to throw off all the clothes again and flee naked and cold into the winter streets — once more invisible, but once more freezing.
Robbing the theatrical company
Still cold and desperate for clothes, Griffin next entered the shop of a theatrical company. There he found bandages, dark glasses, a false nose, a big hat, and a large overcoat. He wrapped his whole head in bandages and dressed himself so that he could finally appear in public without being noticed for his invisibility. Before leaving, he robbed the shopkeeper of all his money by attacking him from behind, knocking him down so that the man could not see who had hit him. With this stolen money, Griffin left London and travelled to the countryside.
The strange guest at Iping
Griffin arrived at a quiet little village called Iping and took two rooms at the local inn. His bandaged face, dark glasses, and strange appearance made the villagers very curious and suspicious. He told the landlady, Mrs Hall, that he had come to be alone and disliked being disturbed. Although he was an odd and unwelcome guest, Mrs Hall tolerated him because he paid in advance. But Griffin soon ran out of money. To get more, he committed a burglary at the clergyman’s house — the very early morning theft where, mysteriously, money kept moving but no thief was seen.
Exposed and chased away
Suspicion fell on Griffin when the curate (clergyman) reported the theft of money during the night, with no thief to be found. Around the same time, Mrs Hall found the scientist’s door wide open in the morning and his rooms empty, though normally he was never up so early. While she was wondering, she was startled when the empty bedclothes and furniture seemed to move on their own. The villagers, especially Mrs Hall, began to feel that something supernatural was happening. When the village constable, Mr Jaffers, came to arrest Griffin on suspicion of theft, Griffin lost his temper. To everyone’s shock, he began removing his bandages, false nose, glasses and wig — revealing that there was a man with no head, no visible body at all! The terrified people watched a headless figure undress completely and turn fully invisible. Jaffers bravely tried to seize him, but how do you hold a man you cannot see? Griffin knocked people aside and escaped, and was never caught. The story ends with Griffin still free and invisible — a lawless, lonely figure roaming unseen.
How invisibility actually “works” in the story
Wells gives a clever pseudo-scientific reason. We see objects because they absorb or reflect light. Griffin claimed he had found a drug that made the body absorb no light and reflect no light — the body became as transparent as clear glass or air, so light passed straight through it and the man could not be seen. This is fiction, of course, but Wells makes it sound believable — which is the magic of good science fiction.
- Griffin — the invisible scientist; clever but cruel, dishonest and friendless.
- Mrs Hall — the landlady of the Iping inn; tolerant at first, then frightened.
- Mr Jaffers — the village constable who tries to arrest Griffin.
- The two boys who first see the muddy footprints without feet.
- Griffin burns his landlord’s house → becomes invisible → raids a London store → robs the theatrical company → settles at Iping → burgles the clergyman → is exposed → escapes.
“Griffin was a brilliant scientist, but he misused his discovery.” Discuss how Griffin’s character leads to his downfall. (Long answer)
- Open with his talent: Griffin was a truly gifted scientist who achieved what no one had — the power of invisibility — through years of dedicated experiment.
- Show the flaw: Sadly, his genius was matched by serious flaws. He was selfish, short-tempered, dishonest and completely without conscience.
- Give evidence: Instead of sharing his discovery for the good of mankind, he set his landlord’s house on fire, stole from a London store and a theatrical shop, attacked the shopkeeper, and burgled a clergyman.
- Link cause and effect: Each crime forced him to keep running, cold and homeless. His own misdeeds, not bad luck, made his life miserable and lonely.
- Conclude with the lesson: Griffin proves that knowledge without morality is dangerous. A great mind used for selfish, criminal ends destroys both the man and his gift.
Remember Griffin’s crime trail with the word “FIRST”: Fire (landlord’s house), Invisible (escapes), Raids (London store), Steals (theatrical shop & clergyman), Town of Iping (exposed and escapes). One word, the whole plot!
Don’t confuse the order of events — the fire comes first, then he becomes invisible to escape. Also, Griffin is not a hero or a victim; he is a clever villain. And remember he is never caught — the story has an open, slightly disturbing ending.
Q1. How did Griffin become an invisible man, and how did his invisibility begin to cause trouble?
Answer: Griffin was a brilliant scientist who, after long experiments, discovered a drug that changed his body’s refractive index so it neither absorbed nor reflected light, making him completely transparent and invisible. His trouble began with his landlord, who wanted to evict him. In revenge, Griffin set the landlord’s house on fire. To escape unseen, he removed all his clothes and became invisible. From then on he wandered naked and cold through the winter streets of London, leaving muddy footprints, stealing food and clothes, and committing one crime after another — all because he had used his discovery selfishly rather than for good.
Q2. Describe Griffin’s stay at Iping and how the villagers reacted to him.
Answer: After robbing a theatrical company in London, Griffin took the stolen money and travelled to the quiet village of Iping, where he rented two rooms at the inn. His bandaged face, dark glasses, false nose and large hat made him look very strange, so the villagers grew curious and suspicious. He told the landlady, Mrs Hall, that he wished to be left alone and disliked being disturbed. Mrs Hall tolerated his odd behaviour only because he paid in advance. But when his money ran out, he committed a burglary at the clergyman’s house. Soon his empty, headless body was revealed, and the frightened villagers realised he was something unnatural. When Constable Jaffers tried to arrest him, Griffin threw off his disguise, became fully invisible, and escaped.
Q3. What is the significance of the title “Footprints without Feet”?
Answer: The title refers to the mysterious muddy footprints of bare feet that appear on the steps of a London house, with no visible person making them. Two boys watch in wonder as the prints appear, fade, and vanish. The footprints exist because Griffin, though invisible, walked through mud, and the mud on his bare feet briefly made his steps visible. The title is striking and memorable because it captures the central mystery of the story — a man who is present but cannot be seen. It draws the reader in and perfectly symbolises the eerie, science-fiction nature of the tale.
Q4. What lesson or message does the story convey about science and human nature?
Answer: The story teaches that scientific knowledge and great talent are valuable only when used responsibly and for the good of others. Griffin had an extraordinary gift — the power of invisibility — but because he lacked honesty, kindness and a sense of duty, he used it for crime, revenge and selfish gain. As a result he became a lonely, hunted fugitive, cold and friendless. Through Griffin, H.G. Wells warns that power and intelligence without moral values are dangerous, both to society and to the person who possesses them. True greatness lies not just in what we can do, but in how wisely and kindly we choose to use it.
- ✅ Written by H.G. Wells; Griffin is the brilliant but lawless invisible scientist.
- ✅ He became invisible to escape after setting his landlord’s house on fire.
- ✅ Cold and homeless, he raided a London store and robbed a theatrical company, then moved to Iping.
- ✅ Suspected of theft, he was exposed before Mrs Hall and Constable Jaffers, then escaped and was never caught.
- ✅ Theme: misuse of science — great power without conscience leads to ruin.
Book a free demo class