The Story — Footprints Without Feet

Two boys walking along a London street stopped in astonishment. In the soft mud near the steps of a house, they could see the fresh imprints of a pair of bare human feet. But there was no person in sight — no one standing there, no one walking away. As they stared, another footprint appeared — then another — forming in the mud of its own accord, as if pressed down by an invisible weight. Imagery The two boys followed the tracks, fascinated and bewildered, until the marks grew fainter and finally vanished altogether on the drier pavement beyond.

The explanation, once understood, was surprisingly straightforward. The boys had been following a scientist named Griffin, who had spent years conducting a series of remarkable experiments to prove that the human body could be made transparent as glass. He had finally succeeded — by swallowing certain rare chemical preparations, his body had become completely invisible, though it remained as solid as it had always been. Metaphor Yet for all his scientific brilliance, Griffin was a deeply lawless person — a man who regarded other people's rules as obstacles, not obligations.

His landlord had recently grown suspicious of him and attempted to have him removed from his lodgings. In a fit of resentful revenge, Griffin set fire to the house before departing. To escape without being seen or identified, he had to strip off all his clothing — for only his flesh had been rendered invisible; fabric and other materials remained visible. So it was that one of England's most gifted scientists found himself barefoot and naked in the middle of a wintry London, cold, homeless, and invisible — until, stepping in some mud, he left those telltale footprints. Irony

To escape the freezing cold, Griffin slipped unnoticed into a large London department store that was in the process of closing for the night. Once the last employees had departed and the doors were shut, he helped himself freely to warm clothes, food, wine, and whatever else he desired — without paying for any of it, without the slightest concern for the owners. He dressed himself, ate well, and settled comfortably to sleep on a pile of quilts in a corner. Irony For one night, the invisible man was warm and fed.

But his comfortable night had a careless ending. He slept too long, and when the morning assistants began arriving, he was forced to flee in panic. To escape without being identified, he had to tear off the very clothes he had just put on — becoming invisible and naked again, and running out into the January cold once more. This time he made for the theatrical district of Drury Lane, hoping to find disguise materials at a costume shop. There he found bandages, a large hat, dark glasses, and a false nose. He equipped himself with these and walked out — but not before callously attacking the shopkeeper from behind and stealing whatever money he could find.

Griffin next travelled to the remote village of Iping, where he booked two rooms at the local inn. The arrival of such a peculiar-looking stranger — bandaged forehead, dark glasses, false nose — immediately set the entire village talking. Mrs Hall, the innkeeper's wife, made every effort to be friendly and helpful, but Griffin rebuffed all attempts at conversation. He told her bluntly that he had come for solitude and did not wish to be disturbed. He claimed an accident had disfigured his face. She accepted his explanation — especially since he had paid in advance — and resolved to overlook his eccentric ways.

Shortly after, a clergyman and his wife were startled awake by sounds of someone rifling through the study. When the clergyman rushed in, the room was empty — yet the housekeeping money had vanished. The village began to whisper about theft and witchcraft. Suspicion fell on the strange scientist when he suddenly produced money after having previously admitted he had none. The village constable was quietly summoned. Mrs Hall, growing bolder, confronted Griffin directly: "I want to know what you've done to my furniture — and how you walked out of an empty, locked room." Irony

Griffin, furious at being cornered, shouted at the stunned onlookers: "You don't understand who or what I am! Very well — I'll show you." In under a minute he tore off his bandages, glasses, false nose, and hat. The horrified crowd found themselves looking at a man with no head — a headless figure standing in their midst. Imagery When the constable, Mr Jaffers, arrived to arrest him, he found himself wrestling with someone he could literally not see — as Griffin stripped off garment after garment, becoming progressively more invisible. A shirt flew into the air. Then there was nothing — only blows landing on the constable from an invisible source. Finally, Jaffers was knocked unconscious, and Griffin escaped — unseen, uncaught, and more dangerous than ever. Symbolism