摘 要

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction of H.G.Wells and The Time Machine 1

1.2 An overview of eco-criticism 1

1.3 Need for the study 3

2. Literature Review 4

2.1 Literature review of eco-criticism 4

2.2 Literature review of The Time Machine 4

3. The Eco-critical Analysis of The Time Machine 6

3.1 The embodiment of the natural ecological crisis 6

3.1.1 Ecological crisis from the first time travel 7

3.1.2 Ecological crisis from last two time travel 8

3.2 The embodiment of the social ecological crisis 9

3.2.1 Social form of the Eloi 9

3.2.2 Social form of the Morlock 11

3.3 The embodiment of the spiritual ecological crisis 12

3.3.1 Collapse of human civilization through time traveller’s thoughts 13

3.3.2 Collapse of ethnic ethics between the Eloi and the Morlock 13

4.Conclusion 15

References 16

Acknowledgements 17

Abstract

The Time Machine is one of the most remarkable works of the illustrious British novelist Herbert George Wells. The novel uses horrible description and intricate plots to present a shocking adventure fantasy. Analyzing the novel from many angles, many scholars affirmed the contribution of the work to the development of science fiction literature. Study of The Time Machine from the eco-critical angle is particularly meaningful and important, nevertheless there are few related studies.

From the perspective of eco-criticism, this thesis analyzes the novel through three points: natural ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology, as well as digging the evidences that reflect the author's ecological thoughts, and then explains the author's prophecy and concern for the ultimate human environment. Combined with the analysis of the social form between the Morlock and Eloi, this thesis also reveals the negative impact of the ecological crisis on the future culture, society, ethics and thoughts of mankind. Therefore, the thesis is expected to inspire scholars more motivation to study eco-criticism. It is aimed to push them to combine eco-criticism with the concerns about the future ecology of the earth embodied in science fiction. Meanwhile, it may ring the alarm of contemporary people's excessive demand on the environment.

Keywords: The Time Machine; eco-criticism; natural ecology; social ecology; spiritual ecology

中文摘要

时间机器是英国著名小说家赫伯特乔治威尔斯最成功、最杰出的代表作之一。该小说运用近乎恐怖的手法和错综复杂的情节展示了一个震撼人心的科幻历险故事。众多学者肯定了该作品对科幻文学发展所作的贡献，并从诸多角度进行分析。从生态批评的角度分析时间机器的研究意义尤为显著，然而相关研究甚少。

本文从生态批评的角度，通过小说中的自然生态、社会生态和精神生态三个切入点来进行研究，分析那些体现了作者的生态思想的有关确凿证据，解释作者对人类终极环境的预言和关怀。本文结合了对莫洛克人和埃洛伊人的社会形态分析，揭示了生态危机对人类未来的文化、社会、伦理、思想的消极影响。因此，本文能激励学者们对生态批评的研究，并且结合科幻小说文学中体现的对地球未来生态的担忧，敲响当代人们对环境过度依赖和索取的警钟。

关键词：《时间机器》；生态批评；自然生态；社会生态；精神生态

Introduction

1.1 Introduction of H.G.Wells and The Time Machine

Hebert George Wells is an illustrious British novelist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He has created more than 100 works in his life, covering science, literature, history, society and politics. He is a typical prolific novelists in modern times. His science fiction novels have far-reaching influence on the field, such as "time travel", "alien invasion" and "anti-utopia". These themes are the mainstream topics in the science fiction during 20^th century. His work has profound scientific knowledge and future predictions as well.

The Time Machine is the best-known work of H. G. Wells[1]. The story tells the time traveler invented a time machine that can ride anywhere in the past and the future at any time latitude. When he came to AD 802701 by the machine, what showed in front of him was a strange and fearful scene: humanity is divided into two races, the Eloi and the Morlock. In addition, the Earth's environment has also undergone a sharp deterioration, suggesting the author's deep consideration of the sustainable development of the Earth.

The novel was hailed by one famous newspaper, the Daily Chronicle, as “something new under the sun” (Wells, 1964: 1), which made Wells attracted world’s eyes and gained great fame during the next fifty years. Many rank it as Wells’s best book.

The book predominantly mirrors the thinking of evolution and class opposition. However, from the perspective of eco-criticism, H. G. Wells predicted the collapse of human ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology, which has another research significance.

1.2 An overview of eco-criticism

Since the 1960s, mankind has faced a serious ecological crisis: environmental

pollution, depletion of natural resources, species extinction, climate warming and a large population explosion[2]. Faced with these disturbing and shocking ecological crises, some scholars from different fields such as economics, philosophy and culture began to search for and study the root causes and corresponding solutions that led to this ecological crisis. In this context, the basic theories of ecological criticism including land ethics, ecofeminism and postcolonial ecological criticism came into being.

In the late 19th and 20th centuries, human’s damage to nature was up to an unprecedented level. Obvious environmental changes and the abuse of resourses have attracted attention of different fields, like literary writing and studying. Meanwhile, when the works containing ecological ideas were born, scholars gradually adopted ecological theories as their own criterion and formed many inter-disciplines, including eco-criticism.

The concept “eco-criticism” was first appeared in 1978 by an American Scholar William Rueckert. He created the word “eco-criticism” in his paper Literature and Ecology: an Experiment in eco-criticism to signify “the application of ecology and ecological thoughts to the study of literature” (Rueckert, 1996:114)[3].

There are many scholars studying eco-criticism at home and abroad. Therefore, there will be some differences in opinion between different scholars. In 1994, Cheryll Glotfelty defined the compound word as: