# Mr. H. G. Wells — Heretics character guide

> Mr. H. G. Wells in Heretics by G. K. Chesterton.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Wells, V Mr. H. G. Wells, Wells

**First appearance:** 0006-v-mr-h-g-wells-and-the-giants

## Snapshot

The author who once killed the universe for a joke in The Time Machine and now fusses seriously over the London omnibus and the day after tomorrow.

## Who they are

Chesterton watches Wells trade cosmic frivolity for parochial earnestness, growing more careful as his subject shrinks from the end of the world to the beginning of the world. The comedy is affectionate but pointed: the boldest artist of 1895 has become the most didactic, writing with a purpose he would once have laughed at. Wells matters because he embodies the book's worry that modern thinkers abandon the large questions just when they claim to be most serious.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_rivalry_

Wells is a major intellectual adversary, with the narrator challenging his utopian and scientific ideas.

### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/plato)

_rivalry_

Wells is contrasted with Plato to highlight the difference between modern utopianism and classical philosophy.

### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/plato)

_rivalry_

Wells is contrasted with Plato to highlight the difference between modern utopianism and classical philosophy.

## In the story

### [II: On the Negative Spirit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/ii-on-the-negative-spirit)

Chesterton critiques Wells's 'Mankind in the Making' for focusing on parenthood without first defining what is good in being a man, calling it an example of unconscious shirking.

### [Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/v-mr-h-g-wells-and-the-giants)

Praised for his intellectual humility and continuous growth, having moved from sensational to more conventional opinions.

### [Concluding Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/xx-concluding-remarks-on-the-importance-of-orthodoxy)

Described as moving from frivolous art to serious dogmatism, becoming more parochial and constructive.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_h_g_wells
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters