The Invisible Man by H.G.Wells - Summary of Chapter 1

The Strange Man's Arrival

The visitor from the Bramblehurst railway station:

The visitor landed at Bramblehurst railway station. The readers are left to wonder from where he might have come. The weather was bad. It was mid-winter and the first week of February. The wind was strong and it was snowing heavily. He hadn’t got too many things to carry. He arrived at Mrs. Hall’s inn “Coach and Horses” with a small suitcase. His arrival in winter was uncommon. The inn saw very few visitors in winter.  The visitor was not ordinary in his appearance.  His hand was heavily gloved.  He was covered from head to toe. He wore a soft felt hat which covered his entire face except the tip of nose. Probably wearing such big hats was not so uncommon.

The Deal between the stranger and Mrs. Hall:

Mrs. Hall managed the affairs of the inn all by herself. She was the proprietress. She took him to the guest parlour. The stranger did not seem to be tight in money matters. There was no bargaining. He offered a couple of sovereigns and Mrs. Hall was more than satisfied. Mrs. Hall lit the fire in her guest parlour and let the room to attend her other duties. (It was terribly cold outside. The visitor’s clothes were wet. It must have been a bit cold inside also.) 

Mrs. Hall’s happiness:

The readers may wonder why she entertained an unusual customer. Guests to the inn are welcome rain or shine. The visitor who was willing to pay without bargaining wins the owner without any difficulty. A visit of people in winter helps to make some business. Mrs. Hall considered herself doubly lucky. Firstly, in winter very few visit the inn. Secondly the visitor was ready to offer money she charged from him. She decided to play the role of the host to perfection as he was paying them some good money. She was eager to please him and and make him feel comfortable. She began to prepare the meal for the visitor with her own hands.

Mrs. Hall’s first close observations of her guest:

Mrs. Hall fried the bacon. She carried the things necessary to lay the table. She expected the visitor to be waiting for the meal but he was still standing facing the window. He was observing the falling snow. He had not removed his hat and gloves. He seemed to be lost in thought. Mrs hall offered to take his hat and coat and give them a good dry in the kitchen but the visitor refused her request.

As the stranger turned his head to look at her, Mrs. Hall noticed that he wore big blue spectacles with sidelights. He had bushy side-whiskers. They hid his cheeks and face. His features were concealed completely. Weren’t all these confusing enough?

Mrs. Hall was eager to start a conversation but received no encouragement. She laid the table things and left quickly to fetch the other things.

She returned to the parlour, carrying a mustard pot. Her guest was still standing at the window like a statue. She arranged the dinner and announced that his lunch was ready. He did not leave his place until she left the room.

The mustard pot

On reaching the kitchen, Mrs. Hall suddenly remembered she had forgotten to arrange the mustard pot. She filled the mustard pot and carried it regally on a tray into the parlour. She had rapped the door before she entered. She saw a white object disappearing behind the table. She thought her guest was picking something from the floor. She decided to take away the overcoat and the pair of wet boots.

Mrs. Hall’s first shock

As she laid her hand on the man’s hat, she heard him suddenly order her to leave the hat. But the interesting thing was the stranger’s voice was muffled. She turned her head and saw the visitor raising his head, sitting and looking at her. What she saw left her too shocked to utter a word.

The man was covering his lower part of his face with a serviette (a table napkin). She was startled to find the man’s forehead covered in a white bandage (He had removed his big felt hat now). His ears were covered by another bandage. The whole face was covered except the shiny nose. His thick black hair protruded in curious tails and horns, giving him the strangest appearance. Mrs. Hall had never encountered such a strange figure!

It took her some time to recover from the shock. She put the hat back again on the chair by the fire. She left the room quickly carrying his clothes. She seemed to have been stunned by what she had seen. She shivered a little as she closed the door. She was obviously frightened. Her mind was full of things she had just seen. Other things did not attract her attention.

The visitor had his lunch:

The visitor saw her go back and began taking his meal. He was probably suspicious of somebody watching him. He went to the window and pulled the blind down. The dimness of the room made him feel at ease.

Words of sympathy for the visitor

Mrs. Hall was convinced that the visitor must have had a horrible accident which made him cover his face

Mrs. Hall returning to clear lunch

When Mrs. Hall returned to clear the stranger’s lunch, she saw him smoking a pipe. A silk muffler still covered the lower part of his face. Having eaten and drunk to heart’s content and being comfortably warmed, the visitor was less aggressive now. He informed her that he had some luggage at Bramblehurst station and asked her how he could have it sent. The conversation between the two shows that the guest wanted his luggage to be brought urgently. We do not understand what the luggage was and why he needed it urgently. But he was polite to Mrs. Hall. The proprietress replied that a speedier delivery could not be arranged as the road was steep. A carriage met with an accident some time ago, killing a gentleman and his coachman.

Mrs. Hall pulled up

Mrs. Hall was eager to converse with the stranger and she used this opportunity to stress her point that recovery from accident would take a long time. She was probably expecting the visitor to reveal why he had covered his face so fully. She was trying to sympathize with him by narrating how painful it was to meet with an accident and miserable to have bandages changed frequently. She narrated the example of her sister’s son who had cut his arm with a scythe.  But the guest interrupted the narration by asking her to get some matches to light his pipe. Mrs. Hall felt belittled him. She thought that the man was insensitive to her sad story. She was forced to excuse him as he had paid good money for his stay. She was discouraged but concluded that the stranger was sensitive on the topic of operations and bandages. She decided to control her anxiety. She felt irritated with his lack of concern for others’ suffering. 

The visitor remained in the parlour until four o’clock. Mrs. Hall had no reason to break his loneliness. She thought that he might be sitting before the fire smoking or dozing. Once or twice one could hear him talking to himself and pacing the room.

Mrs. Hall and Millie

Millie was Mrs. Hall’s servant girl. She was sluggish. Mrs. Hall frequently pulled her up. She blamed her frequently. The poor girl frequently bore the brunt of her mistress’ anger.

Many Questions

The first chapter leaves us wondering who the strange visitor was. We do not know why he had covered himself so fully. Was it because it was very cold? Why did he not change his wet clothes? Why did he not allow Mrs. Hall to carry out his clothes to dry? Why did he suddenly hid himself when Mrs Hall entered the room to lay the table? Why was he covering the lower part of his face with a serviette? Why was his forehead covered in bandages? He did not allow Mrs. Hall to prolong her conversation. Why was he eager to get his luggage delivered? Mrs. Hall did her best to prove that her hospitality was worth the money she was paid by the visitor. Her curiosity doubled as the chapter concludes. She felt insulted but she was practical. She could not drive out her visitor as she was paid a handsome amount.