Analysis of The Theme of H.G.Wells' 'Love and Mr.Lewisham'.
ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis sebuah novel yang berjudul Love
and Mr. Lewisham karya H. G. Wells. Novel ini menceritakan seorang pria yang
berani mengorbankan segalanya demi wanita yang dia cintai.
Pelaku utama novel ini bernama Mr. Lewisham. Mula-mula dia memusatkan
diri untuk belajar dan bekerja. Lewisham juga mendapat banyak penghargaan ketika
dia masih bersekolah. Namun, fokusnya menjadi terganggu ketika dia bertemu
seorang wanita yang bernama Ethel Henderson. Hidupnya perlahan-lahan mulai
berubah. Dia rela mengorbankan segalanya untuk wanita yang dia cintai. H. G. Wells
menunjukkan bahwa Mr. Lewisham rela bekerja lebih keras dan mengorbankan
pekerjaannya untuk Ethel. Bahkan ketika Ethel kembali ke London, Lewisham
memutuskan untuk mengikutinya. Dia rela meninggalkan sang ibu dan lingkungan
yang ia sukai. Dia juga melepaskan persahabatannya dengan Miss Heydinger demi
menjaga perasaan Ethel.
Dengan membaca novel ini, pembaca dapat merasa bahwa kekuatan cinta itu
sangat besar. Ketika seseorang sedang jatuh cinta, dia dapat melakukan apapun demi
orang yang dia cintai. Setelah menganalisis tema novel ini, saya merasa bahwa saya
dapat mengerti lebih banyak tentang novel tersebut.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
3
3
3
3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME OF H. G. WELLS’
LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of Love and Mr. Lewisham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Biography of H. G. Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
20
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Love and Mr. Lewisham
Mr. Lewisham is a hardworking man. He both studies and works as an
assistant master in the Whortley Proprietary School, Whortley, Sussex. He also
works with Mrs. Munday at a little shop in the West Street. Lewisham focuses on
his studies. He gets lots of achievements from his studies. As a matter of fact,
Lewisham has a target in his life; in six years he will have learnt five or six
languages.
Lewisham meets Ethel. He no longer focuses on his studies and work.
Ethel does not stay in Whortley for a long time. When she goes to London,
Lewisham decides to go there. He leaves his mother and he has to adapt himself to
the new society. Mr. Lewisham then works as a training teacher in South
Kensington. When Lewisham sees Mr. Lagune’s performance, he is very
surprised to see Ethel helping Mr. Lagune. It turns out that she helps Mr. Lagune
because her stepfather, Chaffery, is also in Mr. Lagune’s performances. Lewisham
does not like it because he thinks that they are cheating. Thinking that he can find
a solution, he decides to marry her. Lewisham must work harder than before to
fulfill their needs. He gets a new job from Captain Vigours to teach mathematical
and geometrical drawing. He also works at Balham Green to teach mathematics.
19
Maranatha Christian University
Ethel feels jealous when she reads Miss Heydinger’s letter for Mr.
Lewisham. Ethel and Mr. Lewisham quarrel but fearing that he will hurt her
feeling, he is ready to end his friendship with Miss Heydinger. He sacrifices his
friendship just to make Ethel happy.
Biography of H. G. Wells
H.G. Wells was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, Kent. His father
was a shopkeeper and a professional cricketer, and his mother served from time to
time as a housekeeper at the nearby estate of Uppark. His father’s business failed
and like his brothers, Wells was apprenticed to a draper, spending the years
between 1880 and 1883 in Windsor and Southsea. Later he recorded these years in
Kipps (1905).
In 1883 Wells became an assistant teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.
He obtained a scholarship to the normal school of science in London and studied
biology under T.H. Huxley. However, his interest faltered and in 1887 he left
without a degree. He taught in private schools for four years, not taking his B.S.
degree until 1890. In 1891 he settled in London, married his cousin Isabel, and
continued his career as a teacher in a correspondence college. Starting from 1893,
Wells became a full-time writer. Several years later, Wells left Isabel for one of
his brightest students, Amy Catherine, whom he married in 1895.
As a novelist Wells made his debut with The Time Machine (1895). The
work was followed by such science-fiction classics as The Island of Dr. Moreau
20
Maranatha Christian University
(1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), and The First
Men on the Moon (1901). Love and Mr. Lewisham appeared in 1900, TonoBungay and The History of Mr. Polly in 1909. Between the years 1924 and 1933
Wells lived mainly in France. From 1934 to 1946 he was the International
president of PEN.
Wells lived through World War II in his house in Regent’s Park; he did
not want to leave London. He died in London on August 13, 1946.
(http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm)
21
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Love is one of the most elemental human emotions. It is said that even
wicked people have love. Nobody can describe the true meaning of love precisely
although love is universal. People experience love differently so that it is believed
that there is not a single definition of love that is accepted by everyone. Love may
have a positive effect when it changes someone’s characteristics from bad to good
and makes life more meaningful. Love may boost someone’s confidence and
make the world seem beautiful. However, love can also have a negative impact. It
may make someone become selfish, possessive, and anxious to get what they
want. The most extreme opinion about love is that love is something to feel and
not to define. Whatever the definition is, some people believe that the power of
love is the strongest among all powers. It can make someone willing to do
anything for the one he/she loves. Love can also make people do anything to
reach what they want. Even a person with excessive ambitions for studying may
1
Maranatha Christian University
feel compelled to pursue love when he/she is in love.
I have chosen the novel Love and Mr. Lewisham because the story is
interesting to read. This novel mostly tells about love and sacrifice. Mr. Lewisham
is a man who has a great ambition in his life but when he falls in love, he
gradually sacrifices his ambition to be a lecturer. After reading this novel, whose
theme is closely connected with love, I want to analyse the theme more deeply
using formalism approach.
The author of this novel is H.G. Wells, a novelist who mostly writes
science fiction. However, Love and Mr. Lewisham is not a science fiction; it is
mainly concerned with love. Through this novel, he wants to tell the reader about
his life when he meets his first wife. Love and Mr. Lewisham is an
autobiographical novel. ‘It was his first serious novel of social manners, which he
took much time over. For it is essentially a memorial to his meeting his cousin
Isabel Wells, to be his first wife’. (Lung, n.d)
In my thesis, I would like to discuss the theme of the novel because
through theme I can understand the meaning of the story better. In How to
Analyze Fiction, William Kenney states: ‘Theme is the total meaning discovered
by the writer in the process of writing and by the reader in the process of reading’
(94). The theme of the novel is revealed clearly through the portrayal of the
protagonist, Mr. Lewisham, an ambitious teacher who is no longer very ambitious
for studying after he has fallen in love with Ethel Henderson, a typist.
2
Maranatha Christian University
Statement of the Problem
The problems which I would like to analyse are:
1. What is the theme of Love and Mr. Lewisham?
2. How does the portrayal of the protagonist help to reveal the theme?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of the study are:
1. To show the theme of Love and Mr. Lewisham.
2. To show how the portrayal of the protagonist helps to reveal the
theme.
Method of Research
The method of research is library research. First of all, I begin my analysis
by reading the primary text, Love and Mr. Lewisham, by H. G. Wells. I then
continue by reading several books that can be used to support the analysis. I
search for some references and material from the Internet to support the analysis.
Finally, I gather and use the data for my analysis before I draw the conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
I present this thesis in three chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction,
which contains the Background of the Study, the Purpose of the Study, the
Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two deals with
the analysis of theme through the protagonist of the novel. The Conclusion of the
thesis is presented in Chapter Three. This thesis ends with the Bibliography,
3
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which provides the reader with a list of references that have been used in the
writing and the Appendices, which contain the synopsis of Love and Mr.
Lewisham and a brief biography of the author.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing the theme of H. G. Wells’ novel Love and Mr. Lewisham,
I come to the conclusion that the novelist succeeds in revealing the theme through
Mr. Lewisham, the protagonist of the novel.
Wells has skilfully portrayed the characteristics of Mr. Lewisham before
and after Mr. Lewisham has met and fallen in love with Ethel, a typist who comes
from London. When we compare Wells’ own life and the changes that Mr.
Lewisham experiences in the novel, we see many similarities. The life of Mr.
Lewisham, the protagonist, obviously represents the novelist’s own life. The way
Wells studied, learned foreign languages, and worked, was very similar to the way
Mr. Lewisham does those things. Wells’ efforts to gain achievement in the field of
education and to pursue his career were similar to those of Mr. Lewisham. The
difference lies in the fact that Wells finally succeeded in becoming a well-known
writer whereas Mr. Lewisham fails to attain his goals because he sacrifices a lot
for the sake of Ethel, the woman he loves.
15
Maranatha Christian University
Wells reveals several things to show that Mr. Lewisham is willing to
sacrifice for love. The most important sacrifices are:
1. He is willing to neglect his studies for the sake of Ethel so that he cannot
achieve his goals to gain a university degree and to be a lecturer. This
shows that Mr. Lewisham sacrifices his ambition for the sake of love.
2. He works much harder although the burden is more than he could bear.
This is to fulfill the family’s needs, which he otherwise would be unable to
meet. In this case, he also sacrifices because he does not want Ethel to be
involved in the séances which he considers to be some sort of wicked
trickery. This apparently shows that Mr. Lewisham sacrifices his main
principle of honesty for the sake of love. The novelist also exposes Mr.
Lewisham’s readiness to go against his own principle through Mr.
Lewisham’s action in forgiving Mr. Chaffery, Ethel’s stepfather, who
cheats in Mr. Lagune’s performances.
3. Mr. Lewisham’s leaving his beloved mother, who actually needs his care
and attention very much, also illustrates a great sacrifice that Mr.
Lewisham is willing to do for the sake of meeting his darling, Ethel.
4. Another obvious sacrifice that Mr. Lewisham makes is his readiness to end
his friendship with Miss Heydinger, who is a close friend of his and his
colleague, with whom he frequently shares interests. He does this to
prevent his wife from being jealous.
The theme of the novel, which is “One is willing to sacrifice for love”, is
evidently revealed through the changes that Mr. Lewisham has undergone. Wells
shows that Mr. Lewisham is a dynamic character who changes as the story
16
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develops. Love has changed Mr. Lewisham from being ambitious for studying
into being ambitious for pursuing love. Mr. Lewisham also changes from an
honest man into an unscrupulous person. That Mr. Lewisham is ready to neglect
his relationship with his mother and to end his friendship with Miss Heydinger
also gives ample evidence that Mr. Lewisham’s characteristic has changed.
Ethel, the woman whom Mr. Lewisham loves, is very likely based on
Isabel, Wells’ cousin, whom he loved and married but later divorced. However,
there is not anything about the divorce in the novel. This is in line with the love
theme of the novel that Mr. Lewisham really loves Ethel and makes every effort
to sacrifice for her in order to maintain his good relationship with her.
17
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Belgion, Montgomery H. G. Wells Biography Great Britain: Longmans,
Green and CO LTD, 1953.
Kenney, William. How to Analyze Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1966.
Internet Website
Lung, Richard. H. G. Wells. Scientific romance, ‘free love’ and marriage.
15 Nov 2005. 5 March 2007 (http://www.lit4lib.sky7.us/us/wells.htm)
Wikipedia. Biography H._ G._ Wells. 24 Oct 2007. 6 March 2007.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._ Wells)
Amazon.com. H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells (1866-1946). 20 March 2007.
(http://www. kirjasto. Sci.fi/hgwells.htm)
Primary Text
Wells, H. G. Love and Mr. Lewisham. London: Everyman, 1994
18
Maranatha Christian University
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis sebuah novel yang berjudul Love
and Mr. Lewisham karya H. G. Wells. Novel ini menceritakan seorang pria yang
berani mengorbankan segalanya demi wanita yang dia cintai.
Pelaku utama novel ini bernama Mr. Lewisham. Mula-mula dia memusatkan
diri untuk belajar dan bekerja. Lewisham juga mendapat banyak penghargaan ketika
dia masih bersekolah. Namun, fokusnya menjadi terganggu ketika dia bertemu
seorang wanita yang bernama Ethel Henderson. Hidupnya perlahan-lahan mulai
berubah. Dia rela mengorbankan segalanya untuk wanita yang dia cintai. H. G. Wells
menunjukkan bahwa Mr. Lewisham rela bekerja lebih keras dan mengorbankan
pekerjaannya untuk Ethel. Bahkan ketika Ethel kembali ke London, Lewisham
memutuskan untuk mengikutinya. Dia rela meninggalkan sang ibu dan lingkungan
yang ia sukai. Dia juga melepaskan persahabatannya dengan Miss Heydinger demi
menjaga perasaan Ethel.
Dengan membaca novel ini, pembaca dapat merasa bahwa kekuatan cinta itu
sangat besar. Ketika seseorang sedang jatuh cinta, dia dapat melakukan apapun demi
orang yang dia cintai. Setelah menganalisis tema novel ini, saya merasa bahwa saya
dapat mengerti lebih banyak tentang novel tersebut.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
3
3
3
3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME OF H. G. WELLS’
LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of Love and Mr. Lewisham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Biography of H. G. Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
20
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Love and Mr. Lewisham
Mr. Lewisham is a hardworking man. He both studies and works as an
assistant master in the Whortley Proprietary School, Whortley, Sussex. He also
works with Mrs. Munday at a little shop in the West Street. Lewisham focuses on
his studies. He gets lots of achievements from his studies. As a matter of fact,
Lewisham has a target in his life; in six years he will have learnt five or six
languages.
Lewisham meets Ethel. He no longer focuses on his studies and work.
Ethel does not stay in Whortley for a long time. When she goes to London,
Lewisham decides to go there. He leaves his mother and he has to adapt himself to
the new society. Mr. Lewisham then works as a training teacher in South
Kensington. When Lewisham sees Mr. Lagune’s performance, he is very
surprised to see Ethel helping Mr. Lagune. It turns out that she helps Mr. Lagune
because her stepfather, Chaffery, is also in Mr. Lagune’s performances. Lewisham
does not like it because he thinks that they are cheating. Thinking that he can find
a solution, he decides to marry her. Lewisham must work harder than before to
fulfill their needs. He gets a new job from Captain Vigours to teach mathematical
and geometrical drawing. He also works at Balham Green to teach mathematics.
19
Maranatha Christian University
Ethel feels jealous when she reads Miss Heydinger’s letter for Mr.
Lewisham. Ethel and Mr. Lewisham quarrel but fearing that he will hurt her
feeling, he is ready to end his friendship with Miss Heydinger. He sacrifices his
friendship just to make Ethel happy.
Biography of H. G. Wells
H.G. Wells was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, Kent. His father
was a shopkeeper and a professional cricketer, and his mother served from time to
time as a housekeeper at the nearby estate of Uppark. His father’s business failed
and like his brothers, Wells was apprenticed to a draper, spending the years
between 1880 and 1883 in Windsor and Southsea. Later he recorded these years in
Kipps (1905).
In 1883 Wells became an assistant teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.
He obtained a scholarship to the normal school of science in London and studied
biology under T.H. Huxley. However, his interest faltered and in 1887 he left
without a degree. He taught in private schools for four years, not taking his B.S.
degree until 1890. In 1891 he settled in London, married his cousin Isabel, and
continued his career as a teacher in a correspondence college. Starting from 1893,
Wells became a full-time writer. Several years later, Wells left Isabel for one of
his brightest students, Amy Catherine, whom he married in 1895.
As a novelist Wells made his debut with The Time Machine (1895). The
work was followed by such science-fiction classics as The Island of Dr. Moreau
20
Maranatha Christian University
(1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), and The First
Men on the Moon (1901). Love and Mr. Lewisham appeared in 1900, TonoBungay and The History of Mr. Polly in 1909. Between the years 1924 and 1933
Wells lived mainly in France. From 1934 to 1946 he was the International
president of PEN.
Wells lived through World War II in his house in Regent’s Park; he did
not want to leave London. He died in London on August 13, 1946.
(http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm)
21
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Love is one of the most elemental human emotions. It is said that even
wicked people have love. Nobody can describe the true meaning of love precisely
although love is universal. People experience love differently so that it is believed
that there is not a single definition of love that is accepted by everyone. Love may
have a positive effect when it changes someone’s characteristics from bad to good
and makes life more meaningful. Love may boost someone’s confidence and
make the world seem beautiful. However, love can also have a negative impact. It
may make someone become selfish, possessive, and anxious to get what they
want. The most extreme opinion about love is that love is something to feel and
not to define. Whatever the definition is, some people believe that the power of
love is the strongest among all powers. It can make someone willing to do
anything for the one he/she loves. Love can also make people do anything to
reach what they want. Even a person with excessive ambitions for studying may
1
Maranatha Christian University
feel compelled to pursue love when he/she is in love.
I have chosen the novel Love and Mr. Lewisham because the story is
interesting to read. This novel mostly tells about love and sacrifice. Mr. Lewisham
is a man who has a great ambition in his life but when he falls in love, he
gradually sacrifices his ambition to be a lecturer. After reading this novel, whose
theme is closely connected with love, I want to analyse the theme more deeply
using formalism approach.
The author of this novel is H.G. Wells, a novelist who mostly writes
science fiction. However, Love and Mr. Lewisham is not a science fiction; it is
mainly concerned with love. Through this novel, he wants to tell the reader about
his life when he meets his first wife. Love and Mr. Lewisham is an
autobiographical novel. ‘It was his first serious novel of social manners, which he
took much time over. For it is essentially a memorial to his meeting his cousin
Isabel Wells, to be his first wife’. (Lung, n.d)
In my thesis, I would like to discuss the theme of the novel because
through theme I can understand the meaning of the story better. In How to
Analyze Fiction, William Kenney states: ‘Theme is the total meaning discovered
by the writer in the process of writing and by the reader in the process of reading’
(94). The theme of the novel is revealed clearly through the portrayal of the
protagonist, Mr. Lewisham, an ambitious teacher who is no longer very ambitious
for studying after he has fallen in love with Ethel Henderson, a typist.
2
Maranatha Christian University
Statement of the Problem
The problems which I would like to analyse are:
1. What is the theme of Love and Mr. Lewisham?
2. How does the portrayal of the protagonist help to reveal the theme?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of the study are:
1. To show the theme of Love and Mr. Lewisham.
2. To show how the portrayal of the protagonist helps to reveal the
theme.
Method of Research
The method of research is library research. First of all, I begin my analysis
by reading the primary text, Love and Mr. Lewisham, by H. G. Wells. I then
continue by reading several books that can be used to support the analysis. I
search for some references and material from the Internet to support the analysis.
Finally, I gather and use the data for my analysis before I draw the conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
I present this thesis in three chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction,
which contains the Background of the Study, the Purpose of the Study, the
Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two deals with
the analysis of theme through the protagonist of the novel. The Conclusion of the
thesis is presented in Chapter Three. This thesis ends with the Bibliography,
3
Maranatha Christian University
which provides the reader with a list of references that have been used in the
writing and the Appendices, which contain the synopsis of Love and Mr.
Lewisham and a brief biography of the author.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing the theme of H. G. Wells’ novel Love and Mr. Lewisham,
I come to the conclusion that the novelist succeeds in revealing the theme through
Mr. Lewisham, the protagonist of the novel.
Wells has skilfully portrayed the characteristics of Mr. Lewisham before
and after Mr. Lewisham has met and fallen in love with Ethel, a typist who comes
from London. When we compare Wells’ own life and the changes that Mr.
Lewisham experiences in the novel, we see many similarities. The life of Mr.
Lewisham, the protagonist, obviously represents the novelist’s own life. The way
Wells studied, learned foreign languages, and worked, was very similar to the way
Mr. Lewisham does those things. Wells’ efforts to gain achievement in the field of
education and to pursue his career were similar to those of Mr. Lewisham. The
difference lies in the fact that Wells finally succeeded in becoming a well-known
writer whereas Mr. Lewisham fails to attain his goals because he sacrifices a lot
for the sake of Ethel, the woman he loves.
15
Maranatha Christian University
Wells reveals several things to show that Mr. Lewisham is willing to
sacrifice for love. The most important sacrifices are:
1. He is willing to neglect his studies for the sake of Ethel so that he cannot
achieve his goals to gain a university degree and to be a lecturer. This
shows that Mr. Lewisham sacrifices his ambition for the sake of love.
2. He works much harder although the burden is more than he could bear.
This is to fulfill the family’s needs, which he otherwise would be unable to
meet. In this case, he also sacrifices because he does not want Ethel to be
involved in the séances which he considers to be some sort of wicked
trickery. This apparently shows that Mr. Lewisham sacrifices his main
principle of honesty for the sake of love. The novelist also exposes Mr.
Lewisham’s readiness to go against his own principle through Mr.
Lewisham’s action in forgiving Mr. Chaffery, Ethel’s stepfather, who
cheats in Mr. Lagune’s performances.
3. Mr. Lewisham’s leaving his beloved mother, who actually needs his care
and attention very much, also illustrates a great sacrifice that Mr.
Lewisham is willing to do for the sake of meeting his darling, Ethel.
4. Another obvious sacrifice that Mr. Lewisham makes is his readiness to end
his friendship with Miss Heydinger, who is a close friend of his and his
colleague, with whom he frequently shares interests. He does this to
prevent his wife from being jealous.
The theme of the novel, which is “One is willing to sacrifice for love”, is
evidently revealed through the changes that Mr. Lewisham has undergone. Wells
shows that Mr. Lewisham is a dynamic character who changes as the story
16
Maranatha Christian University
develops. Love has changed Mr. Lewisham from being ambitious for studying
into being ambitious for pursuing love. Mr. Lewisham also changes from an
honest man into an unscrupulous person. That Mr. Lewisham is ready to neglect
his relationship with his mother and to end his friendship with Miss Heydinger
also gives ample evidence that Mr. Lewisham’s characteristic has changed.
Ethel, the woman whom Mr. Lewisham loves, is very likely based on
Isabel, Wells’ cousin, whom he loved and married but later divorced. However,
there is not anything about the divorce in the novel. This is in line with the love
theme of the novel that Mr. Lewisham really loves Ethel and makes every effort
to sacrifice for her in order to maintain his good relationship with her.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
Belgion, Montgomery H. G. Wells Biography Great Britain: Longmans,
Green and CO LTD, 1953.
Kenney, William. How to Analyze Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1966.
Internet Website
Lung, Richard. H. G. Wells. Scientific romance, ‘free love’ and marriage.
15 Nov 2005. 5 March 2007 (http://www.lit4lib.sky7.us/us/wells.htm)
Wikipedia. Biography H._ G._ Wells. 24 Oct 2007. 6 March 2007.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._ Wells)
Amazon.com. H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells (1866-1946). 20 March 2007.
(http://www. kirjasto. Sci.fi/hgwells.htm)
Primary Text
Wells, H. G. Love and Mr. Lewisham. London: Everyman, 1994
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