The Invisible Man Community Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"A fire," he cried, "in the name of human charity! A room and a fire!" He stamped and shook the snow from off himself in the bar, and followed Mrs. Hall into her guest parlour to strike his bargain. And with that much introduction, that and a couple of sovereigns flung upon the table, he took up his quarters in the inn. (1.1)

If you need a place to stay, you might call a friend or a family member, but the Invisible Man needs a hotel. This is one of many reminders that the Invisible Man has no bonds to the people of Iping, except for his money ("sovereigns" are a type of coin).

Quote #2

Mrs. Hall was pulled up suddenly. It was certainly rude of him, after telling him all she had done. She gasped at him for a moment, and remembered the two sovereigns. (1.35)

Mrs. Hall is trying to get info out of the stranger, because gossip is pretty much what the economy of Iping runs on – if you're inside the community. If you're on the outside, then you can also pay in actual money. So, if the first quote shows that the Invisible Man tries to create a bond with money, the second shows us that…well, it doesn't really work. In other words, the Invisible Man refuses to join the community by talking about himself. Lucky for him, even if money can't create a bond, it can get him a room at the inn.

Quote #3

A couple of minutes after, he rejoined the little group that had formed outside the "Coach and Horses." There was Fearenside telling about it all over again for the second time; there was Mrs. Hall saying his dog didn't have no business to bite her guests; there was Huxter, the general dealer from over the road, interrogative; and Sandy Wadgers from the forge, judicial; besides women and children, all of them saying fatuities: "Wouldn't let en bite me, I knows"; "'Tasn't right have such dargs"; "Whad 'e bite 'n for, than?" and so forth. (3.9)

Later we'll see crowds that are less funny (like the crowd that beats the Invisible Man to death), but we like this group because it seems like a good example of a tight community. Here are a bunch of people, and they're all communicating (not about anything important, of course). Also notice that everyone seems to have a role: Huxter is "interrogative," Wadgers is "judicial," and Fearenside is telling the story. In a community like this, everyone has a defined role.