"[...] but, as a rule, I like to be alone and undisturbed." (2.13)
Just to make sure we understand, the Invisible Man comes right out and tells us that he prefers to be alone.
"I was alone…In all my great moments I have been alone." (19.37)
At the beginning of his talk with Kemp, the Invisible Man makes a connection between being alone and being awesome. We'll see if he keeps this opinion for the rest of the book. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't. Check out the last quote in this theme.)
"[...] a footprint as isolated and incomprehensible to them as Crusoe's solitary discovery." (21.15)
You know how in alien invasion movies, someone always says, "we're not alone"? We imagine the London urchins might feel something equally strange (and awe-inspiring) when they see this footprint that they can't explain. (Check out the "Allusions" for more on the Robinson Crusoe.)
"What was I doing? Why was I always alone and secretive? Was it legal? Was it dangerous?" (20.37)
Here we have Griffin talking about his landlord in London. Or rather, it's more like Griffin speaking <em>for</em> the landlord, who is worried that Griffin is up to no good. And the landlord's evidence that Griffin is bad news? He's always alone.
"By this time I knew he was alone in the house, and so I made no more ado, but knocked him on the head." (23.20)
Sometimes being alone is associated with being vulnerable. Here Griffin tells Kemp how he took out the costume-shop owner: as soon as Griffin realizes the guy is alone, bam, he knocks him out. (You'd almost imagine that Griffin would empathize with people who are alone like him, but no – he doesn't seem to care about anyone.)
"I went into a place and was already ordering lunch, when it occurred to me that I could not eat unless I exposed my invisible face." (23.44)
We like this quote because it takes something very social – eating together – and shows how Griffin is on the outside. He can never eat around people again. We could make a joke here about pizza parties, but it's kind of serious: eating together is one way people show that they belong together.
"I clean lost my temper, the fools! Why couldn't they leave me alone?" (23.56)
Ah, yes – it's always the other person's fault, according to Griffin. Although maybe he has a point: if he could simply go away somewhere to do his research and not have to deal with other people, maybe everything would work out. What do you think?
"Blundering into your house, Kemp," he said, "changes all my plans. For you are a man that can understand. In spite of all that has happened, in spite of this publicity, of the loss of my books, of what I have suffered, there still remain great possibilities, huge possibilities—" (24.16)
Notice that Griffin reaches out to Kemp as someone he can share his dreams with. Griffin may still be an invisible man, but Kemp is his mental equal (or close enough), so they can share something. This is one of the few times we see Griffin trying to make himself less isolated.
"I made a mistake, Kemp, a huge mistake, in carrying this thing through alone. I have wasted strength, time, opportunities. Alone—it is wonderful how little a man can do alone!" (24.22)
Here's where Griffin ends up, even though he seemed to love being alone when he started to tell Kemp his story. Of course, Griffin's plan to recruit Kemp doesn't work out and Griffin is forced to work alone. Finally, he recognizes that isolation comes with a price.
"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).
"And you know the knavish system of the scientific world. I simply would not publish, and let him share my credit." (19.33)
Of course, being part of a community isn't all sunshine and lollipops; communities sometimes demand work from those who belong. In the case of the "scientific world," the custom is that senior researchers get credit for work that junior researchers do. This is a custom that the Invisible Man cannot support.
"I should explain," he added, "what I was really too cold and fatigued to do before, that I am an experimental investigator."
"Indeed, sir," said Mrs. Hall, much impressed. (2.17-18)
Mrs. Hall doesn't really understand the science that the Invisible Man is doing, but she's still impressed by it. In The Invisible Man, non-scientists are sometimes suspicious of scientists and sometimes impressed by them. Where do you see this difference?
"In the books—the books that tramp has hidden—there are marvels, miracles!" (19.22)
Both Griffin and the narrator remark that Griffin's books contain wonders. That's pretty serious language that doesn't have a lot of ambiguity. It reminds us, too, how awe-inspiring science can be, both to scientists and non-scientists alike. We mean, come on, seedless grapes? Amazing!
"And you know the knavish system of the scientific world. I simply would not publish, and let him share my credit." (19.33)
This is another reminder that science is a community, with its own rules and traditions. These are some of the traditions that drive Griffin to do what he does (hide his research, test on himself, etc.). Turns out the Invisible Man is a bad member of both the scientific and the non-scientific communities. Looks like you're 0 for 2, Griff.
"And I beheld, unclouded by doubt, a magnificent vision of all that invisibility might mean to a man—the mystery, the power, the freedom. Drawbacks I saw none." (19.38)
Sometimes power is blinding. Period. Well, period plus one other thing. Notice the three benefits he mentions: "the mystery, the power, the freedom." Is he saying that power and freedom go together? What do you think?
"I did not know what he would do, nor even what he had the power to do." (20.39)
Here, the Invisible Man tells Kemp about his experience in London with his landlord. In this part of the never-ending story, the Invisible Man is worried that the landlord might have some power over him. But the (legal) power that the landlord has is very different from the (illegal) power that the IM has (post-invisibility).
"If the straw makes trouble put it down in the bill." (3.28)
Notice how important money is in the first few chapters. When he comes in to the inn, one of the first things the Invisible Man does is give Mrs. Hall some money (1.1). Whenever he makes a mess in the inn, he offers to pay extra (3.37). It's not like the Invisible Man has any personal charm here. All he has to smooth things over with Mrs. Hall is his money.
He turned around abruptly. "I robbed the old man—robbed my father.
"The money was not his, and he shot himself." (19.42-3)
Stealing from his father is Griffin's first crime and it raises the same question as the previous quote: if the money was not Griffin's father's, where did he get it? Money can be mysterious in this book: flying through the air, appearing in all sorts of places, coming from unknown sources. Should we be suspicious of money the same way that people are suspicious of science?
"All I could think clearly was that the thing had to be carried through; the fixed idea still ruled me. And soon, for the money I had was almost exhausted." (20.33)
Griffin is clearly obsessed with the idea of becoming invisible (that's the "fixed idea" that rules him.) That's sort of classic mad scientist stuff: an isolated scientist obsessed by a crazy idea. But he has another major problem: he doesn't have enough money to experiment safely. What would this story be like if wealth weren't an issue?
"I turned down one of the roads leading from Gower Street to Tottenham Court Road, and found myself outside Omniums, the big establishment where everything is to be bought—you know the place: meat, grocery, linen, furniture, clothing, oil paintings even—a huge meandering collection of shops rather than a shop." (22.3)
Omniums is a department store, which is kind of a new thing in England. (They were actually new in the nineteenth century. That's why Griffin has to describe it a little, because some people might not really know what it's like.) It's interesting to us that a man who is on the cutting edge of science is also on the cutting edge of commerce here. (By "commerce" we mean "shoplifting.")