The Island of Doctor Moreau as Prendick’s Hell Michelle Qiu College

The island that Prendick finds himself trapped on in The Island of Doctor Moreau can be seen as a version of Hell. It seems that life goes there to die and things fall apart for no reason. Wells’ emphasis on the physical aspects of the island presents the island as a even more infernal place, because it appears reminiscent of how Dante narrates Hell from Inferno. Wells makes sure to include geographical markers and imagery to create a clear landscape of the island, which is like the landscape of Dante’s Hell.

Wells’ island is most marked by altitude. When Prendick first arrives to the island, he notices the “beach was… sloped steeply up to a ridge, perhaps sixty or seventy feet above sea-level… Halfway up was a square stone enclosure,” (Wells 27). This square stone enclosure is where Moreau and Montgomery live. In this case, altitude is power. The Beast-people are stuck to live in the forest below, while the humans have a vantage point. In Inferno, Heaven and Hell is split in this way too. Heaven is above Hell. Even within Hell, physical altitude is a description of rank. As the sins get worse by Dante’s standards, the further they are into the earth. Each canto usually starts with a phrase about descending. In Canto V, “I...