The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) is a novel by the English science fiction author H. G. Wells. In the novel, a man named Edward Prendick is shipwrecked, rescued, and taken to a mysterious island. The island is inhabited by Doctor Moreau, who conducts cruel experiments on animals and creates hybrid beings with a fusion of human and animal traits. Moreau has an assistant, Montgomery, who helps with the experiments, but also feels sympathy for the hybrids, who experience intense physical pain. In order to maintain control of the hybrids, Moreau enacts a series of laws forbidding the hybrids from engaging in animalistic behavior. Nonetheless, the hybrids’ instincts eventually come to the fore; Moreau and Montgomery end up being killed in confrontations with the hybrids, and when Prendick finally escapes from the island, the hybrids have largely reverted to their animal state.

Wells’s novel was written partially to draw attention to and challenge the practice of vivisection (using live animals for experiments, research, and medical training) in the 19th century. Thus, while presenting implausible events (the creation of human-animal hybrids), the novel also engages in social critique. In her adaptation, Moreno-Garcia likewise uses science-fiction plotlines to explore the impact of colonialism and oppression.