Abstract

CAAMANO, Francisco. The attraction to the undesirable. The young H. G. Wells and the massification of disturbing futures. Recial [online]. 2022, vol.13, n.21, pp.151-175.  Epub Sep 19, 2022. ISSN 2718-658X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.53971/2718.658x.v13.n21.37547.

The aim of this article is to analyze why the British novelist H. G. Wells (1866-1946) can be considered as the first great contemporary massifier of disturbing futures. To this end, this paper will reconstruct a historical genealogy of this concept within the Anglo-Saxon and European tradition, to finally examine how this idea is represented in Wells's early narratives. Based on the study of various cultural artifacts, the purpose of this writing is to revalue the use of aesthetic instruments as possible objects of analysis for the historical discipline. In an attempt to open a methodological dialogue between history, literature and cultural studies, we will simultaneously inquire into the artistic and intellectual production of the English writer and the more general historical context of the Western world in the 20th century.

Keywords : H. G. Wells; disturbing futures; apocalyptic imaginary; contemporary history; literature.