In H. G. Wells’s “The Invisible Man,” the scientist is named Griffin.
Griffin is the central figure of Wells’s 1897 science-fiction novel. He conducts research in optics and discovers a way to alter the refractive index of a body so that it neither absorbs nor reflects visible light. He tests the process on a cat and eventually uses it on himself, becoming invisible.
The experiment gives Griffin a scientific breakthrough but leaves him unable to reverse the process. He arrives at an inn in Iping wearing bandages, gloves, and dark clothing to conceal his condition. As his money and options disappear, he turns increasingly violent and attempts to use fear and crime to impose his will.
Readers sometimes confuse Griffin with Mr. Marvel or Dr. Kemp. Marvel is a reluctant accomplice whom Griffin coerces, while Kemp is a former acquaintance and medical man who learns Griffin’s story. In Wells’s original novel, Griffin’s first name is never given; “Jack Griffin” belongs chiefly to the 1933 film adaptation.