Weena (The Time Machine)

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Weena is a fictional character from the novel The Time Machine , written by HG Wells in 1895 about the concept of time travel . In the story, a nameless time traveler travels with his time machine to the year 802,701 AD to discover that humans evolved into two different races: the Eloi , the recreational class and the Morlocks , the working class. He meets an Eloi girl named Weena, whom he takes on an expedition and loses in his fight against the Morlocks. Based on this story, three films were made in 1960, 1978 and 2002, each of which portrayed Weena differently.

1895 edition of the novel

In the original novel, the time traveler meets Weena in AD 802,701. He saves her from drowning in a shoal while bathing , while the other Eloi do nothing to help her. The next day, she hands him a flower garland that she made especially for him. He takes her on his expedition and decides to take her back to his own time, the Victorian Age , but Weena passes out and dies in a fire while fighting the Morlocks to recover his time machine. He returns to his own time with two strange white flowers that Weena put in his pocket.

Film released in 1960

Weena portrayed by Yvette Mimieux

In 1960, George Pal directed The Time Machine , written by David Duncan based largely on the novel; however, some significant changes have been made. The name "George" (after the author, Herbert George Wells ) was given to the time traveler in the film. On his journey through different times, George, played by the Australian actor Rod Taylor , reached the year 802,701 AD, when he found a girl who had a cramp while bathing in the river and was threatened with drowning in a “shoal”. Even when the girl panics and begins to scream loudly, the other members of her race standing on the bank, the Eloi, behave completely indifferent to her. He saves her and finds out her name is Weena. Unlike in the novel, George does not leave Weena dead. He saves Weena and the Eloi, returns to his own time and then to the time of Weena to be reunited with her. In the film, Weena was portrayed by the American actress Yvette Mimieux .

TV movie 1978

Priscilla Barnes

Sunn Classic Pictures produced the television film The Time Machine in 1978 . Some important changes have been made to the story. The time traveler is Dr. Neil Perry, a scientist from the 1970s. The story takes place in the United States instead of the United Kingdom . He travels to the distant future and befriends Weena, who tells him that the Morlocks are taking the Eloi for unknown purposes. Perry visits the Morlocks to save Weena's brother. He also teaches the Eloi how to defend themselves. Upon completion of his mission, he returns to his own time and ventures into the future again to reunite with Weena, played by Priscilla Barnes .

Film released in 2002

Another film with the same name was produced by Arnold Leibovit (* 1950) in 2002 and directed by great-grandson HG Wells Simon Wells , with Weena, played by Samantha Mumba , being renamed Mara. Dr. Alexander Hartdegen is an 1899 Columbia University inventor who dedicated his life to making a time machine after murdering his girlfriend Emma. He travels to the year 802,701 AD, meets the Eloi and is nursed back to health by Mara. He saves Mara and starts a new life with her and the Eloi.

In popular culture

  • The asteroid (283142) Weena , discovered in 2008 by the German amateur astronomers Erwin Schwab and Rainer Kling , was named after the fictional character.
  • The PBS children's series "Wishbone", in which the title dog character, a Jack Russell Terrier , recreates works of popular literature , there was an episode entitled "Bark to the Future" in the Wishbone, with the voice of Larry Brantley (* 1966 ), took on the role of the time traveler. Though the story has been greatly shortened and toned down, it was effectively told and the world of AD 802,701 was well depicted, with pink-clad and pink-haired Eloi and creepy, ape-like Morlocks. Weena was played appealingly by Lisa-Gabrielle Greene on the series.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, Chapter V, Weena, p. 68, In: planetpdf.com (English)
  2. ^ A b c Herbert George Wells The Time Machine , German by Felix Paul Grewe 1904, Weena in the chapter on explanation, In: projekt-gutenberg.org
  3. ↑ The Time Machine, HG Wells, Weena, In: sparknotes.com (English)
  4. ↑ Brief look at the 1978 Made for Television version of The Time Machine, In: Colemanzone.com (English)
  5. ↑ a b The Time Machine, by Todd McCarthy, May 7, 2002, In: Variety.com (English)
  6. ^ Asteroid Weena. In: Erwin Schwab's homepage . Retrieved April 26, 2020 .
  7. ↑ (283142) Weena, 2008 YV29. In: Minorplanetcenter. Retrieved April 26, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Wishbone, Bark to the Future 1995, Lisa-Gabrielle Greene, Weena, In: imdb.com (English)