London's Social Class in Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

How does Stevenson portray the duality of man in the opening chapters of ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’?

Stevenson used the contemporary setting of Victorian London to write his gothic horror novel. The streets with the gas lamps were the perfect setting following the true horrific stories of Jack the Ripper. He refers to Mr Hyde well as he wanders the streets of London not knowing who he’s going to meet. The elements in gothic horror include irony, movement, time, senses, horrific

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.

to say that Dr Henry Jekyll is very much the best in what he does and

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is set amongst the ominous and unsettling streets of Victorian London in the 19th century, which creates a chilling setting in the novel. The importance of setting is that it reflects most of the major themes of the novel like the duality of man, mystery, and good versus evil. Stevenson uses a lot of realistic and imaginative description to set up the mood and atmosphere. Gothic seems to be also one of the major themes in the novel which tend to interlink with secrets like Dr. Jekyll’s connection to Mr. Hyde. Settings like the mysterious empty London helps to create the effect of darkness and evil

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Jekyll seems to be in control of his desires and temptations but as Hyde he can fulfil them and not feel guilty. Stevenson is stating that everybody has evil inside of the, wanting to get out and that everyone gets a thrill of letting it out sometimes.

     Jekyll is tempted to do bad things and he uses Hyde to overcome his temptations. Jekyll gets his satisfaction of doing bad deeds by becoming Hyde. Jekyll says “If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way” (Page 105). He states that he wants to do bad things but knowing he cant and still live the life he has, he uses Hyde as an escape from his temptations. Once Jekyll is able to control his temptations but still do bad as Mr. Hyde he says “I felt younger, lighter, happier in the body” (Page 106) Mr. Hyde is Jekyll’s way of escaping his sophisticated lifestyle and entering a totally separate way of life. Jekyll then didn’t feel any guilt for Hyde’s actions.

with him again. Also in the later Dr Jekyll wrote that he was going on

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was wrote in 18th centuries, the times that were defined as ‘Gothic revival’. The literature in this times had similar thematic elements include supernatural or ‘fantastic’, violent crime (death and murder), passionate romance (often with death). The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was considered as typical Gothic literature. Particularly, repression and hypocrisy are highly emphasized in the novel. Repression is undoubtedly a cause of conflict between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The root of this repression can be found in Victorian England where there was no sexual appetites, no violence and no freedom of expressing emotion in the public sphere. Everything should be restrained and people in that times all behaved solemn and were not allowed to show their joys and sorrows. This repression can be well reflected within Dr. Jekyll in the novel. According to quotation of Stevenson’s description:

The sophisticatedly-constructed novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was devised in 1886, during the revolutionary Victorian era, by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson developed a desire to write in his early life and ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ cemented his reputation. The novel is widely known for its shocking principles that terrified and alarmed the Victorian readers. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ plays with the idea of the dual nature of man, his two identities. On the surface, Dr Jekyll is a conventional, Victorian gentleman, but below the surface lurks the primitive, satanic-like creature of Mr Edward Hyde. One of the elements that play a significant part in the novel is setting. Stevenson subtly uses the setting to

During the story Hyde’s actions compounds our first impressions of him. Stevenson never says exactly what Hyde takes pleasure in on his nightly forays but it is thought to be of things that would ruin Jekyll’s reputation if they ever came out. There is thought to be strong ties to drugs, alcohol addiction and other dangerous dealings; ‘he had once visited her (the maid’s) master and for whom she had conceived a dislike’. In the very first chapter, Mr Enfield tells his friend, Mr Utterson, a story where he witnessed a strange looking man walking along a deserted street, who ‘trampled calmly over (a) child’s body and left her screaming on the ground’ when they collided.

Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde consists of reputation, good vs. evil and damage control. In other words, Utterson tirelessly works to prevent his good friend Dr. Jekyll from being dragged into the horrid affairs of Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Jekyll goes to the greatest of lengths to prevent his Hyde identity from being discovered, in order to avoid anyone knowing of his somewhat questionable scientific work and morally despicable behavior. Much of the novel is based on the characters reputations and how they have to maintain a good public image, as they are upper class people. The novel takes place in Victorian England and the main characters are all male members of upper class London. Enfield, Utterson, Lanyon and Jekyll are all aware of social

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Because of his repressive personality, which also has no sexual response to women. Dr. Jekyll creates a drug-induced other half. In effect, he separates mind from body. Hyde, the physical personification of everything sensual, is often described encircled in darkness. This leaves his actions open to be imagined by the reader. This second personality, Mr. Hyde, is the "immoral son" (Stevenson,115) of Jekyll, the amalgamation of every fantasy that society is afraid to own up to.