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'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Robert Louis Stevenson

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'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' Robert Louis Stevenson ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ Robert Louis Stevenson Contents: 1. Context 2. Key themes and language 3. Summary Overview 4. Chapter One – Part One 5. Chapter One – Part Two 6. Chapter Two – Part One 7. Chapter Two – Part Two 8. How is Mr. Hyde introduced? 9. Chapter Two – Part Three 10. Chapter Three 11. Chapter Four – Part One 12. Chapter Four – Part Two 13. Crime 14. Chapter Five – Part One 15. Chapter Five – Part Two 16. Chapter Six 17. Chapter Seven 1 1. Context Recap: 1. When did Gothic fiction become popular? 2. What does ‘duality’ mean? 3. What Gothic texts or authors do you remember? Extension: what Gothic features do you remember? 1 ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a Gothic novella (short novel) by Robert Louis Stevenson. 2 First published in 1886, it tells the story of a scientific experiment which goes horribly wrong. In 3 attempting to split his personality, Dr. Jekyll creates an alter-ego, Mr. Hyde, who does terrible things 4 and becomes more and more out of control as the novella goes on. Over time, critics have wondered 5 whether Mr. Hyde might be symbolic of a number of things. 6 7 Reputation 8 In Victorian society in the nineteenth century, reputation was extremely important. People were 9 expected to keep to a certain moral code and value system. Throughout the novel, Jekyll aims to 10 preserve his reputation just as Hyde destroys his. The acceptable behaviour of Victorians could mask 11 hidden moral corruption. Victorians loved reading about shocking behaviour, and a genre of literature 12 called the ‘shilling shocker’ became very popular. 13 14 Science 15 The nineteenth century saw rapid scientific developments. In 1859, Charles Dawin published ‘On 16 the Origin of the Species,’ which introduced the idea of evolution for the first time. His work was 17 threatening to religion, because Christians believed that God made all human beings, and the idea 18 that humans had evolved from primitive animals was frightening to them as it challenged their entire 19 world view. In the novella, another scientist called Dr. Lanyon represents science as something which 20 is rational and explainable, while Dr. Jekyll’s science is seen as morally unacceptable. 21 22 Duality 23 At the centre of the novel we have one man split in two: Dr. Jekyll is also Mr. Hyde, though it takes 24 the characters some time to work this out. In many ways, the novella explores the idea that all humans 25 are essentially dual in nature: we all have good and evil within us, and often suppress one side or the 26 other. The narrator of the novella, Utterson, tries throughout the novella to explain the mystery of 27 Hyde, attempting to find a logical explanation. Yet his thirst for logic denies him realization of the 28 truth. 29 30 The concept of duality is also present in science. The psychologist Sigmund Freud had begun to 31 explore the theory of consciousness: the id, the ego and the superego. The ego is the man; the 32 superego the way he wishes to be seen by the world. The id is the hidden desires of man; man’s 33 subconscious, innermost feelings. 34 35 The Victorians were keenly aware of religious duality: in the Bible, Lucifer, God’s brightest and most 36 loved angel, begins a war against him and is cast down to hell to rule there as the Devil or Satan. 37 Victorian Christians recognized that all humans have both good and evil inside them, and they had to 38 make the decision to choose the good. In the novella, Jekyll refers to the soul as a battleground 39 between the angelic and fiendish sides of humans. 40 41 Crime 42 With London’s expanding population and the amount of people experiencing grueling poverty on 43 the rise, crime exploded. Previously, people had lived in close-knit communities where everyone knew 44 each other’s name. Now, though living physically close together, London provided a new anonymity. 2 1 2 Between August and November 1888,the impoverished Whitechapel area of London was the scene 3 of five brutal murders. The killer was dubbed ‘Jack the Ripper’. All the women murdered were 4 prostitutes, and all except for one were horribly mutilated. 5 6 There has been much speculation as to the identity of the killer. It has been suggested that he or 7 she was a doctor or butcher, based on the evidence of weapons and the mutilations that occurred, 8 which showed a knowledge of human anatomy. Jack the Ripper was never caught and he is not 9 thought to have killed again after November 1888. For Victorians, the possibility of a highly educated 10 murderer spoke to their fears of the dual nature of man: both good and evil. 11 12 Gothic 13 Early Gothic novels focused on the supernatural and were often based in foreign countries and in 14 ancient settings like castles. But in the nineteenth century, Gothic authors turned their attention 15 closer to home and began to write novels set in familiar locations. ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is set in London. 16 17 Nineteenth century England experienced rapid change. Along with scientific discovery, there were 18 more and more factories which changed the face of London and other major cities. London’s 19 population expanded from one to five million between 1800 and 1900 as part of the Industrial 20 Revolution. People were unsettled by the new way of city life: the over-crowding, the way rich and 21 poor lived side by side, the pollution and the crime, and ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ explores some of Victorians’ 22 deepest anxieties about their capital city. 23 24 Many Gothic novels around the time of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ explore the idea of an alter-ego: published 25 in 1818, ‘Frankenstein,’ by Mary Shelley, tells of a scientist creates a gruesome creature who comes 26 to represent all his greatest fears, and in Oscar Wilde’s 1890 ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ a man’s 27 portrait begins to symbolise the deterioration of his soul. In 1824, James Hogg wrote ‘The Private 28 Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner,’ which tells the story of a man pursued by his own 29 double self. Questions: Answer in full sentences. You do not need to use quotations. Use all your own words. 1. What is the story of ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’? 2. Explain the importance of reputation for Victorians. 3. How was scientific discovery seen by many Victorians? 4. What does ‘duality’ mean, and how is it relevant in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’? 5. In what ways does ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ relate to other Gothic literature at the time? Extension: Why did Stevenson choose to set his novella in London? Finish the sentence three times in your book: 1. Victorian London was unsettling because… 2. Victorian London was unsettling, so… 3. Victorian London was unsettling, but… 3 2. Key themes and language in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Recap: 1. Who wrote ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’? 2. When was ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ written? 3. What era was ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ written in? Extension: What do you remember about that era? 1 Duality 2 The entire novella of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is based on the central concept of duality: that both good 3 and evil can co-exist, in the same universe and even in the same person. Victorians struggled to 4 preserve their good reputation, denying any base impulses and repressing any darker urges. Yet they 5 feared the existence of evil, and were troubled by the possibility of their own duality. Literature often 6 explores our hidden fears and desires, and the Gothic especially does this by using duality or doubling. 7 Doubling is where the two seemingly opposite things seem to contain each other. We see this in 8 ‘Frankenstein,’ for example, when the scientist and his creature often use the same words or express 9 the same ideas; many people often mistake the name ‘Frankenstein’ for being that of the creature, 10 when it is, in fact, the name of his creator (the creature has no name). 11 12 Scientific discovery 13 Victorians were proud of the scientific progress they were making: empirical science was explored 14 and was progressing faster than ever before. But they also feared the possibilities that might emerge. 15 Today, we still often find debate around scientific advances. Today’s scientists are able to detect the 16 gender of an unborn baby and abort that child: would it be right to do so? In Victorian times, science 17 was not controlled by the same legal structures as it is now. People may have feared that scientists 18 could have power beyond even their own control, and that would destabilise society as it was known. 19 20 Narrator 21 This novella is told from the perspective of a narrator, named Utterson, but in the third person. He 22 tells the story as someone who observes it, and is only slightly involved with its events. 23 24 Multiple viewpoints 25 The story is not only told in the traditional way by a third person narrator. It is also told in letters 26 from other people, and scientific reports. This makes it feel more realistic, as if this really did happen. 27 Gothic writers often use multiple voices and multiple viewpoints to make it more ambiguous whether 28 they are telling a story or the reality.
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