THE STRANGE CASE OF DR.

JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

Introduction to the era, the story,

characters, and significant themes

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Born in Edinburgh, Ireland in

1850
Member of respectable,
middle class family
Sickly child, suffered from
tuberculosis: had little contact
with his parents because of it
& composed stories
Studied at Edinburgh
University; led a bohemian
(hippy-type) double life
Scottish essayist, poet, and
author of fictional and actual

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

(CONTINUED)

Left the city and traveled for

health reasons
Many of his stories had horror
& supernatural elements
His characters: prefer
unknown hazards to everyday
life of Victorian society
Died of a brain hemorrhage in
1894

VICTORIAN LONDON

Click on the picture to be

directed to a video depicting
London during the Victorian

Definitive Social Class Divisions

Grim landscape due to pollution,

rainy weather, extreme poverty,
and terrible working and living
conditions for the poor

All these factors made London the

perfect setting for a horror story

1880s poverty became serious

problem

the dismal quarter of Soho seen

under these changing glimpses, with
its muddy ways, and slatternly
passengersseemed, in the lawyers
eyes, like a district of some city in a
nightmare. from Chapter 1

JACK THE RIPPER

Accused of murdering 5 women (may have been more)
Mutilated the bodies in such a way that it displayed an
understanding of human anatomy
Society, at the time, would have been fascinated with this
story
1st notorious serial killer in British history
Killer never found.

CHARLES DARWIN & THE

ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES

Published 1859: On the Origin of

Species
Main Argument: Populations evolve
over time via a process of natural
selection
Evolutionary Theory split Christians
some argued Darwins theory was
credible (God working through
evolution) while others rejected it
entirely (Creationists)
Why is this important? Two of the
main arguments of the novel question

HORROR FICTION &

VICTORIAN READERS
Victorian obsession with the
supernatural and its
investigation meant horror
stories became more
popular.

Dracula
By: Bram
Stoker
Jekyll & Hyde sold
40,000 copies in 6
months
Conflict between
Jekyll and Hyde
reveals eras class
phobias
Story of double
personalities and
metamorphosis
(change)
appealed to
readers.

Frankenstein
By: Mary
Shelly

WHY DID HE WRITE JEKYLL &

HYDE?

Published in January 1886

Interested in what made up a
persons character: good and
evil?
Came from a wealthy family,
but more interested in the
dredges of humanity
something the upper classes
pretended did not exist
After a nightmare from the
medicine he was prescribed,
Stevenson woke up and wrote

THE NOVELLA

Defined as: a short and well-structured narrative

Also defined as: a story that is longer than a short story,
but shorter than a novel
Realistic and satiric in tone
Genre originated in Italy during the Middle Ages
Novella developed into a psychological & highly
structured short story
William Shakespeare & other playwrights extracted
dramatic plots from the Italian novella
The realistic content & form of these tales influenced
the development of the English novel in the 18 th century

MAIN THEMES

The Double
Identify/The
Double Self
The Beast in
Humankind
Criticism of
Science
Sexual Repression

DOPPELGANGER/
THE DOUBLE-SELF

Concept of the double-self or twin

Alter Ego: The continual struggle of who we are
versus who we are expected to be
Term popular in the 1800s
The double self reflected in the setting of London as
described by Stevenson
GOOD vs. EVIL the two sides of human nature
BEAST IN HUMANKIND having to conform to
social rules, expectations, and desires
The influence of drugs, which are made by
scientists, SCIENCE IS BAD
Characters have become a part of cultural

DUAL NATURE: LITERARY &

MEDIA

Many religions use the concept of dual nature to

explain the struggle within a person to choose
between good and evil. (Adam/Eve; Cain/Abel)
Horror and gangster films and fiction often explore
the dual nature of a criminal by showing an evil
person performing an act of kindness. For example, in
the film The Godfather, the gangster hero is shown
playing with children and interacting with family and
friends.

CRITICISM OF SCIENCE

As we have already seen,

scientific advances in the
Victorian age were subject to
much controversy and were
heavily criticized
Jekyll/Hydes dependence on
drugs bordering on
desperation can be
interpreted in a similar way
to a drug addict he needs to
feed an addiction in order

SEXUAL REPRESSION
In criticism and commentary, sexual desire is
repressed
This may account for the animal quality
present in Hyde
Story has many allusions to the repression of
desire (Example: locked doors, cabinets,
secrecy)
Stevenson shows what a mans life is like
without women = the man becomes a
monster
Noticeable absence of female characters in
the story, except for two servants and the
little girl who is knocked down by Hyde