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What is stevenson portraying through jekyll and hyde
How does stevenson present jekyll to create a sense of mystery,suspense and dread
The contrast between science and religion in dr jekyll and hyde
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At the end of the nineteenth century, Robert Louis Stevenson published his novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The fin de siècle saw the rise of different thoughts and ideas surrounding science and society. Late-Victorian psychology began to explore deeper into the mind, society grew weary of degeneration, and a new century was upon them which brought its own fears. Stevenson’s story played upon the many changes society was facing during this time. He took the scientific interest and created the character of Dr Jekyll, a scientist who created a potion that would unlock his inner, uninhibited self. These concoctions create a “mad scientist” effect and create an uncertainty around these scientific advancements of the fin de siècle. The evidence of multiplex personalities, or multiple personalities, in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a representation of mental illness. From Mr Hyde’s physical appearance to the transition between Jekyll and Hyde, these attributes explore the new …show more content…
By describing Hyde as small and pale, Stevenson gives the impression that Hyde is less of a man than other Victorian males. He is inadequate because he is not the standard tall and handsome gentleman. His low and broken voice also implies that he is less of a man because he lacks the confidence normally possessed by men in a patriarchal society. Michael Davis wrote on the physical representations of Mr Hyde. In his article, he stated, ‘Hyde’s pathology, real enough in its effects on others, is nonetheless ghostly rather than material, somehow present yet simultaneously absent, and so beyond the scope of mapping or diagnosis in physical terms.’ Davis is saying that while Hyde is real and has a real effect on those around him, the features that produce such an effect are invisible. Hyde creates such a horror-filled response; however, there is no apparent difference between him and
Within every being exists temptations, whether it be quiescent or dynamic, which fluctuates from one individual to another. Commonly negative, temptations ascend from lesser qualities of man and expose an individual to develop even more reprehensible ambitions. The story of a one man’s dark wishes is explored in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. Properly termed, Stevenson perused the unnerving case of a respectable, proletariat-class doctor, who becomes associated and obsessed with Mr Hyde. It is this presence of the “duality of human nature that is created consistently throughout the Gothic Literature”.
“The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde” is a novella written in the Victorian era, more specifically in 1886 by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. When the novella was first published it had caused a lot of public outrage as it clashed with many of the views regarding the duality of the soul and science itself. The audience can relate many of the themes of the story with Stevenson’s personal life. Due to the fact that Stevenson started out as a sick child, moving from hospital to hospital, and continued on that track as an adult, a lot of the medical influence of the story and the fact that Jekyll’s situation was described as an “fateful illness” is most likely due to Stevenson’s unfortunate and diseased-riddled life. Furthermore the author had been known to dabble in various drugs, this again can be linked to Jekyll’s desperate need and desire to give in to his darker side by changing into Mr Hyde.
Everything in this story has a Dual side, including the setting in London, London had streets that were respectable and others that were made of squalor and crime. In the story of Dr.Jekyll and Hyde characters hid their side and showed only one certain side, as a matter of fact a quote from the book that says “an ivory-faced and silvery-haired old woman opened the door. She had an evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy: but her manners were excellent..” (Stevenson Chapter 4 P 54). This quote is trying to convey a message of Mr.Hyde's keeper being oh so well mannered, but don't let her fool you she was an evil person. That quote was also trying to demonstrate good versus evil and how it is conveyed through the book. Hyde was taking control completely over Dr.Jekyll , Dr.Jekyll was sure that there was no way for him to regain his identity, and his only option was to flee. “I lingered but a moment at the mirror; the second and conclusive experiment had yet to be attempted; it yet remained to be seen if I lost my identity beyond redemption and must flee before daylight from a house.” (Stevenson Chapter 10 P 112) Dr.Jekyll’s
Hyde’s character doesn’t seem to be liked by Mr. Utterson and most likely will be a theme throughout the entire story. Most characters in novels are first described on a physical level to get the reader to have an image in his or her head on what the character might look like. Mr. Utterson doesn’t really give us any physical attributes on Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde seems to be a broken down individual emotionally or spiritually because Mr. Utterson describes Mr. Hyde as deformed somewhere when it isn’t on his body. In the next sentence, Mr. Utterson describes Mr. Hyde as an extraordinary looking man so, Mr. Hyde may look normal on the outside, but may have a dark character that may foreshadow future events coming to Mr. Hyde and his relations with Doctor
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Man is not truly one but truly two writes Dr. Jekyll in his full. statement of the case, if applicable. In a way, this idea of Stevenson's foretells. Sigmund Freud's theory of the constantly fighting Id (inner child). ego (the part restrained by the self) and the superego (the restraint).
Mr. Hyde was pale ad dwarfish; he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation, he had a displeasing smile, he had borne himself to the lawyer with a sort of murderous mixture of timidity and boldness, and he spoke with a husky, whispering and some what broken voice,—all these were points against him; but not all of these together could explain the hitherto unknown disgust, loathing and fear with which Mr. Utterson regarded him. (10)
Hyde in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Stevenson presents Hyde in many different ways by describing the main character of Hyde, in an effective and detailed style, and providing a variety of language, imagery and atmosphere, which also helps to create the symbol which Hyde stands for. Stevenson explores what good and evil symbolised at that time in the Victorian society, and how this leads up to the representation of Hyde. Respectability and reputation were very important factors to consider in the Victorian society. The Victorian society was very strongly divided into classes, with the aristocracy having the highest value of respect. The split personality of Jekyll and Hyde symbolises the splits in Victorian society, as revealed by the divided classes in the Victorian society.
Robert, Stevenson L. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publications, 2013. Print.
Page, Norman. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson." Encyclopedia of the Novel. Eds. Paul Schellinger, Christopher Hudson, and Marijke Rijsberman. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” depicted many aspects of psychoanalytical and biographical references in which moral choice played a role in the transformation between Jekyll into Hyde a cycle of identity disorder. “Stevenson thoughts at this time was the duality of man 's nature and alternation of good and evil” (77) states Graham Balfour representing how Jekyll morally distinguishes what his foil persona commits as wrong, but evil wins the battle conquering the goodness within himself. The image of god and satan correlate into their human characteristics one presents the righteousness of good will meanwhile evil is exposed inconsistently. In the end Hyde 's evil persona lies beneath Jekyll knowing that in an attempt of suicide Hyde will get destroyed. Ironically Jekyll 's given up his life, but Hyde regains dominance so that his body would be found. The historical victorian era in which the novels was written reveals how immoral life was lived in reality a way in which Stevenson used the protagonists Jekyll and Hyde “Hide” to fit his
Dual-Self Characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and A Study in Scarlet and Sign of Four
Personality and the Beast Within in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
In the late 19th Century, Author “Robert Louis Stevenson” wrote the Novel of “the Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. The Novel was about Dr. Jekyll that lived a normal life, and late in the age, he transformed his body sporadically into a wicked man to expose evil doings to the surrounds. He wrote his will and made Mr. Hyde, The Evil Dr. Jekyll, the beneficiary of all his estates after death. Dr. Jekyll used the potion to allow him express his evil urges without guilt.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a scientist, Dr. Jekyll, creates an alter ego using a draught in order to escape the harsh views of society. As Mr. Hyde, he commits heinous crimes against citizens and becomes addicted to the perception of freedom from Victorian laws. Best stated by Norman Kerr about addiction, “there is an inebriety derangement of the mental faculties, so that the consciousness, perception, reasoning, power, and conscience are impaired” (Kerr 138). The character Dr. Jekyll illustrates the condition of addiction in the Victorian era through the motifs of the obsession with appearance and duality. Dr. Jekyll’s obsession with appearance causes him to become addicted to the character Mr. Jekyll himself.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based upon real contemporary medical case studies. It is believed that the core story line was created from medical literature and the form and structure of the story was based on case medical reports and studies. One of the most similar case studies was the case of a soldier named Sergeant F. The soldier developed two very distinct personalities after a gunshot wound damaged the left cerebral hemisphere of his brain. Another case study that is credited to Stevenson’s story, is the tale of Felida X a patient of Eugene Azam. He identifies Felida X as “The first French double personality to be studied in depth”. Both cases were translated and summarized by journalist Richard Proctor. He submitted these summaries in a series of articles to the Cornhill Magazine. Stevenson was also a contributed to this magazine so it is found unlikely that these cases escaped his interest. Robert Louis Stevenson was very qualified to demonstrated his familiarity with scientific controversies. He was well trained and had personal relationships with a myriad of scientists. He befriended scientific visionaries such as Engineer Fleeming Jenkin and educational psychologist James Sully. Stevenson’s conception of multiple personality disorder may be most based on the theoretical concept of the double brain. The double brain theory was developed by continental physiologists such as Franz Joseph Gall. “Man is not truly one, but