The Titles of Dr. Jekyll in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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The Titles of Dr. Jekyll in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

In the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll held a number of titles, including M.D., D.C.L., LL.D., and F.R.S. These titles indicate that Dr Jekyll was a well educated in man in both medicine and law.

The first title, M.D., stands for doctor of medicine. In the mid 1800's (about the time Jekyll would have been educated), medical students attended medical school for approximately 3-4 years (there was no definite length). Their training was based around "natural philosophy": their studies included anatomy, physiology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, therapeutics, biology, surgery, sociology and philosophy. Along with these subjects, students were encouraged to take courses in Latin and Greek. Exceptional students were encouraged to apply to either Oxford or Cambridge: these two schools were the best that England had to offer and can be compared to America's Harvard University in Boston. Things have changed slightly in the last one hundred years or so. Medical school is at least 4 years long (although many students stay in medical school for 5-6 years). Philosophy is no longer the main focus of medical school. The courses that were considered the most important in the medical school's curriculum (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics) are now left to the undergraduate colleges to teach the pre-medical students. After medical school, students of the 1800's only had to take a test, and if they passed, they were free to work at any hospital they chose to study the practical branches of their profession. It is no longer that simple. Once finished with school and certification testing, the student begins a rigorous internship (c...

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...entific society to researchers in many different fields, such as art and medicine. Fellows would get together to discuss the "natural philosophy." This society was open to anyone with a natural interest in science until 1847. Since then only those persons who have done original work are invited into the society.

Indeed Dr. Jekyll was an extraordinarily smart person. It would have taken an enormous amount of time and energy to accomplish all the titles that a man like himself earned.

Works Cited

Acronyms, Initalisms and Abbreviations Dictionary. 15th ed. 1991.

"Trends in Legal Education." Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1992.

Stevens, Robert. Law School: Legal Education in America from the 1850's to the 1980's. Chapel Hill: The University of NC Press, 1983.

Huxley, Thomas H. Science and Education. New York: P.F. Collier and Son, 1854 and 1870.

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