Robert Louis Stevenson began writing during the Victorian era. His style was unlike anyone else’s and his stories are still popular today. Robert Louis Stevenson was an author of many classic novels and his literary success became popular when he wrote the mystery called The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886 at the young age of thirty-six. He was born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father Thomas, was a builder of lighthouses. His mother Margaret came from a family of lawyers and church ministers. Robert chose not to follow in either of his parent’s footsteps. Instead, writing became his passion. Robert’s childhood was plagued with sickness and fever with symptoms of tuberculosis. As a result, regular schooling became difficult, (Cyclopedia of World Authors, 1927). According to Magills Survey of World Literature Stevenson didn’t learn to read until he was 7 years old, but he enjoyed stories told to him by his father of adventure. This enabled Robert’s imagination to grow and he created his own tales. His father was proud of him, but afraid his only son would not succeed in life. His father suggested law school just incase his writing did not succeed. He graduated, but he never practiced law, (1854). Instead, he wanted to travel for adventure and to find good health.
Robert Louis Stevenson began his travels in 1870. In the Life and Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, written by Richard Dury, Dury claims Stevenson first went to France, where he met Fanny Osbourne, an American lady. Stevenson traveled all throughout France, which inspired him to write An Inland Voyage, his first published work. His career as a writer developed slowly, but he continued to have a keen eye for human observation. His own insight into the nature of mankind and human suffering are displayed in his works. The Amateur Emigrant (published in 1894) and The Silverado Squatters (published in 1883) were stories written as a result of his journey to California to marry Fanny. Stevenson traveled back to Scotland after suffering a near death illness in Monterey, (http://www.unibg.it/rls/bio.htm. pg. 1 of 5). It was in the year 1883, he wrote one of his greatest novels, Treasure Island, after playing an imaginary game with his stepson, (Cyclo...
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...ls his story and how he lived with his evil personality until the death.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a “supernatural'; story combined with “mystery and horror'; about the double personality in man. He “evolves his story from the world that is unseen,'; (Harris, Laurie. Nineteenth Century Lit 393). Mr. Utterson, Mr. Enfield and even Dr. Lanyon unfold the mystery of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as being one man living two personalities. Fielder’s essay on Stevenson’s work writes that it is a “dream allegorized into a morality,'; “the two natures of man that contend in the consciousness';, but it is “a tragedy, too obviously colored with easy terror to be completely convincing'; (435). “The London Times'; in 1886 declares The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to be an “original genius,'; (398).
Robert Louis Stevenson was a genius. He was an author who demonstrates eloquence in his style of writing and creativity and imagination in his story themes. One hundred years later Stevenson’s stories are part of our history of classic novels that are read by all.
In the book, Stevenson talks about the moment he realized that his life and the work he does, was full of brokenness. IT occurred after he talked with Jimmy Dill, right before Dill was to be executed. Despite the fact that he had intellectual disabilities, and could not afford a decent lawyer, Jimmy Dill was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die. After fighting to get stay requests, the requests were ultimately denied and Dill was executed. After being denied and talking to Dill, it was then that Stevenson realized how broken the criminal justice system was. In the book he recognizes that “his clients were broken by mental illness, poverty, and racism.” (Stevenson 288) At that moment, he wanted to given up.
Despite being published in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson remains to be recognized and referred to as one of the initial studies of the duality of human nature and mans struggle between two natural forces – good and evil. The story takes place during the Victorian Era in which society is already somewhat constrained and cruel and explores the human struggle between being civilized and facing the more primitive aspects to our being. According to author Irving S Saposnik, “Henry Jekyll’s experiment to free himself from the burden of duality results in failure because of his moral myopia, because he is a victim of society’s standards even while he would be free of them.” Henry Jekyll, an English doctor faces duality when he comes into battle with his darker side. Creating a personification under the name of Edward Hyde in order to fulfill his desires, Dr. Jekyll feels as if he will be able to control the face that he wants seen to public vs. the one in which he wants to keep more private. “Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years of reflection, and began to look round me, and take stock of my progress and position in the world, I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life.” (10.1) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story about how people are scared to acknowledge personal duality so they keep silent and in this case, create a personification in order to fulfill evil desires without thinking through the consequences of such actions.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dual nature of man is a recurring theme. Jekyll constantly struggles with good and evil, the expectations of Victorian society, and the differences between Lanyon and Jekyll.
Waters, Chris. "Robert Louis Stevenson". Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia. Sally Mitchell and Michael J. Herr. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc, 1988. 760-761.
America's greatest and most influential authors developed their passion for writing due to cataclysmic events that affected their life immensely. The ardent author Richard Wright shared similar characteristics to the many prominent American authors, and in fact, attained the title of most well-known black author of America. Richard Wright created many important pieces of literature, that would impact America's belief of racial segregation, and further push the boundaries of his controversial beliefs and involvements in several communist clubs.
...arrying a woman who was cheating on her husband. “She was a 36-year-old American who was married (although separated) and had two children” (biography.com). Her name was Fanny Osbourne, and her and Robert fell in love in France. “Osbourne had traveled to Europe in an attempt to escape her estranged husband’s influence” (gradesaver.com). Stevenson could possibly of gotten his ideas from Fanny’s situation. Her and her first husband once had loyalty, but eventually their relationship turned sour.
“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.
Stevenson uses a combination of: horror, supernatural, moral messages, and mysteries. The use of horror captures us because it’s normally shocking and frightening to think about. When you combine that with mystery you get an effect that makes you feel edgy and nervous to read on but you want to read on because if you don’t you’ll never get the answers to your questions. His uses of moral messages is effective in keeping the reader’s interest because it will make the reader question and doubt themselves on things because they might feel more like Hyde than they would like to.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a riveting tale of how one man uncovers, through scientific experiments, the dual nature within himself. Robert Louis Stevenson uses the story to suggest that this human duality is housed inside everyone. The story reveals “that man is not truly one, but two” (Robert Louis Stevenson 125). He uses the characters of Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde, Dr. Lanyon, and Mr. Utterson to portray this concept. He also utilizes important events, such as the death of Dr. Jekyll and the death of Mr. Lanyon in his exploration of the topic.
Kiely, Robert. Robert Louis Stevenson and the Fiction of Adventure. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964.
In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the author Robert Louis Stevenson uses Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to show the human duality. Everyone has a split personality, good and evil. Stevenson presents Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as two separate characters, instead of just one. Dr. Jekyll symbolizes the human composite of a person while Mr. Hyde symbolizes the absolute evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who are indeed the same person, present good and evil throughout the novel.
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