Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
This novella, although unapparent, is intertwined with many
allegorical undertones. Stevenson uses the book to criticise Victorian
society and its hypocritical existence. The most significant thematic
concern of the novella is the continually revisited theme of the
duality of man and the camouflaged evil that lies deep within the
human race.
Stevenson was writing before the period in which the great
psychologist Sigmund Freud was researching the human mind, so in some
ways Stevenson was ahead of his time in resolving the 'mystery of the
mind'. Stevenson's novella, after being added to by his wife on the
book's revision, contained much evidence of these theories of the
human psyche.
Armed with this weapon, Stevenson used the novella to attack the
hypocritical ways of the Victorian society he lived in. The theme
plays on the idea of a part of the unconscious, the 'id'. The id is
the Hyde part of a human, which is of course repressed, undeveloped
and primitive, with the taste for hunting and sex. Then on the other
hand is the 'superego', your conscience and morality, with the
"floater" between the two, the 'ego'. Jekyll stresses that, "man is
not truly one, but truly two."
This all links to the theme of hypocrisy in Victorian society. Jekyll
admits, "...and it was as a secret sinner that I at last fell before
the assaults of temptation." Stevenson tries to reveal the double
lives that were being lived around this era. Some critics believe that
this is a self-confession of Stevenson's sinful past. Jekyll is the
perfect representation of hypocrisy, as he is described as the
"spotless Jekyll" yet continuously lying to Utterson and one could
argue, soci...
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...en to partake in his, "scientific balderdash".
One more symbol is apparent. The key to the laboratory is a symbol of
power and authority and in this case, the key holds satanic power,
therefore Hyde is the one who has the power to change back into
Jekyll. When Utterson and Poole search for the key and fail to find
it, they cannot overcome evil. This also means that they do not have
access to evil, as they are sinless in the story.
It is clear that Jekyll started with selfish intentions when he
strived for a better self, this is why the experiment only stripped
Jekyll of the Jekyll veneer, leaving the Hyde interior. And that
Jekyll is in fact a host for the constant bombardment of metaphors,
especially with hypocrisy as Jekyll represents hypocrisy and the
Victorian society itself.
"In Hyde, you have no Jekyll but in Jekyll, you always have some Hyde"
The id, acts on impulses and wants instant gratification. This occurs when Holden has Sunny, a prostitute, come to his room. Holden tells Maurice, the elevator guy, “Okay,” I said. It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think” (page 91). Holden felt so depressed that he wasn’t even sure what he agreed to and after agreeing he regretted it. Holden accepts Maurice’s offer of having a prostitute sent to his room without thinking first, which was an impulse that his brain had. The id also appears every time Holden drinks and smokes. Holden “…sat up in bed and smoked another cigarette. It tasted lousy. I must’ve smoked around two packs since I left Pencey” (page 100). The id is tellin...
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The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Robert Stevenson In this assignment, I will be reading through the opening chapter of this novel and trying to explain to what extent the characters reveal things about themselves and what they keep to themselves. Also I will illustrate the way people’s reputation is presented. I will use examples from the text itself to back up my explanations and focus on the four main characters which are Utterson, Enfield, Jekyll and Hyde. I feel that privacy and reputation is very important to the plot of this story. Mr. Utterson is a lawyer, he is described as a man of ‘rugged countenance’, that was never lightened by a smile; cold, scanty and ‘embarrassed in discourse’; ‘backward in sentiment’; lean, long, dusty, dreary, ‘and yet somehow lovable’.
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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R.L. Stevenson 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was written in the late 19th century by an English author named R.L.Stevenson. Victorians were interested in Darwin's theory of evolution and Stevenson took advantage of this. Not all classes were educated, so Stevenson had to aim for higher-class people. Jekyll would be the same class as the readers, whereas Hyde would be unknown to such people because he was associated with the lower classes. Stevenson was influenced by Darwinism in the novella to involve Victorian Society.
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we deny our bad side. It looks at a doctor called Dr Jekyll who feels
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