preview

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Analysis

Decent Essays

Robert Louis Stevenson used quite a similar thematic line an Austen in that he too focused his characters decisions ultimately based upon societies subsequent opinion of well-established men of the time. He, like Austen, mirrored characters to highlight the importance decisions made or specific characteristics significant to the particular character. He used the personalities of the contradicting Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to signify the differences between right and wrong and then used supporting characters like Mr Utterson to explain a choice made like a living conscience or as a confidant to the character in question to help navigate a particular construct of morality being focused on. Stevenson not only used his characters to highlight another character he also used them as a device to identify the social climate of Victorian England. Utterson is one such character unlike Jekyll or Hyde he is not an obvious device, but his demeanour and connection to Jekyll can be viewed as a moral representation of Victorian England’s anxieties and its people. Irving Saposnik supports this idea by stating in the article ‘The Anatomy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ that, “Clearly the moral norm of the story, he is introduced first not only because he is Jekyll's confidant (the only one remaining), but because by person and profession he represents the best and …show more content…

He was a highly respected man in Victorian England as a Doctor, because of this was offered a set of publicly accepted moral values and ethical codes to abide by to maintain is respectable status within the community. Stevenson uses this notional of public respectability to shape Dr Jekyll’s choices such as creating the Mr Hyde character to protect himself publically against his darker compulsions. Saposnik comments on the notion of social acceptability supporting the idea of Dr Jekyll as a device by

Get Access