Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Character Analysis

“It brought home to me the deeply Jungian possibilities of a Dr Jekyll-Mr Hyde double life for women.” Atwood makes a psychoanalytical allusion to Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which tells of a

“A man is not truly one, but truly two” this is ideology from the character Dr. Jekyll in the famous Victorian Gothic novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde published by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson’s novel touched upon the dual nature of humankind, and helped the Victorian era understand the evolution in scientific inquiry and technological advances of a resistant audience. Stevenson’s novel reflects his view on the theory of evolution engaged by scientist of Victorian Era, and the themes and his characters indulge in the progression of man and his view of the human mind. His diction interests the audience bringing life to the story and creates the longevity through all aspect that continue to influence the minds of modern

The dehumanisation of creations is not only influenced by their lack of names, and creators are also dehumanised to an extent. The hideousness of the Creature and Hyde influences their dehumanisation as society cannot be seen to accept those who are deformed or evil.

“All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.” (Stevenson 45)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic novel that was wrote during the 1800s, or other known as the enlightenment era. During this era, the ideas of discovering the natural law of the universe and the thirst for scientific knowledge were being spread all across Europe. Mary Shelley incorporates these ideas with Victor Frankenstein's thirst for dangerous knowledge, and through allusions of Prometheus and the Genesis story. Shelley not only incorporates other supplementary readings into Frankenstein, but uses feminist literary theory as a way to put to life the idea of women’s inferiority to men.

Even the most casual reader can note the fact that there are very few female characters present in Robert Louis Stevenson's 19th century novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Those that are found within the work hardly constitute as substantial ones none of the women have more than a few lines of dialogue and appear within the tale for longer than a chapter or two. A bevy of critics have pointed out the fact that such an egregious omission is hardly coincidental in fact, more than a few have cited the fact that this piece of literature functions as a protest regarding the degree of women's liberation that the New Woman possessed near the turn of the 20th century in Victorian England (Reed 2). When considered through this feminist lens, it becomes easily discernible to the prudent reader that Stevenson portrayed no female characters in a positive light and simply used them to reinforce negative aspects of femininity, which he believed were rapidly changing for the worse.

The motivation an individual has is relative and dependent on the goals and aspirations they possess. A person’s actions are direct results of their personal desires. The influence an individual’s want has on their particular outcome is exemplified through the novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. This novella recites the tale of a scientist, Dr. Jekyll who consumes a potion and is transformed into a malicious, dehumanized being known as Mr. Hyde. It showcases how Dr. Jekyll’s strive for perfection ultimately leads to the creation of his life-altering identity, Mr. Hyde. The motivation that ultimately destroys Dr. Jekyll stems from his desire to uphold appearances, need for answers and the repression in Victorian society. The nature of an individual’s desire is the dictator of the extent they will go to actualize their motivation.

That which is willed and that which is wanted can be as different as the mind and the heart.  The Victorian age in English Literature is known for its earnest obedience to a moralistic and highly structured social code of conduct; however, in the last decade of the 19th Century this order began to be questioned.  So dramatic was the change in thought that Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (published in 1883) and Doyle's The Sign of Four (published in 1890) can be used to display this breaking away from strict social and moral standards.  Stevenson's

The minor characters in a story can play such a major role. In the novel, “The Strange Case of Dr .Jekyll and Mr.Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, the readers are introduced to several minor characters, such as Lanyon, Enfield, Carew, and Poole, who help advance the plot. Hastie Lanyon was an old friend of Jekyll who wrote a letter to Utterson about what he witnessed, Richard Enfield told the story of the door , Sir Danvers Carew was murdered by Hyde, and Poole was Jekyll’s butler who got Utterson for help. These minor characters play a major role in the plot.

Throughout one of her better renowned works, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft wishes “to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body.” Approximately three decades later, her daughter, Mary Shelly, writes such a horrific, gothic novel that is ironically devoid of any strong female leads – Frankenstein. Though filled with feeble female characters which highlights the brusque treatment of women within a patriarchal society, Frankenstein has a more enthralling philosophy to voice. The theme of Frankenstein essentially derives from the fact that though men retain the leading roles throughout the entire novel, it is full of mistakes they make; therefore, Mary Shelley is making a truly feminist point by stating that women are the primary gender who source livelihood within society.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a male-oriented novel, with woman as the side characters. The multiple woman in the novel unknowingly shape the story. The story would not exist without Margaret and the letters her brother sends from the Arctic. Justine Moritz taking the blame for The Creatures murder of William Frankenstein. The Creature spying on the De Lacy woman, witnessing acts of kindness and receiving a form of education form his observations. Caroline with her need to care for Elizabeth, and what results from her care. Elizabeth influencing Victor by simply existing. The role women have in Frankenstein is more important than one may think at first.

In the story of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), the character Dr Henry Jekyll develops an alter ego called Mr Edward Hyde while trying to seperate the two consciences he believes everyone has inside of them. This Mr Hyde ego is the evil half of Dr Jekyll and performs horrendous acts like murder feeling no guilt, but when Dr Jekyll regains control of the body they share he is overcome with regret. This wonder about multiple consciences was popular at the time of the story’s writing with double personality being “one of the most widely discussed clinical disorders” (Armstrong 189). This essay will discuss the ‘reverse transformation’ found in the novel and how it was influenced by the thoughts of society in the time it was written.

Stevenson shows how repression can lead to the development of dangerous, horrible secrets. The novella depicts repression through the character of Dr. Henry Jekyll, and shows what kind of threats it could pose on the society and its individuals. Edward Hyde is Dr. Jekyll’s doppelganger. He is the manifestation of Dr. Jekyll’s suppressed thoughts and desires. When Dr. Jekyll transformed into Hyde he turned the tables around. He challenged society. The transformation of a typical, respected Victorian gentleman into a troglodytic, dwarfish creature is an unsettling secret that highlights Gothicism in the novella. The idea of transforming from a high class Victorian gentleman into an apelike atavist underlines society’s fear of social and moral regression (Clausson, 2005).

There are two film interpretations of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one of which was more original and advanced for having been made in 1931. This interpretation violates Victorian morality, using the theme of the story all about sexual repression. Another version that was created in 1941 stole pieces of the screenplay from the 1931 film. Both of these films could not be more different, yet they do have some similarities that can be noticed on screen.

As mentioned above, there is another scientist, Dr. Jekyll, who also undergoes a similar situation to Frankenstein. In this novel, we have a man who has a good side, but also an evil side. Dr, Jekyll is normally known as a sincere, friendly man, however, he alters into someone with a wicked, corrupted intellect. As a result of him being fascinated with separating evil from good, he produces a potion that allows him to transform into someone else who will be able to live out the malicious impulses. This person is known as Mr. Hyde. Throughout the story, Dr. Jekyll consistently metamorphoses into Mr. Hyde, who creates mishap within society as well.