Victorianism Versus Modernism

Good and Evil in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish author. Written and published 1886, this novella reflects on the individual, and societal behavior during the Victorian era. During the Victorian era people, were supposed to behave like a normal person. Certain behaviors were highly restricted for example, showing evil. Instead, they were expected to give respect for everyone. People who acted out against the norm during this period were usually sent to asylums because such behaviors were unacceptable. People in this society did just that, they behaved as if they were perfectly normal. This does not mean that their bad side did not exist. Instead, they hid their

Vladimir Nabokov’s ability to interpret and analyze Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is impressive, yet his label’s of the tale cause some debate. In an effort to delve deeper into the inner workings of the tale, and Stevenson’s intentions, Nabokov discusses some ideas that are both complex and controversial. Though he tackles this feat with great effort, the way in which he labels the story as a whole, contradicts reality.

In this essay I am going to look at Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll, the first

Dr. Henry Jekyll is a respected doctor and a friend of Lanyon, a fellow physician and Utterson, a lawyer. He is a well-respected man in the city of London and is known for his charitable works. On the outside, he seems like a harmless individual. What the people of London don’t know is that since a boy Dr. Jekyll has taken part in unnamed corrupt behavior that could ruin his reputation if discovered. Dr. Jekyll finds that the “evil” part of his personality is troublesome, so he takes matters into his own hands and invents a tonic that can allow him to fully become his darker half. This, in turn, brings about the uncanny Mr. Edward Hyde; a creature not of the rational world and free of conscience. His appearance alone is but enough to make one’s hairs stand on end. Mr. Hyde is a violent and irate man who represents the fleshy, sexual aspects of a personality that Victorian men of that time period felt the need to hide. Anyone who crosses his path tells of his

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was wrote in 18th centuries, the times that were defined as ‘Gothic revival’. The literature in this times had similar thematic elements include supernatural or ‘fantastic’, violent crime (death and murder), passionate romance (often with death). The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was considered as typical Gothic literature. Particularly, repression and hypocrisy are highly emphasized in the novel. Repression is undoubtedly a cause of conflict between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The root of this repression can be found in Victorian England where there was no sexual appetites, no violence and no freedom of expressing emotion in the public sphere. Everything should be restrained and people in that times all behaved solemn and were not allowed to show their joys and sorrows. This repression can be well reflected within Dr. Jekyll in the novel. According to quotation of Stevenson’s description:

The sophisticatedly-constructed novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was devised in 1886, during the revolutionary Victorian era, by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson developed a desire to write in his early life and ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ cemented his reputation. The novel is widely known for its shocking principles that terrified and alarmed the Victorian readers. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ plays with the idea of the dual nature of man, his two identities. On the surface, Dr Jekyll is a conventional, Victorian gentleman, but below the surface lurks the primitive, satanic-like creature of Mr Edward Hyde. One of the elements that play a significant part in the novel is setting. Stevenson subtly uses the setting to

To begin with, Dr. Jekyll is a well-rounded, well-respected man descending from a highly intellectual and respected Christian family of doctors and lawyers. He is nothing short of the ideal Victorian gentleman: tall, polite, honorable and refined, physically portrayed as being “a large well-made man of fifty,” and as having a “large, handsome face” (Stevenson, 19). Opposed to this seemingly impeccable man is none other than Mr. Edward Hyde, a short, hairy, ‘troglodyte’ man with a horrific

Jekyll admits in his own recounting of the tale that he had an “impatient gaiety of disposition” and he “concealed [his] pleasures,” even before Hyde existed. Through this, Jekyll showed that he preferred chasing his desires to building both family and reputation. (Stevenson, 1991, p. 41). Once Hyde emerges from Jekyll, this abandonment becomes even more pronounced: “I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy” (Stevenson, 1991, p. 43). The character of Hyde is the antithesis of Victorianism as he is quick to engage in any act which pleases him, regardless of the possible consequences to reputation or the effect it could have on his society.

Modernism is the term of deviating from the norm. In the early 1900s, modernism influenced women’s role in society by providing more opportunities, jobs, and role models for girls today, in society.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde unveils various gothic elements. It is a mesh of different stories into one. The several narratives embraced by Jekyll do not exist separately, but instead rely on one another, (Germana, 2011). The Gothicism in, and concept of the novella shocked readers of its time. The novella offered new scientific thought, which many feared and could not accept.

Romantic and Victorian Themes and Preoccupations in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Modernism was a movement that was developed during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Modernism developed due to the changes happening in societies at the time. Around the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century there was a rise in the industrial society’s where there were advancements in technologies and machines, and a rapid growths in cities. This lead to a change in cultural trends and philosophies, which is known as modernism. Modernism was well known for the rejection on traditional way, such as the arts and beliefs. It rejected the idea of realism and religious beliefs. During these years modernism could be distinguished by two aspects, High and Low Modernism.

Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, is another novel that took real attention in the people of the Victorian period. He became pretty known when he created and publish this novel and achieved great success. It was about a dedicated scientist, Dr. Jekyll, who had two different personalities and perspectives, split in the sense that good and evil lies in the same human. Following this, he made a portion, drank the substance and transformed himself into a hideous monster, Hyde. Mr. Utterson is a lawyer who helps to solve this case, in fact, he is the focused character in the story. After all, this novel portraits that science had an important role in this era. Meaning that all the scientific knowledge was presented in that time. Although, in those times, England had a gloomy atmosphere and was surrounded by clouds just like in the novel. And there are some breakthroughs in science that are still relevant in actual times. But, social behaviors led the upper class to demonstrate double identity in the Victorian period. This story can be interpreted as examining the duality of human