The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson
· First published in January of 1886
· Genre - gothic mystery
· POV - anonymous 3rd person narrator, typically follows Utterson's point of view but toward the end Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll each report their experiences from their perspectives.
· Tone - mysterious and serious
· Setting - late nineteenth century London
· Protagonist - Dr. Henry Jekyll
· Conflict - Jekyll attempts to keep his dark half, Edward Hyde, undercontrol and then to prevent himself from becoming Hydepermanently.
· Climax - finding Hyde's corpse... OR seeing the transformation from Hyde to Jekyll and the connection between personas is explained
· Themes - the duality of human nature, importance of reputation
· Symbols - Jekyll's laboratory, Hyde's physical appearance
· Foreshadowing - FEW specific instances other than the pervading tone of impending disaster
It is important to remember that Stevenson’s novel does not reveal the secret until the very end. Instead, the book presents us with what seems like a detective novel, beginning with a sinister figure of unknown origin, a mysterious act of violence, and hints of blackmail and secret scandal. Although the opening scene also contains vaguely supernatural elements, particularly in the strange dread that Hyde inspires, Stevenson likely intended his readers to enter the novel believing it to be nothing more than a mystery story.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Freud...
The theory that has most influenced interpretations of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is Sigmund Freud’s theory of repression. Repression is a process by which unacceptable desires or impulses are excluded from consciousness and left to operate in the unconscious. Only by means as psychoanalysis, dream analysis, or hypnosis can the repressed desires or impulses be brought to light and examined. From a psychoanalytic point of view, Henry Jekyll, outwardly a respectable doctor, has repressed his desires to live a life of vice and forbidden activities. Stevenson hints at Jekyll’s wild youth and secret desires. Jekyll’s need for respectability keeps him from openly admitting and pursuing his desires, and the resulting conflict between what he secretly wants and what he feels his position in society requires of him causes a mental disorder...
Author Study…
When Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy in Edinburgh, his family owned a piece of furniture made by a craftsman named William Brodie. Well known as a leading citizen and respectable businessman, Brodie had a dark side. Secretly, he was the leader of a band of criminals who robbed at night. He was finally caught and hanged in 1788. The famous figure fascinated the young boy, and in 1882, Stevenson and a friend wrote a play on the subject.
Victorian Society…
In The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson describes life in London during the 1880s (the latter half of the Victorian period). During that time, society was sharply divided into distinct social classes and their corresponding communities. Generally, people were uncomfortable and often unwelcome in parts of town that were not inhabited by their own social group. Most Londoners stayed in their own neighborhoods. This geographical and social fragmentation is an essential part of the setting of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde belongs to a category of fiction known as the novella, novelette, or short novel. Novellas are longer and more complex than short stories but shorter and simpler than novels. The novella form has appealed to many great writers. Why do you think Stevenson chose to limit the length of his story? How might it have been different if the author had chosen to make it either a short story or a novel? What might Stevenson’s tale have lost or gained by being written in a different form?
***Allusion Damon and Pythias***
(Greek mythology) according to a Greek legend: when Pythias was sentenced to be executed Damon took his place to allow Pythias to get his affairs in order; when Pythias returned in time to save Damon the king was so impressed that he let them both live.
Vocabulary…
insubstantial (adj) - lacking substance; not solid
estrange (v) - alienate the affections of
transpire (v) - to occur or take place
genialty (adj) - cordial; pleasantly cheerful
besiege (v) - to assail with requests or demands
reprove (v) - to prove again
blatant (adj) - branzenly obvious
heresy (n) - belief/theory at variance with the excepted doctrine or customs
inordinate (adj) - not within reasonable limits
florid (adj) - rosy or flowery
protege (n) - under the patronage or protection of someone instrested in your welfare or career
labyrinth (n) - an intricate network; maze
contrive (v) - to plan, devise, or plot
sordid (adj) - morally ignoble; vile
relish (v) - liking or enjoyment; to take pleasure in
quaint (adj) - old-fashioned attractiveness or charm
austere (adj) - severe, stern
conflagration (n) - raging fire
demeanour (n) - manner
negligence (n) - carelessness
odious (adj) - hateful
perplexity (n) - confusion
sedulously (adv) - tirelessly
sullenness (n) - gloominess
allusion (n) - reference
calamity (n) - disaster
dire (adj) - dreadful; extremely urgent
disreputable (adj) - of a bad reputation
inscrutable (adj) - not readily interpreted or understood; mysterious
mien (n) - air or bearing; appearance
stringent (adj) - strict, extremely severe
vile (adj) - morally despicable, or abhorrent; physically repulsive
Reading Questions (comprehension check)…
1. What story does Enfield tell when he and Utterson pass the door? What does hearing the story cause Utterson to do?
2. After their meeting, what do Enfield and Utterson both suspect about the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde?
3. What two pieces of information does Utterson learn about Hyde’s letter to Jekyll? What do you predict that Utterson will do to help his old friend, who he suspects is in serious trouble?
4. Describe Hyde. Can you?? Why does Stevenson deliberately avoid a full description? (symbolism...)
Discussion topics...
1. How does the story deal with issues of respectability, concealment and hypocrisy? Why might these be important for persons living in Stevenson's time period?
2. What social groups and classes are represented by the characters and concerns of the story? What function is served by the descriptions of interiors and the presence of a butler?
3. What influence do descriptions of weather and ambience have on the tale?
4. What do we learn from the scene in "Dr. Jekyll Was Quite at Ease" in which Utterson and Jekyll discuss his will? How is Jekyll self-deluded? What ominous promise does he extract from Utterson?
5. What are ways in which this story seems to be an allegory?
6. What other literary works does this story call to your mind? What aspects of the story are added by its social and psychological setting? Specifically, what psychological aspects of the tale are suggested by the descriptions of the London streets, and by the dwellings and chambers of Jekyll/Hyde and Hyde? Do the names have possible meanings?
8. What mysterious effect does Hyde have on others? How is his character related to the state of sleep?
9. Does the reader feel the purgation of tragedy at the end? (catharsis through pity and terror) Does the story or its resolution suggest a usable moral to the reader?
10. Why do you think this gloomy tale of fear and self-distaste has been widely popular for more than a century?
11. Do any features of the story or its ending suggest preoccupations of other Scottish tales or aspects of culture?