Dr Jekyll
Stevenson seems to present dr Jekyll as the archetypal model of Victorian respectability, only to
reveal a hidden, malevolent side to his character, thus exploring the hypocrisy of the the class system
in Victorian society. (1)
Stevenson presents Jekyll as an Adam-like figure whose curiosity for forbidden knowledge as He
exploits the fears surrounding the pace of scientific change prevalent in the fin de siècle period. (2)
In the final epistolary chapter, Stevenson presents Jekyll as an unreliable narrator in order to invite
the reader to question his responsibility and enquire as to what extent Jekyll and Hyde are different
characters at all. The ambiguity surrounding the responsibility of Jekyll mirrors the societal fear of
whether we have a spark of the divine inside of us or if we are just beasts hiding behind the façade of
upper-class gentility. (3)
Quotes for point 1:
‘Large, well-made, smooth-faced’ ‘handsome’- Jekyll is the respectable social façade of
civility
‘born to a large fortune’ ‘imperious desire to hold my head high’- however ‘I concealed my
pleasures’
Wants to ‘wear a more than commonly grave countenance’
The juxtaposition between the expectation of Jekyll to ‘hold his head high’ and his
‘undignified pleasures’
Euphemism- also obscures meaning- it is unclear what his ‘pleasures’ are. Interestingly his
self-censorship is another reflection of the highly moralistic Victorian society as writing
explicitly about vice would be condemned
Utterson tells the reader ‘Jekyll was wild when he was young’ and believes he is paying for
some ‘capers of his youth’
Stevenson uses Jekyll as a vehicle to explore ideas of the façade of the upper class and the outward
display of morality by describing him as a man who can indulge in vice whilst hiding behind the cloak
that is Hyde. Stevenson uses the character of Jekyll to highlight the contrast of the ‘respectability’ of
the Victorian upper class with ideas of vice. Jekyll possesses the id (deep instinctive desires) which
lies within every man which explores the idea of the façade of the upper class concealing the beast
within with outward displays of ‘morality’. Ostensibly, Jekyll is characterised as the ego and seems to
be the model for a Victorian gentleman but behind the veneer of Victorian respectability a darker
more malevolent side to his character is revealed. Hyde is a mere disguise by which Jekyll can
indulge in ‘pleasures’ he had ‘concealed’ anyway which highlights how Stevenson uses the character
of Jekyll to explore the hypocrisy of the class system in Victorian society. Anne Radcliffe who was a
gothic writer and critic made a distinction between the horror of explicit images of violence and the
terror of ambiguity in a gothic novel. Therefore, the true terror of the novel is arguably that the crimes
of Jekyll are his alone, as Stevenson critiques the hypocrisy of the façade of the upper-class gentleman
who alleged ‘morality’ but were often associated with vice.
Quotes for point 2:
‘Scientific heresies’ -oxymoron
‘Shrank back with a hissing intake of breath’ hissing is comparable to a snake which is a symbol of
evil due to the story of Adam and Eve. It is a metatextual reference to the bible and references the Fall
which mirrors Max Nordau’s ideas of the dangers to succumbing to indulgence. Stevenson uses
biblical allusions to the succumbing to immoral temptation to present Jekyll as an Adam type figure
who succumbs to this malevolent side of himself.
‘Unscientific balderdash’- playing with forbidden knowledge
Stevenson seems to present dr Jekyll as the archetypal model of Victorian respectability, only to
reveal a hidden, malevolent side to his character, thus exploring the hypocrisy of the the class system
in Victorian society. (1)
Stevenson presents Jekyll as an Adam-like figure whose curiosity for forbidden knowledge as He
exploits the fears surrounding the pace of scientific change prevalent in the fin de siècle period. (2)
In the final epistolary chapter, Stevenson presents Jekyll as an unreliable narrator in order to invite
the reader to question his responsibility and enquire as to what extent Jekyll and Hyde are different
characters at all. The ambiguity surrounding the responsibility of Jekyll mirrors the societal fear of
whether we have a spark of the divine inside of us or if we are just beasts hiding behind the façade of
upper-class gentility. (3)
Quotes for point 1:
‘Large, well-made, smooth-faced’ ‘handsome’- Jekyll is the respectable social façade of
civility
‘born to a large fortune’ ‘imperious desire to hold my head high’- however ‘I concealed my
pleasures’
Wants to ‘wear a more than commonly grave countenance’
The juxtaposition between the expectation of Jekyll to ‘hold his head high’ and his
‘undignified pleasures’
Euphemism- also obscures meaning- it is unclear what his ‘pleasures’ are. Interestingly his
self-censorship is another reflection of the highly moralistic Victorian society as writing
explicitly about vice would be condemned
Utterson tells the reader ‘Jekyll was wild when he was young’ and believes he is paying for
some ‘capers of his youth’
Stevenson uses Jekyll as a vehicle to explore ideas of the façade of the upper class and the outward
display of morality by describing him as a man who can indulge in vice whilst hiding behind the cloak
that is Hyde. Stevenson uses the character of Jekyll to highlight the contrast of the ‘respectability’ of
the Victorian upper class with ideas of vice. Jekyll possesses the id (deep instinctive desires) which
lies within every man which explores the idea of the façade of the upper class concealing the beast
within with outward displays of ‘morality’. Ostensibly, Jekyll is characterised as the ego and seems to
be the model for a Victorian gentleman but behind the veneer of Victorian respectability a darker
more malevolent side to his character is revealed. Hyde is a mere disguise by which Jekyll can
indulge in ‘pleasures’ he had ‘concealed’ anyway which highlights how Stevenson uses the character
of Jekyll to explore the hypocrisy of the class system in Victorian society. Anne Radcliffe who was a
gothic writer and critic made a distinction between the horror of explicit images of violence and the
terror of ambiguity in a gothic novel. Therefore, the true terror of the novel is arguably that the crimes
of Jekyll are his alone, as Stevenson critiques the hypocrisy of the façade of the upper-class gentleman
who alleged ‘morality’ but were often associated with vice.
Quotes for point 2:
‘Scientific heresies’ -oxymoron
‘Shrank back with a hissing intake of breath’ hissing is comparable to a snake which is a symbol of
evil due to the story of Adam and Eve. It is a metatextual reference to the bible and references the Fall
which mirrors Max Nordau’s ideas of the dangers to succumbing to indulgence. Stevenson uses
biblical allusions to the succumbing to immoral temptation to present Jekyll as an Adam type figure
who succumbs to this malevolent side of himself.
‘Unscientific balderdash’- playing with forbidden knowledge
