Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Context
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was interested in man’s different sides. As an adult, Stevenson
was interested in the behaviour of Victorian gentlemen – the way they maintained an outwardly
respectable appearance, but secretly indulged in immoral behaviour. As a child he was influenced by
the strict Christian beliefs of his nanny.
Victorian society was very religious, many people believed that God created the universe and that he
was the sole creator. Due to the society’s interest in religion, people were afraid of scientific
developments and feared what this would do to mankind. Charles Darwin put forward his theory of
evolution in ‘On the origin of species’, published in 1859. Darwin’s book claimed that all creatures
evolved from common ancestors through a process called ‘natural selection’. In a later book he wrote
about humans, arguing that they shared a common ancestor with apes. Darwin’s writings went
against the Christian idea that man’s nature was different from other animals. Its an unsettling idea
that there may be an animalistic side to everyone, capable of uncivilised acts and violent crimes.
Key Theme – Duality
Stevensons Intentions – Stevenson promotes the idea of human duality to criticise Christian
attitudes and beliefs about repression and always exhibiting a faultless reputation, forcing men to
indulge in their desires in secrecy, and instead Stevenson may be trying to encourage his readership
to not repress one side of their personality and that human duplicity is something that should be
considered ‘natural’.
Jekyll
Describes himself and Hyde as ‘polar twins’. Polar implies equal opposites, they are a part of the
same being yet different, similarly ‘twins’ infers the two are connected.
‘already committed to a profound duplicity of life’
‘man is not truly one, but truly two’
Hyde
Hyde’s acts of violence and destruction are contrasted with the goodness of their subjects: the young
girl, ‘pretty’ old Sir Danvers Carew and the religious text he defaces.
‘that child of hell’ - Hell has connotations of corruption and sin, whilst the noun child implies a naïve
innocence about Hyde.
‘Trampled calmly’ – oxymoron. Instantly from the beginning introduces the theme of duality. The
verb ‘trampled’ connotes a violent, vicious attack, which highlights Mr Hyde’s barbarity and beastly
nature, it also has animalistic connotations which pushes the idea of Hyde being a regressed human.
The fact that Hyde can trample over a young girl ‘calmly’ shows his amoral nature and would shock a
contemporary Victorian reader.
Jekyll often uses imagery relating to the devil and to animals to talk about Hyde. Devils and animals
are clearly distinct from humans, so these images stress how inhuman Hyde is, however animals are
Context
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was interested in man’s different sides. As an adult, Stevenson
was interested in the behaviour of Victorian gentlemen – the way they maintained an outwardly
respectable appearance, but secretly indulged in immoral behaviour. As a child he was influenced by
the strict Christian beliefs of his nanny.
Victorian society was very religious, many people believed that God created the universe and that he
was the sole creator. Due to the society’s interest in religion, people were afraid of scientific
developments and feared what this would do to mankind. Charles Darwin put forward his theory of
evolution in ‘On the origin of species’, published in 1859. Darwin’s book claimed that all creatures
evolved from common ancestors through a process called ‘natural selection’. In a later book he wrote
about humans, arguing that they shared a common ancestor with apes. Darwin’s writings went
against the Christian idea that man’s nature was different from other animals. Its an unsettling idea
that there may be an animalistic side to everyone, capable of uncivilised acts and violent crimes.
Key Theme – Duality
Stevensons Intentions – Stevenson promotes the idea of human duality to criticise Christian
attitudes and beliefs about repression and always exhibiting a faultless reputation, forcing men to
indulge in their desires in secrecy, and instead Stevenson may be trying to encourage his readership
to not repress one side of their personality and that human duplicity is something that should be
considered ‘natural’.
Jekyll
Describes himself and Hyde as ‘polar twins’. Polar implies equal opposites, they are a part of the
same being yet different, similarly ‘twins’ infers the two are connected.
‘already committed to a profound duplicity of life’
‘man is not truly one, but truly two’
Hyde
Hyde’s acts of violence and destruction are contrasted with the goodness of their subjects: the young
girl, ‘pretty’ old Sir Danvers Carew and the religious text he defaces.
‘that child of hell’ - Hell has connotations of corruption and sin, whilst the noun child implies a naïve
innocence about Hyde.
‘Trampled calmly’ – oxymoron. Instantly from the beginning introduces the theme of duality. The
verb ‘trampled’ connotes a violent, vicious attack, which highlights Mr Hyde’s barbarity and beastly
nature, it also has animalistic connotations which pushes the idea of Hyde being a regressed human.
The fact that Hyde can trample over a young girl ‘calmly’ shows his amoral nature and would shock a
contemporary Victorian reader.
Jekyll often uses imagery relating to the devil and to animals to talk about Hyde. Devils and animals
are clearly distinct from humans, so these images stress how inhuman Hyde is, however animals are
