Henry Jekyll and Ed Gein: Fiction Vs. Nonfiction The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde was written in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson. Its genres include gothic and horror fiction while its themes encompass selfish behavior as well as downfall. This novel, which depicts the life of Doctor Henry Jekyll as well as Mr. Edward Hyde, show how all these characters contribute to each other’s development within society. In comparison, Ed Gein from Starcasm’s “The true story of Ed Gein, the inspiration for Psycho’s Norman Bates”, is used as a real-life comparison to Stevenson’s Dr. Jeckyll. Ed Gein, born in 1906, had a father who was labeled as “weak”, a brother who died mysteriously, and a mother who was considered a religious fanatic. Ed Gein, …show more content…
Jeckyll and Ed Gein’s alike. The most common symptoms experienced by those affected by this disorder incorporate things such as memory loss or partial amnesia, isolation (from one’s self or others), stress, anxiety, depression, a blurred sense of identity among many others. Much of the text in The Strange Case… is told by the narrator, and this includes the following quote. “The middle one of the three windows were open, and sitting close beside it, taking in the air with an infinite sadness, like some disconsolate prisoner, Utterson saw Dr. Jeckyll…” (Stevenson 37). It is evident that Jekyll showed at least two of the symptoms mentioned above, primarily: ‘a blurred sense of identity’ and ‘isolation’. Similarly, Edward Gein experienced these symptoms after the death of his mother, which left him without any family. “…author Harold Scheter says [referring to Ed’s mother passing away] this loss obviously hit Ed hard because he “lost his only friend and one true love. And he was absolutely alone in the world.” (Emily 2). Having a blurred identity led to deeper isolation among these men. Unable to fully relate their actions to others and having two different personalities consumed their lives. DID can develop from trauma as well as abuse which are present themes in the lives of these men. Drug abuse led to the creation of Mr. Hyde, Henry Jekyll's second personality. While in Ed’s case, his second identity developed from an unhealthy and abusive childhood. Per Starcasm “…he was teased by classmates for being effeminate and shy – leading him to cling even closer to his mother” (Emily 1). Ed Gein’s strong and odd attachment to his mother led to his sinister actions which include desecrating graves and murdering women. Lastly, a resemblance these two men share is their secretive ways. On some level, it can be assumed that both Gein and Jeckyll knew
Ed...well, he was born and raised in Plainfield. His daddy ran a farm just a few miles outside town. It wasn't long before his daddy up and died–left Ed and his brother alone with that crazy ass momma of their's. That woman was nuts. She went around tellin' them boys that all women was evil. She'd beat'em if they even thought ‘bout courting. When his momma died Ed was near on to thirty years old and still living in his momma's house. He finally took a liking to some gals in town. I guess it was finally safe to talk to ‘em.
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
For both Holmes and Jekyll, an internal anxiety plagues their actions and thoughts. An aversion to "boredom" troubles Holmes, while Jekyll struggles to come to terms with "man's dual nature" (Stevenson, 42). Holmes defends his drug use by declaring:
“The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde” is a novella written in the Victorian era, more specifically in 1886 by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. When the novella was first published it had caused a lot of public outrage as it clashed with many of the views regarding the duality of the soul and science itself. The audience can relate many of the themes of the story with Stevenson’s personal life. Due to the fact that Stevenson started out as a sick child, moving from hospital to hospital, and continued on that track as an adult, a lot of the medical influence of the story and the fact that Jekyll’s situation was described as an “fateful illness” is most likely due to Stevenson’s unfortunate and diseased-riddled life. Furthermore the author had been known to dabble in various drugs, this again can be linked to Jekyll’s desperate need and desire to give in to his darker side by changing into Mr Hyde.
Edward Theodore Gein was born on August 27, 1906 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The son of an alcoholic father and a very religious mother, Gein grew up alongside his older brother, Henry, in a household ruled by his mother preaching about the sins of carnal desire. With an effeminate demeanor, Ed Gein became a target for bullies. Classmates and teachers brought up mannerisms from the past, such as seemingly random laughter, as if he were laughing at his own personal jokes. His mother scolded him whenever he tried to make friends, so he never tried anymore because of the pain it caused him. Not being distracted by his social life, he did well in school, mostly in reading. (http://www.biography.com/people/ed-gein-11291338).
However, other characters are forced into isolation for reasons that are not in their control. The actions of another cause them to experience loneliness. The story begins with Robert Walton writing to his sister, Margaret, about his voyage to an undiscovered place. In these letters, as the voyage gets underway, he writes of his loneliness. Letter II states, ?
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Man is not truly one but truly two writes Dr. Jekyll in his full. statement of the case, if applicable. In a way, this idea of Stevenson's foretells. Sigmund Freud's theory of the constantly fighting Id (inner child). ego (the part restrained by the self) and the superego (the restraint).
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When he says ¨The doctor seemed seized with a qualm of faintness¨, (76) this makes the reader wonder about what made him feel this way. ¨It was, at least, a ticklish decision that he had to make;... he began longing for advice¨ (77). This makes the reader wonder what happened to make him change his opinion.
To begin with, Stevenson shows duality of human nature through society. During the Victorian era, there were two classes, trashy and wealthy. Dr. Jekyll comes from a wealthy family, so he is expected to be a proper gentleman. He wants to be taken seriously as a scientist, but also indulge in his darker passions.“...I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality/ of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in/ the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said/ to be either, it was only because I was radically both..."(125).
As Jekyll reached adult hood, he found himself living a dual life. He had become more curious in discovering his other side. Jekyll insists, “Man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). This eventually led Jekyll into the scientific interests of separating his good and evil side, and he finds a chemical concoction that transforms him into a more wicked man, Edward Hyde. At first, Hyde was of pure impulse, but in the end, he became dominate and took control over Jekyll. Jekyll had never intended to hurt anyone, but he was aware that something could potentially go wrong. Jekyll presumes, “I knew well that I risked death, for any drug that so potently shook the very fortress of identity… utterly blot that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change” (127-129). One could say this makes Jekyll equally as menacing as Hyde. Jekyll couldn’t control the imbalance between the two natures. Jekyll foolishly allowed his evil side to flourish and become stronger. This is shown when Jekyll has awoken to find that he has turned into Hyde without taking the solution. Jekyll says, “But the hand in which I now saw, clearly enough in the yellow light of a mid- London morning…It was the hand of Edward Hyde” (139).
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
When Mr. Utterson and Dr. Jekyll are first together in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson describes Dr. Jekyll as, "-a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast, perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness-- (12)." We are also told that Dr. Jekyll has a handsome face (13). Through the text, we learn that Dr. Jekyll was a hardworking, likable gentleman with a deep interest in science.
Psychotic characteristics are one component of anti-social disorders, in which both Hyde as well as Jekyll display throughout the novel. Both characters in the book show these
Shmoop Editorial Team, ‘Mr. Gabriel Utterson in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ Shmoop University, Inc., 11 (2008) < http://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/mr-gabriel-utterson.html> (accessed December 6, 2013).
The story takes place during the Victorian age, a time when there were only two categories of people: good people and bad people. There was no way that one man could be considered acceptable without suppressing his evil side almost entirely. The reason that Jekyll restrained his evil side for so long was because of this dichotomous Victorian society. Most people, including Jekyll’s friends, Lanyon and Utterson, are content to stay molded in this ideal. However, Dr. Jekyll soon became tired of this hypocritical mindset and states that he “it was rather the exacting nature of my aspirations…. that made me who I was and…. severed in me those provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man’s dual nature” (123). He had determined that he would find a way to indulge his more human nature while still yet living in acceptance among his colleagues. Dr. Jekyll soon did discover a method, but it inevitably came with a curse. Stevenson uses this to display that people generally tend to go with the societal flow and conform to other people’s ideas so that they will fit in.