References to Homosexuality in Stevenson's Jekl and Hyde
Stevenson's choice of certain words in the novel is extremely pertinent to a homoerotic reading of the text. In some Victorian circles (and most certainly not in others), certain words had very explicit homosexual connotations.
The word "homosexual" seems to have come into the English language around 1869, introduced by a Hungarian named Benkert but not generally used by the British until the 1880s. Yet, according to Theo Aronson, there were other words used at that time to identify the love between the same gender. "Homogenic love," "similisexualism," and "Uranism" were apparently among the more common references to homosexuality.
Within the novel, however, the word "homosexual" is never used. If it were, perhaps, then such a homoerotic interpretation as this would be redundant. There are, however, certain, rather ambiguous, words that Stevenson uses that have Victorian homosexual connotations.
During their walk together, Utterson and Enfield come across the home of Edward Hyde. After relating his story about Hyde, Enfield refers to the place as "Black Mail House" (8).
When asked if he ever inquired about the man who lived therein, Enfield replies,
"No sir, I make it a rule of mine: the more it looks like Queer Street, the less I ask" (9).
Both of these references to Hyde's home are more direct references to Hyde himself, made by a man who, at least publicly, must acknowledge the distinction between himself and the man who lives in Soho. Poole also makes a reference to Hyde's homosexuality: "Then you must know as well as the rest of us that there was something queer about that gentleman - something that gave a man a turn. . . " (57).
During the 19th century, of course, homosexuality was acknowledged by heterosexuals (particularly of the upper classes) as an existing activity among the lower classes - an activity that thrived in London's own East End. Those who were thought to be homosexuals were often blackmailed. With the Labouchere Amendment in 1885, homosexuals faced a greater threat of exposure through blackmail. In fact, "the threat of exposure as a sodomite is the basis of more than half of the prosecutions throughout the eighteenth century" ("Jekyll & Hyde," par. 8). Other Victorian writers, like Oscar Wilde, faced this threat, which often damaged their reputations if the affair ever made it to a court.
Enfield's reference to "Queer Street" also denotes a homosexual connotation.
By following this idea, it is clear that the constant creation of new meaning- and new words- blurs the lines so that nothing is really black or white. With this in mind, reading a piece from even as early as 1923 and finding the word “heterosexual” in it would lead to the wrong interpretation if changing definitions and cultural contexts are not taken into account. Furthermore, in 1892, “heterosexual” had a published definition that also was used to describe “inclinations to both sexes” (44). A term that did not exist at that time is bisexual, which is a term that would most accurately be used to describe this kind of sexuality, while heterosexual has taken on a completely new meaning. Without taking this into account, a person who reads a piece from that time period would mistakenly understand the word heterosexual in the way it is used
The first scene consists of Mr. Richard Enfield's and Mr. Utterson walking along a street in London. Mr. Enfield has a recollection of a previous incident in which he witnessed an extremely unpleasant man trampling upon a small screaming girl while this man was running somewhere. A large crowd had gathered around and they saw the man, Edward Hyde. The crowd forced the man to give money to this girl for trampling over her. Hyde did not run over her for any reason. He just did it out of spite and evil. He represents all the evil in the world. The reaction of others to him is one of horror because while looking at him, others feel a desire to strike out at him and kill him. His physical appearance brings out the worst evil in other people. Since Hyde represents evil, he is symbolically represented as being much smaller than Dr. Jekyll.
The coldness felt in the house as the sheriff and court attorney entered the house symbolized the same coldness brought about by Mr. Wright. For the house to be cold and gloomy and everything else outside the total opposite, was much more than just coincidence. It was as if when you entered the house a cadaver, cold and clammy, had embraced you in its arms. “ I don’t think a place’d be any cheerfuller for John Wright’s being in it”, Mrs. Hale told the court attorney (11). Mrs. Hale knew perfectly well what kind of personality Mr. Wright had, which is why she specified that she wished that she had gone to visit Mrs. Wright when only she was there. “There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm”, says Mrs. Hale, yet they are seen as mere trifles because it is the women who take on these tasks.
Plato's Republic centers on a simple question: is it always better to be just than unjust? The Republic sustains reflections on political questions, as well. Not that ethics and politics exhaust the concerns of the Republic.
“One of the best known and most influential philosophers of all time, Plato has been admired for thousands of years as a teacher, writer, and student. His works, thoughts, and theories have remained influential for more than 2000 years” (“Plato”). One of these great works by Plato that still remain an essential part of western philosophy today is, The Republic. Ten books are compiled to altogether make the dialog known as The Republic. The Republic consists of many major ideas and it becomes a dubious task to list and remember them all. Just alone in the first five books of the dialogue, many ideas begin to emerge and take shape. Three major ideas of The Republic; Books 1-5 by Plato, are: the question of what causes the inclination of a group,
The authors of the article “The Invention of Homosexuality and heterosexuality” defined this disease as, “Inverts, according to Victorian sexologists, expressed homosexual desire because they suffered from gender dysphoria, or the sensation of being a man trapped in a woman 's body or a woman trapped in a man 's body.” Since the ideology of the time viewed homosexuality as a disorder, physicians invented ways to cure “inverts” and make them socially acceptable as normal. For example, they used the eugenics concept to justify the elimination of homosexuals.
The topic of homosexuality has always been one approached with caution due to its taboo nature derived from its deviation from the heterosexual norm. Traditionally, and across several cultures, homosexuality has been successfully discussed through normalizing the behaviour through heterosexual representation. Gender reversal or amplification of feminine qualities of male characters have often been means by which authors are able to subtly introduce the foreign idea of homosexuality and equate it to its more formal and accepted counterpart, heterosexuality. The works of Shakespeare and Li Yu have assisted in exposing homosexual relationships while still maintaining them under the heterosexual norm, whether it be through direct or metaphorical representations.
“The term homosexual was first used in 1869 by Karl-Maria Kertbeny, but it was the book Psychopathia Sexualis by Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing who popularized the concept in 1886”. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexualidad; Since then, homosexuality has become the subject of intense discussion and study, a very controversial topic because our society has made the acceptance of same sex relationship almost impossible, however polemic over gay marriage, adoption and other rights are the reasons why Gays and Lesbians community are fighting in the present time for equality.
Homosexuality is defined as, “sexually attracted to people of the same sex” (Merriam-Webster) which according to history is not a new or recent sexual orientation. Archaeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova provided physical evidence to this point when she discovered the remains of the first known homosexual dating back over 5,000 years ago (Adams, 2011) . Vesinova’s discovery shows that homosexuality
Mondimore, Francis Mark. A Natural History of Homosexuality. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
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).
...se to remain as bachelors and enjoy the comforts of prostitutes instead of marrying a wife and starting a family. A reference of homosexuality is through Stevenson portraying Jekyll as the ‘damsel in distress’ and Utterson as the ‘knight’ that tries to protect Jekyll’s reputation. This contradicts the Victorian value of masculinity as Jekyll is portrayed as feminine, which again reflects the breakdown of masculinity that Stevenson recognises in the Victorian society.
..., and also used subtle contrasts between characters and places to create in depth detail and to portray the popular secrecy that bound the Victorian era. His feelings and thoughts are cleverly wound into his writing. The morals of the story, it is thought that he wrote the books as an allegory, however discreet are very important. Stevenson believed that gentlemen were hypocrites with outward respectability and inward lust and greed, and in this novel there are several occasions where hypocrisy is brought into the lime light.
From the beginning the women of “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell do not seem to have a significant role in the play. These women appear to just be along for the ride while their husbands do the dirty work of searching through the crime scene. In the end even though they serve as secondary characters to their husbands, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters play a large role in portraying the theme of this play, and without them the plot would not have been conducted nearly the same way to get the message out to the audience.
The prevalence of sexology literature and scholarship was and remains to be a topic of discourse when questions to the origins of a ‘homosexual’ identity arise. In today’s society, one usually points to the New York City Stonewall Riots in 1969 as the beginning for the recognition of homosexual love and identity. Indeed, this event remains to be an important marker in queer* history, but there are many scholars in various interdisciplinary fields who would instead argue that emergence of homosexuality as an identity stemmed from medical and psychiatric research carried out by German psychiatrists and doctors.