Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He developed a desire to write early in life, having no interest in the family business of lighthouse engineering. He was often abroad, usually for health reasons, and his journeys led to some of his early literary works. Publishing his first volume at the age of 28. After that Stevenson became a literary celebrity during his life when he worked on the Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novels which were released to eager audiences.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson primarily to portray the ‘dual’ nature of man and presented in numerous perspectives and point of views. These various methods of presenting a story all have particular uses and benefits which Stevenson exploits to the full in presenting a story that seeks to establish the fact of the duality of man and argues how if not properly harnessed and controlled, one of the ‘parts’ would ultimately subdue the other and collect more authority on the life and actions of the person whom they interplay. However there are 3 major types of narrations that are clearly indicated in the story of Dr.jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These are the third person narrative, framed narrative, and the personal narrative.
First of all the third person narrative is used in literature to present a narration from a completely neutral point of view. Common with most fictional entries, this narration style gives the author of a piece of writing an individual voice in the work he creates. Such an author does not just rely on what he /her characters say, he/she actively becomes instrumental to them actually saying or doing them.
In the text in ...
... middle of paper ...
... so that each can humor in a life unchained by the demands of the other. As Dr. Jekyll says, “With every day and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and intellectual, I thus drew steadily to that truth by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two”(Stevenson 78). He further adds,”… that I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man; if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” (Stevenson79).
In conclusion Dr. Jekyll did not create a potion to remove the evil parts of his nature. He made a potion that allowed him express his needs without feeling guilty and without any consequences of damaging his good name. That’s also why he names his alter ego “Hyde,” because Hyde is a disguise, to be worn and discarded like a thick cloak.
Within every being exists temptations, whether it be quiescent or dynamic, which fluctuates from one individual to another. Commonly negative, temptations ascend from lesser qualities of man and expose an individual to develop even more reprehensible ambitions. The story of a one man’s dark wishes is explored in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. Properly termed, Stevenson perused the unnerving case of a respectable, proletariat-class doctor, who becomes associated and obsessed with Mr Hyde. It is this presence of the “duality of human nature that is created consistently throughout the Gothic Literature”.
For this reason I’ll be explaining Jekyll’s mental health. Jekyll has as what we now call Multiple Personality Disorder; “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 be rightly said to be either, it was only because I was radically both,” Stevenson 57.) The disease was first discovered by Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot. He would ask patients symptoms that he found common in MPD. Many patients know about their alternate personality but refuse to acknowledge it’s existence. In some cases they may even refer to it as a separate person entirely. In this case Jekyll is very much aware of his alternate personality, going as to so far as to willingly change into him. However despite this he also categorizes Hyde into a separate being. For example when Hyde does something unappealing or distasteful he blames it on a separate person. Consciously though he is aware that he is Hyde and Hyde is him. (MD, Arnold Lieber. "Multiple Personality Disorder / Dissociative Identity Disorder." PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986. Vertical Health LLC, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016).
In this essay I am going to look at Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll, the first
...ve duality of man;… if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” Thus, Stevenson creates in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, two coexistent, and eternally opposed components that make up a “normal” individual. However, here, good and evil are not related but are two independent entities, individuals even, different in mental and physical attributes and constantly at war with each other. Evil now does not require the existence of good to justify itself but it exists simply as itself, and is depicted as being the more powerful, the more enjoyable of the two, and in the end ultimately it is the one that leads to Dr. Jekyll's downfall and death. Stevenson creates the perfect metaphor for the never-ending battle between good and evil by using Jekyll and Hyde. However, this novella is perhaps one of the few that truly show the power of Evil.
Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Scotland. Being the only son of a famous civil engineer, Stevenson was expected to continue the family tradition, but this was against his wishes for his life. At an early age, he exhibited a yearning to write, and although he could not read until he was seven or eight, he composed stories and dedicated them to his parents and nurse. Stevenson was not brought up by the most caring parents, and received most of his adolescent guidance from his nurse. Throughout his child, the nurse cared for him and instilled in him the Christian beliefs that undoubtedly shaped his novels. The nurse would read to him from the bible during his periods of bed rest, as he was a sickly child, and these daily readings instilled in him a love for storytelling. Although he was a sickly child, he managed to receive a decent education through some schooling, private tutoring and at the efforts of his nurse and was able to enroll in Edinburgh University when he was 17.
“Man is not one, but truly two.” Is Jekyll’s idea that each of us is
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is a Victorian novel that explores the psychological implications of the nature of duality. This novel explores the idea of doubleness, duality with the separation of moral obligation and human nature in Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde. Stevenson uses the character Mr. Utterson to narrate the novel and give a logic perspective to Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde’s duality, however Utterson has his own duality that echoes Dr. Jeykll’s. In the novel, Mr. Utterson has a dream that Stevenson uses to explore Utterson’s duality in terms of light and dark symbolism, a separation of his logical mental state, a physical separation between his actions
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).
...ources of human nature, more faith, more sympathy with our frailty than you have done.... The scientific cast of the allegory will act as an incentive to moral self-murder with those who perceive the allegory's profundity." (qtd. in Steuart, II, 83) But Stevenson was nonetheless acting as a moralist. His "shilling shocker," conceived in a dream and written in a white heat, captured both his own deepest divisions and insights into the callous folly of late-Victorian hypocrisy. Stevenson had himself considered suicide at least three times and yet persisted through ill health to natural death.;(34) Far from counselling "moral self-murder," his dark story of monstrous alter egos was counselling integration. Far from starting another Werther-craze, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde pioneered as a modern admonition of blind, self-destructive behavior. Stevenson's fictional lawyers and scientists show dangerous second sides because they have not persisted in self-knowledge. His fictional workers, like the butler, Poole, see masks in place of the "horrors" that their presumed betters have become because they have opted for distorted vision over clear-sightedness.
Stevenson focuses on two different characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but in reality these are not separate men, they are two different aspects of one man’s reality. In the story, Dr. Je...
Unfortunately, Dr. Jekyll had a strong desire to "perfect" himself by splitting his good qualities from his bad by separating himself into two separate identities:
The reader is drawn to the plot of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde through the literary devices Stevenson employs. Foreshadowing displays the sense of mystery throughout the novel, the foreshadowing of the actions of Mr. Hyde leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. The ironic nature of Dr. Jekyll relates to the reader as a person, no person is completely perfect and Dr. Jekyll exhibits the natural wants and desires of humans. The irony behind Mr. Hyde adds an enigmatic side to the plot. These two devices expose the readers to the complexity of the novel and reveal the inner meaning of the hidden details.
This essay will focus on how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the nature of evil through his novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Using ideas such as duality, the technique used to highlight the two different sides of a character or scene, allegories, an extended metaphor which has an underlying moral significance, and hypocrisy; in this book the Victorians being against all things evil but regularly taking part in frown able deeds that would not be approved of in a ‘respectable’ society. This links in with the idea of secrecy among people and also that evil is present in everyone. The novel also has strong ties and is heavily influenced by religion. Stevenson, being brought up following strong Calvinist beliefs, portrays his thoughts and opinion throughout the story in his characters; good and evil.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel ‘The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ was deeply influenced by his family and social background. Stevenson was born in a family with a history of doctors, lawyers and other standard occupations. He was taught wrong from right from a very young age by his nanny who was a very faithful Christian. Therefore, he received a good education in his childhood. These well-educated experiences restricted his behavior and forced him to perform formally which is similar to Dr. Jekyll delineated in his novel. Another influencing factor is Darwin’s theory of evolution. ‘The origin of species’ was published in 1859 in which Darwin stated that men are descended from apes. This made Stevenson believe that we all have human nature within our physical body and it has rationality that cannot be strangled. Another factor which have significant influence on Stevenson’s portrayal of the duality of man was Sigmund Freud’s psychological theory. According to Freud, everyon...
... or desires and inner struggle to make this happen. His duality is ever present in this scene. With all of this, it is safe to say that many texts in the literature world support what Stevenson has to say and that duality exists in everyone and is unable to avoid.