Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The novella ‘Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde’ was written by Robert Louis

Stevenson in the Victorian era. The book was first published in 1886

in England and it brought high success to the author. The final

chapter of the novella which is ‘Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement Of The

Case’ explores the ways that the author presents Victorian attitudes

to the nature of humans. Stevenson explains to the reader that humans

have lots of different sides to each other and not just one. He also

explains how duplicitous humans are.

“I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life” Pg69

The text was written in the Victorian era which was around the 1800’s.

In those days the Victorian culture was very different to today’s

culture. They had strict moral codes to live under as middle class

people. They argued that as Victorian values they should look after

themselves and their family first and also they should not rely on

outside help. Another Victorian value expected of them was to live a

life without any sin. Even though the cultural context influences

people, not every Victorian person obeyed the values outside the

public. The Victorian people had paradoxical views because they would

go out drinking and also the porn industry was famous out side public

life. Beliefs in religion were having a turn point because of the

introduction of science in to the Victorian era. Victorians were

expected to live a life of Puritanism.

The main characters in this text are Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde, Mr Utterson

and Mr Enfield, Dr Lanyon and Poole the butler. Mr Utterson and Mr

Enfield are both Victorian lawyers who are well respected from other

people.

‘those who encountered them in th...

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...orals are still

relevant today because humans in today’s society all have a good and

evil side in them like Dr Jekyll did. The nurture of all humans is

always different because one day you can be good and the other day you

can be full of evil. In my opinion our upbringing doesn’t mean we will

be like that because what we learn form outside can influence our

personality too. In Dr Jekyll’s case he was brought up to be a

Victorian gentleman but he didn’t like the life of a Victorian

gentleman as it was boring to him. So the change into Hyde that he had

was his type of life as he got to do what he wanted to. Drugs in

today’s society are the same as Victorian time but it is commonly

known to the public. Where as in Victorian days it was illegal to take

drugs. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ has a social moral to it which tells

the reader how to behave in a society.