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Doppelgänger In Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde

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The Victorian Doppelgänger in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella set in during the nineteenth century, in Victorian England. At the time, repression was the leading factor that caused individuals to feel the need to maintain an unrealistic image of perfection. In this Novella, Dr. Jekyll is presented as a higher class, respected member of the Victorian society who has a doppelganger, Hyde. It is stated that Victorian’s from the upper class performed “unaccepted behaviors”, such as Dr. Jekyll. Through the use of the literary device of the “doppelgänger”, Stevenson explores the them of duality that exists in Victorian society as a result …show more content…

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both sharing the same body Jekyll and Hyde were playing the role of two completely opposite characters. This is shown to depict the different nature they had within them to express how an individual can have several personalities depending on how they are accepted by the society. The appearance of both is completely opposite from the societal views as described through imagery, “Is a tall, fine build of a man and this was more of a dwarf… Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity”. This is interpreted as Jekyll being the handsome, well reputed member of the society, while Hyde giving the impression of an immoral character who seems suspicious. The conflicting social classes of Jekyll and Hyde builds upon the context of duality. Jekyll is shown as a respected man of the higher class who is acknowledged by the society and its values, whereas Hyde is giving away the image of a lower class member, by the actions and the physical appearance he portrays throughout the novel. In the context of this novel, Victorian society higher class people had several moral expectations to look upon, where as lower class people were referred to as “criminal in nature”. This was to show how the higher class society controlled the actions of lower class as they would not be able to express their true self. Another distinction that was looked upon was the duality of the home …show more content…

"Jekyll and Hyde: Repression and Expression." Hear Here! N.p., 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. Print. C, Alex M. "The Victorian Period and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: a Time of Change." N.p., 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. "Good vs Evil Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Topics, Sample Papers & Articles Online for Free. N.p., 05 May 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. McDonald, Lauren.” Duality in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The picture of Dorian Gray, and "Dionea ".” University of Northern Iowa, Inc. Web. 2008. Print. "Secrecy and Repression to Maintain Image." The Literary I: 12pm section. N.p., 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ed. Katherine Linehan. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2003.

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