Influenced heavily by such texts as The Bible, the works of Shakespeare, sermons and graveyard poetry, the Gothic is a genre that is laced with both horror and history. It is a genre that includes topics on taboo subjects such as gender inequality, ‘lust, murder, incest, and every atrocity that can disgrace human nature’ . Therefore Gothic novels were not typically received well within a religious and patriarchal society; this did not stop Walpole, Lewis, Bronte, Dickens and the many other authors of Gothic texts. Within these texts there is a consistent theme of madness, especially in women, but what does it mean to be mad in Gothic novels and does gender really play a part in madness or is it all just coincidental?
The definition of ‘madness’
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Both characters are the single protagonist, Dr Jekyll is a functioning and authorial man within society all the while Mr Hyde is a murderer. “Many critics including Botting and Punter, have discussed the idea that this represents an anxiety about a potential reversion to an atavistic state” As the novel progresses Hyde dreams of causing more harm within the community and hurting more people so much so that Jekyll struggles to confine this part of himself, which makes the two characters indistinguishable and eventually he cannot hide this side of himself any longer. Jekyll and Hyde are a popular monster within literature, but it is interesting to think about whether he was a monster or whether he was mad. Clearly, Stevenson has drawn some inspiration from mental health issues like split personality disorder and insanity drove Hyde to murder. However, it is arguable that the fundamental difference between being insane and being a monster is whether you cause harm to others or yourself and whether or not they gain pleasure from their harmful behaviour, therefore Hyde is considered a monster before being considered mad due to the harm he bestowed upon