Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Analysis

Science, art, literature - all of these fields underwent revolutionary changes during the Victorian era; however, in social regards, the rules of etiquette remained stiff and formal. Consequently the clashing of the revolutionary advancements of these fields, and the resounding resilience of proper etiquette led people to show only their good persona; accordingly, they separated their good and evil sides to fit expectations. Robert Stevenson explores the duality of man during the Victorian era with the themes of science, curiosity and violence that appear in his novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

During the Victorian period, there were many scientific theories and epiphanies that were brought into light; in the Strange Case

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Stevenson, is violence. The most prominent example of this in the novella is when Hyde primally pummels Sir Danvers Carew with his cane: “And the next moment, with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered…” (Stevenson 22). Earlier, science was discussed, and it was theorized that scientists went mad over their work in the Victorian era; to build on that thought, Stevenson was inspired by the violence of scientists during his time period to create Mr. Hyde - the dark, unleashed half of a scientist. Mr. Hyde is the essence of evil, and he has a savage strength to levels that can only be inspired by the violent crimes that surrounded the author. One source compiles a list of some of the most violent crimes of the era, including the story of Fanny Adams; “Frederick Baker, … murdered eight-year-old Fanny Adams in 1867'... Her body was found ... horribly butchered … Baker removed the child's eyes and threw them into the River Wey while the rest of her dismembered body lay scattered around the field” (“is this”). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in 1885; Robert Stevenson might have drawn inspiration from Baker’s senseless cruelty that took place in 1867 and transferred it into Mr. Hyde’s senseless cruelty in his novel. Furthermore, Fanny was around 8 years old, and the little girl that Hyde trampled over in Mr. Enfield’s recollection was around that same age; Stevenson might have been remembering homicidal maniacs of his day. There was so much violence in the Victorian era that social classes had preferred weapons of defense; one source notes, “the gentleman’s weapon most associated with the Victorian era … would be the cane or walking stick. Appearing in a … variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and gadgetry, the stick was essential equipment for