Robert Louis Stevenson’s literary work, “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, is one of his most notable works. It was written during the Victorian era when there were huge emphasis placed on social morality. He sets out to understand the differences between dual personalities, good and evil (evil definitely not being within the social norm). He sums up his story by stating: “All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.” Robert explains his reasons for writing the book that he did, while talking about the time and era.
“Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was published on January 5, 1886. It is a science fiction drama and thriller. The work of Jekyll and Hyde depicts the story of a doctor having a distinct split personality, good and evil. He does everything humanly possible to keep his second identity unknown. He goes as far as to formulating a chemical mixture. The chemical mixture will allow him to separate the two entities without feeling guilty about what the evil personality does.
Dr. Jekyll’s friend and attorney, John Utterson, witnesses a horrific encounter of an eight year old girl with a rude Mr.
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He uses a very creative mind to tell the story of Jekyll and Hyde. The dual personalities were labeled as a mental disorder during the Victorian era. Although, social morality was very important during these times. Society still had to deal with issues of good versus evil. There were also issues with child labor, prostitution, homosexuality, and criminal psychology. The “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” paints a picture of how many battles daily to fight the good and evil within. Stevenson furthermore illustrates the rational and the irrational mindset by contrasting reality with the supernatural. This is one of Stevenson’s finest literary