Jekyll and Hyde

• Stevenson's intensions

  Stevenson intended to highlight the hypocrisy of Victorian Society through the duality of human nature (Jekyll and Hyde). Hidden beneath the polite/civilised façade was a society that delighted in sin and acting on their desires.
• Repression

  Stevenson exposes the dangers of repressing desires and the consequences for society. Hyde is arguably the result of supressing Jekyll’s desires, to the point Hyde comes out ‘roaring’.
• Victorian gentlemen

  Jekyll’s character explored the idea that the pressures of conforming to the Victorian idea of ‘polite society’ were overwhelming and could lead to dire consequences.
• Evolutionary ideas

  Stevenson hints at our ‘evolutionary inheritance’ through the character of Hyde. Darwin’s Origin of Species outlined that our relationship with apes was closer than ever imagined and this frightened Stevenson’s readership. The Victorians feared the idea that they were not created by God and , like Hyde, could have uncontrollable, primal urges.
• Duality of man

  Hyde is an impulsive and irrational character reflecting Stevenson’s interested in the primal state of man and the duality of human nature. He highlights that man has the capacity for evil and this is what frightened his readership.
• context

  Due to the rapid increase in urbanisation during the Victorian era, cities like London saw a direct increase in crime. Hyde represents those people who engaged in sordid, unlawful activity and this terrified Stevenson’s readership.