Robert Louis Stevenson

Filippo Pinato, 5^CS, Liceo I.Nievo, Padua

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Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

• References

• Text Paragraph (2)

• Text Paragraph (1)

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

• Themes

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• Historical Context

Index

• Biography

Filippo Pinato, 5^CS, Liceo I.Nievo, Padua

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

• References

• Text Paragraph (2)

• Text Paragraph (1)

other works

• Born in 1850 in Edinburgh
• Attended Edinburgh Academy and University
• Has shown a precocious literary inclination
• Marries Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne in 1880, an american divorcee
• Travels in California and French Riviera
• Publishes Treasure Island in 1883, the novel that first made him famous (along with )
• Publishes The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in 1886, his most successful work which consolidated his fame

R. L. Stevenson

other works

R. L. Stevenson

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

• Themes

• Historical Context

• Biography

Index

• Travels back to America in 1887, where he found out he was already famous and many publishers offered him contracts
• In 1888 he and his family sailed from San Francisco in a yacht for a trip for health and pleasure
• Travels in many Pacific Islands: Marquesas Islands, the Fakarava Atoll, Tahiti, Honolulu (where they stayed nearly six months), Gilbert Islands and Samoan Islands
• Dies in 1894 of a brain haemourrage

R. L. Stevenson

other works

• Born in 1850 in Edinburgh
• Attended Edinburgh Academy and University
• Has shown a precocious literary inclination
• Marries Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne in 1880, an american divorcee
• Travels in California and French Riviera
• Publishes Treasure Island in 1883, the novel that first made him famous (along with )
• Publishes The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in 1886, his most successful work which consolidated his fame

• The Victorian Age, 1837-1914 (corresponding roughly with Queen Victoria's reign, 1837-1901)

• Age of unprecedented growth and prosperity as a consequence of the Industrial Revolutions (scientific and technological advancements)

• Britain was the biggest and most powerful empire in the world, reaching its peak in the Victorian Age
• Society was hierarchically organized into upper, middle and working classes
• The adherence to rigid social norms was often functional to show a respectable and superior facade, while their private behaviours were questionable at best
• The "Separate Spheres" doctrine was dominating in this period

Historical Context

• Travels back to America in 1887, where he found out he was already famous and many publishers offered him contracts
• In 1888 he and his family sailed from San Francisco in a yacht for a trip for health and pleasure
• Travels in many Pacific Islands: Marquesas Islands, the Fakarava Atoll, Tahiti, Honolulu (where they stayed nearly six months), Gilbert Islands and Samoan Islands
• Dies in 1894 of a brain haemourrage

R. L. Stevenson

• Scientific Manipulation

• The Double

• Horror and Crime Novel

• Supernatural and Gothic elements

• Adventure and Exploration

In Stevenson's literary production there's a wide range of recurring themes, such as:

Themes

• The Victorian Age, 1837-1914 (corresponding roughly with Queen Victoria's reign, 1837-1901)

• Age of unprecedented growth and prosperity as a consequence of the Industrial Revolutions (scientific and technological advancements)

• Britain was the biggest and most powerful empire in the world, reaching its peak in the Victorian Age
• Society was hierarchically organized into upper, middle and working classes
• The adherence to rigid social norms was often functional to show a respectable and superior facade, while their private behaviours were questionable at best
• The "Separate Spheres" doctrine was dominating in this period

Historical Context

• Scientific Manipulation

• Stevenson's most famous and successful work
• Novel first published in January 1886 (simultaneously in NYC and London)
• Immediate success (40.000 copies sold in 6 months in Britain and 250.000 copies by 1901 in the USA)
• Inspired by a "fine bogey tale" that came to him in a dream that his wife interrupted
• Commissioned work (the publishers were pressing Stevenson to write something that could sell well)

• Shilling Shocker (usually a short work, sold for one shilling, designed to shock and thrill, often written for entertainment rather than literary acclaim)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

• The Double

• Horror and Crime Novel

• Supernatural and Gothic elements

• Adventure and Exploration

In Stevenson's literary production there's a wide range of recurring themes, such as:

Themes

The novel looks ahead to the 20th century with its three narrators structure, a strategy to diminish the narrator's reliability and to provide different points of view:

• the third person narrator, who tells most of the story and follows the movements of Mr. Utterson (a lawyer, close friend of Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon, who investigates on Mr. Hyde), who is not omniscent
• Dr. Lanyon's view (a longtime friend of Dr. Jekyll, who disagrees with his scientific concepts and is the first person to discover Hyde's identity), who writes down his own version
• Dr. Jekyll himself, who is also not omniscent since he is unaware of much regarding the other characters

• Stevenson's most famous and successful work
• Novel first published in January 1886 (simultaneously in NYC and London)
• Immediate success (40.000 copies sold in 6 months in Britain and 250.000 copies by 1901 in the USA)
• Inspired by a "fine bogey tale" that came to him in a dream that his wife interrupted
• Commissioned work (the publishers were pressing Stevenson to write something that could sell well)

• Shilling Shocker (usually a short work, sold for one shilling, designed to shock and thrill, often written for entertainment rather than literary acclaim)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Hyde calmly trampling over a child

All at once, I saw two figures: one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds like nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see … I gave a view halloa, took to my heels, collared my gentleman, and brought him back to where there was already quite a group about the screaming child. He was perfectly cool and made no resistance, but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running … I had taken a loathing to my gentleman at first sight. So had the child’s family, which was only natural. But the doctor’s case was what struck me … every time he looked at my prisoner, I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white with the desire to kill him ... I never saw a circle of such hateful faces; and there was the man in the middle, with a kind of black, sneering coolness - frightened too, I could see that - but carrying it off, sir, really like Satan. “If you choose to make capital out of this accident,” said he, “I am naturally helpless. No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene,” says he. “Name your figure.”

The novel looks ahead to the 20th century with its three narrators structure, a strategy to diminish the narrator's reliability and to provide different points of view:

• the third person narrator, who tells most of the story and follows the movements of Mr. Utterson (a lawyer, close friend of Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon, who investigates on Mr. Hyde), who is not omniscent
• Dr. Lanyon's view (a longtime friend of Dr. Jekyll, who disagrees with his scientific concepts and is the first person to discover Hyde's identity), who writes down his own version
• Dr. Jekyll himself, who is also not omniscent since he is unaware of much regarding the other characters

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Hyde murders Sir Danvers Carew

[A violent crime takes place in London that was witnessed by a maid who saw it happen outside her window. In the excerpt below, she relates the crime that she saw. She begins by describing an elderly man, who is later identified as Sir Danvers Carew (a member of Parliament and a client of Utterson’s) walking along the street with Mr. Edward Hyde.]She was surprised to recognize in him a certain Mr. Hyde, who had once visited her master and for whom she had conceived a dislike. He had in his hand a heavy cane, with which he was trifling; but he answered never a word, and seemed to listen with an ill-contained impatience. And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman. The old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that Mr. Hyde broke out of all bounds and clubbed him to the earth. And 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 and the body jumped upon the roadway. At the horror of these sights and sounds, the maid fainted.

Hyde calmly trampling over a child

All at once, I saw two figures: one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds like nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see … I gave a view halloa, took to my heels, collared my gentleman, and brought him back to where there was already quite a group about the screaming child. He was perfectly cool and made no resistance, but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running … I had taken a loathing to my gentleman at first sight. So had the child’s family, which was only natural. But the doctor’s case was what struck me … every time he looked at my prisoner, I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white with the desire to kill him ... I never saw a circle of such hateful faces; and there was the man in the middle, with a kind of black, sneering coolness - frightened too, I could see that - but carrying it off, sir, really like Satan. “If you choose to make capital out of this accident,” said he, “I am naturally helpless. No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene,” says he. “Name your figure.”

References

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Louis-Stevenson
• https://www.britannica.com/event/Victorian-era
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_morality
• https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-louis-stevenson

• https://www.studocu.com/it/document/lc-aristofane/lingua-italiana-settore-servizi-percorso-quadriennale/the-theme-of-double/43257750
• https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/revision-notes/gcse/english-literature/aqa/dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/4-1-4-violence-and-horror
• https://writersinspire.org/content/gothic-elements-strange-case-dr-jekyll-mr-hyde
• https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markheim

Hyde murders Sir Danvers Carew

[A violent crime takes place in London that was witnessed by a maid who saw it happen outside her window. In the excerpt below, she relates the crime that she saw. She begins by describing an elderly man, who is later identified as Sir Danvers Carew (a member of Parliament and a client of Utterson’s) walking along the street with Mr. Edward Hyde.]She was surprised to recognize in him a certain Mr. Hyde, who had once visited her master and for whom she had conceived a dislike. He had in his hand a heavy cane, with which he was trifling; but he answered never a word, and seemed to listen with an ill-contained impatience. And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman. The old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that Mr. Hyde broke out of all bounds and clubbed him to the earth. And 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 and the body jumped upon the roadway. At the horror of these sights and sounds, the maid fainted.

Stevenson, through the description of crimes and acts of violence, wants to provoke horror between the other characters. Acts of violence against innocents, such as the trampling on the little girl and the murder of Carew, committed with "ape like fury" and with delight by Mr. Hyde, generate a sensation of horror and a fear that some invisible force was driving evil into citizens. Mr. Hyde's evil behaviour symbolizes the loss of the control over repressed primitive instincts (that were repressed according to Victorian morality), suggesting that anybody has the potential to be as evil as Mr. Hyde.

Horror and Crime Novel

Stevenson, through the description of crimes and acts of violence, wants to provoke horror between the other characters. Acts of violence against innocents, such as the trampling on the little girl and the murder of Carew, committed with "ape like fury" and with delight by Mr. Hyde, generate a sensation of horror and a fear that some invisible force was driving evil into citizens. Mr. Hyde's evil behaviour symbolizes the loss of the control over repressed primitive instincts (that were repressed according to Victorian morality), suggesting that anybody has the potential to be as evil as Mr. Hyde.

Horror and Crime Novel

The gothic inspiration is evident in Stevenson under many aspects:

• the setting (specifically of The Strange Case of Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Hyde), a foggy and dark London (more reminiscent of Edinburgh, his hometown), presenting a subdivision between Dr. Jackyll's and Mr. Hyde's residences (the first one is located in a respectable part of London, the second one is situated in Soho, an area of London associated with crime and immoral lifestyle)
• atavism, the recurrance in a person of peculiar animal like physical traits that belong to the primitives (Mr. Hyde's physical appearence)
• the transformation enabled by taking a potion, creating a split personality in the body of the protagonist and discussing the limits of the scientific progress and research

Supernatural and Gothic elements

The scientific manipulation plays a big role in Stevenson's production, especially in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll uses science to find a way to isolate the good and the evil inside him and, through the use of the potion, he is able to switch betweem the two personalities. While manipulating some fundamental aspects of the human nature, Dr. Jekyll doesn't consider any moral implication as a precautionary measure. The transformation initially gives Jekyll a sense of liberation, allowing him to pursue his darker instincts without any guilt. However, Hyde becomes increasingly uncontrollable and leads to Jekyll's downfall, illustrating the dangers of overreaching ambition and the consequences of science interfering with the human nature, as already analized in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Scientific Manipulation

• A Child's Garden of Verses, 1885 (first called Penny Whistles, a collection of poems in wich Stevenson represents an adult's recapturing of the emotions and sensations of childhood)
• Markheim, 1885 ( a gothic and psychological tale that explores the protagonist's internal conflicts and remorses after committing an homicide)
• Kidnapped, 1886 ( a novel set in Scotland during the civil wars, towards the end of the 18th century)
• The Master of Ballantrae, 1889 (a novel about family rivalry, betrayal and revenge, containing some of his most impressive writing)

Other works

• A Child's Garden of Verses, 1885 (first called Penny Whistles, a collection of poems in wich Stevenson represents an adult's recapturing of the emotions and sensations of childhood)
• Markheim, 1885 ( a gothic and psychological tale that explores the protagonist's internal conflicts and remorses after committing an homicide)
• Kidnapped, 1886 ( a novel set in Scotland during the civil wars, towards the end of the 18th century)
• The Master of Ballantrae, 1889 (a novel about family rivalry, betrayal and revenge, containing some of his most impressive writing)

Other works

• A Child's Garden of Verses, 1885 (first called Penny Whistles, a collection of poems in wich Stevenson represents an adult's recapturing of the emotions and sensations of childhood)
• Markheim, 1885 (a gothic and psychological tale that explores the protagonist's internal conflicts and remorses after committing an homicide)
• Kidnapped, 1886 (a novel set in Scotland during the civil wars, towards the end of the 18th century)
• The Master of Ballantrae, 1889 (a novel about family rivalry, betrayal and revenge, containing some of his most impressive writing)

Other works (Scottish works)

The themes of adventure and exploration are central to Stevenson's literary production, reflecting his fascination for travelling (his travels, in fact, were also functional to his literary production).Travel offered Stevenson a great environmental variety, ranging from tropical and exotic islands to Scottish Highlands, which made his works peculiar and distinctive. The characters facing the exploration usually come out morally developed but, as described in The Strange Case of Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Hyde, the exploration may also be interior, discovering in a metaphysical journey the inner self and the human nature.

Adventure and Exploration

Olalla

The theme of the double is central in Stevenson's works, particularly in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but also in others, such as Markheim and .The double is purposely chosen by Stevenson to criticize the Victorian morality, that often showed a double standard (consisting of an outward respectability and an inword, often repressed, primitive tendence that leads to an animal like behaviour and immoral lifestyle). It also portrays the inherent duality inside of every person and the coexistence of good and evil. Jekyll wanted to separate the evil from the good but it rapidly became uncontrollable and eventually led to his self distruction.

The Double

The gothic inspiration is evident in Stevenson under many aspects:

• the setting (specifically of The Strange Case of Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Hyde), a foggy and dark London (more reminiscent of Edinburgh, his hometown), presenting a subdivision between Dr. Jackyll's and Mr. Hyde's residences (the first one is located in a respectable part of London, the second one is situated in Soho, an area of London associated with crime and immoral lifestyle)
• atavism, the recurrance in a person of peculiar animal like physical traits that belong to the primitives (Mr. Hyde's physical appearence)
• the transformation enabled by taking a potion, creating a split personality in the body of the protagonist and discussing the limits of the scientific progress and research

Supernatural and Gothic elements

Olalla

The theme of the double is central in Stevenson's works, particularly in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but also in others, such as Markheim and .The double is purposely chosen by Stevenson to criticize the Victorian morality, that often showed a double standard (consisting of an outward respectability and an inword, often repressed, primitive tendence that leads to an animal like behaviour and immoral lifestyle). It also portrays the inherent duality inside of every person and the coexistence of good and evil. Jekyll wanted to separate the evil from the good but it rapidly became uncontrollable and eventually led to his self distruction.

The Double

The themes of adventure and exploration are central to Stevenson's literary production, reflecting his fascination for travelling (his travels, in fact, were also functional to his literary production).Travel offered Stevenson a great environmental variety, ranging from tropical and exotic islands to Scottish Highlands, which made his works peculiar and distinctive. The characters facing the exploration usually come out morally developed but, as described in The Strange Case of Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Hyde, the exploration may also be interior, discovering in a metaphysical journey the inner self and the human nature.

Adventure and Exploration

The scientific manipulation plays a big role in Stevenson's production, especially in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll uses science to find a way to isolate the good and the evil inside him and, through the use of the potion, he is able to switch betweem the two personalities. While manipulating some fundamental aspects of the human nature, Dr. Jekyll doesn't consider any moral implication as a precautionary measure. The transformation initially gives Jekyll a sense of liberation, allowing him to pursue his darker instincts without any guilt. However, Hyde becomes increasingly uncontrollable and leads to Jekyll's downfall, illustrating the dangers of overreaching ambition and the consequences of science interfering with the human nature, as already analized in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Scientific Manipulation