Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson
Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh into a family of lighthouse engineers. As a child his poor
health forced him to spend much time at home and he developed a love for reading. He qualified
as a lawyer. Despite his poor health, he travelled in Europe and wrote essays and articles about his
experiences. His health was still very delicate but he continued to write and produced some of his
most famous works: “Treasure Island” (1883), and “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”
(1886). Stevenson's works were popular and successful. Then Stevenson spent a long period on
the Hawaiian islands: the works of this period criticised European colonisation of the South Seas.
Troubled by his poor health and depressed by the thought that he was no longer capable of
producing great works, Stevenson died in 1894.
During his short life Stevenson produced an impressive quantity of works. While many critics saw
him as a writer of children's fiction, he instead covered a large range of genres: as a matter of fact,
his masterpiece “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” is a far more complex tale.
“THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE” (1886)
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a short novel characterised by topics such as double
identity, the divided self and the contrast between the good and the evil in human nature. The
novel is told from different perspectives and creates a sense of uncertainty, which is a key element
in the novel.
Plot The respectable scholarly Dr Jekyll escapes from his rational, moral identity with a potion that
transforms him into the depraved, evil Mr Hyde, allowing him to taste a world of instinct and
sensuality. Hyde is responsible for a series of crimes but escapes detection as a second dose of the
potion transforms him into Dr Jekyll. Jekyll feels growing remorse, but can do little as he finds it
increasingly difficult to free himself from Mr Hyde. This horror story ends with the suicide of Hyde,
who can no longer escape justice, and with the discovery of a letter written by Dr Jekyll to his
friend and lawyer, Utterson, which finally reveals the whole mystery of the double identity.
The split identity of Victorian society “The Strange Story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” is a perfect
metaphor of the Victorian society’s split identity. The Victorian society’s dichotomy between the
triumph of science and progress (which represented the “pleasant” side of Victorian society) and
the social and economic degradation (the “unpleasant” side of Victorian society), is perfectly
represented by the inner duality between Jekyll and Hyde.
Dr Jekyll embodies the respectable Victorian gentleman: reserved, formal and known for his
charitable works. Physically, he is a handsome and agreeable man. Hyde, on the other hand,
embodies the uncivilised part of humanity that “hides” under the formal bonds of civilisation. He is
small and extremely ugly.
The theme of the double The dual relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde seems to be a
direct reference to the literary theory of the so-called “doppelgänger”: this German term refers to
the protagonist's “alter ego”, who can be good or, more frequently, evil and negative. According
to critics, Stevenson’s masterpiece is the best example of the “doppelgänger” novel: Dr Jekyll and
Mr Hyde are perceived as two entities, but belong to the same individual and embody two
opposite sides of it.
Their relationship is very ambiguous: even though Jekyll disapproves Hyde's crimes, he is deeply
attracted by his “dark side”, which shows an aspect of the self that Jekyll and the entire Victorian
society have always tried to hide or repress.
The narrative technique The story is told from different perspectives. The first is Mr Utterson's,
who is suspicious about a certain Mr Hyde, Dr Jekyll's mysterious friend: his point of view is
supplemented by other narrators, while, at the end of the story, it is confirmed by Jekyll's letter
with his own confession. However, for most of the novel the reader basically follows Mr Utterson's
limited point of view: the effect is to keep the reader in the dark, so he can share Utterson's
bewilderment and horror. Stevenson offers an accurate analysis of man's psychological and moral
nature. He combines Gothic themes with elements of the emerging genre of detective fiction
(unsolved crimes, mystery and suspense).
Urban depravity Stevenson's novel offers a vivid portrait of the conditions of many Victorian cities:
industrialisation brought radical changes, so many people from the countryside went to cities in
search of work, causing overpopulation. British cities were plagued by problems such as poor
sanitation, poverty, bad air quality and crime.
In Stevenson's novel, London is depicted as an urban environment dominated by corruption,
falsehood and sin: it is a perfect setting for all sorts of crimes, violence and barbarity. Moreover,
the foggy weather is the symbol of the city's dubious moral status. Most of the story takes place at
night because it is the time when Hyde operates. Night and fog are symbols of obscurity,
representing Dr Jekyll's dark side. The London portrayed by Stevenson is the symbolic
representation of the “modern city”, a place which under the surface of progress and modernity
hides a world full of social contrasts and emerging violence.