Robert Louis Stevenson

Born 1850 in Edinburgh, ScotlandDied Dec. 3, 1894 (age 44)in Samoa

Background of the Author Father was a lighthouse designer and

wanted his son to follow in his footsteps as an engineer

Stevenson wrote the following famous books: Treasure Island A Child’s Garden of Verses Kidnapped The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde

Sickly Child

Tuberculosis, lung problems

Hired a Calvinist nanny to take care of him at 18 months

Moved to Samoa later in life, which improved his health

Travels to France led to marriage to Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne (a married American, mother of 3)

1879 voyage to California during Fanny’s divorce almost killed him. The doctor told him he would only live a few more months

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Idea came from his nightmare

book kept him from financial ruin

Wrote as a scary story, but wife challenged him to make it more substantial

Wrote 2nd draft in 3 days- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (exploration of the darker side of human nature)

Disturbing Changes in Society during 1880’s

Switch from optimism to pessimism due to foreign wars

Poverty becoming a big problem Workers were demanding more

power Women were entering the workforce

in greater numbers

Threats to British Society Feeling that the society was hypocritical Karl Marx’s -rise of struggling social

classes Hyde=working class Rise of Darwinism (Survival of the

Fittest) freeing self of religious and societal influences/control

New ideas about how the mind worked- Freud (subconscious). Jekyll’s affinity with Hyde comes from his need to be free from society’s restrictions.

Stevenson has been described as follows:

“He became an expert in simultaneously telling, and not telling the truth” (Angus 91).

“passion for the truth- but as we all know there are times when the truth will not help us…and the telling of the truth may be most hurtful and must be concealed at all costs”(Angus 91).YOUR THOUGHTS?

Sources

Angus, David (1993) "Robert Louis Stevenson - The Secret Sources," Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 28: Iss. 1. Available at: http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol28/iss1/8

"Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894." University of South Carolina Libraries. University of South Carolina, 1994. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.

"Study Guide for the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The Glencoe Literature Library. McGraw-

Hill Companies, Inc., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2013

Images from public domain