The Strange Case of Dr-1

8/10/2019 The Strange Case of Dr-1

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Agrupamento de Escolas Romeu Correia

Escola secundria c/3 ciclo de Romeu Correia

The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr .Hyde

Teacher: Joo Ferreira

23 rd March 2014

Antnio Ventosa No.3

Ivo Monteiro No.13

Miriam Presas No.28

Rben Cunha No.30


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ContentsThe story ...................................................................................................................................... 3

The Author ................................................................................................................................... 3

Historical Background: ............................................................................................................... 4

Good and evil .............................................................................................................................. 5

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 6

Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 6


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The story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in 1976 by RobertStevenson assuming itself as a literary representative of the time and society inwhich it was written.

The literary work of Stevenson attained popularity since publication, and afterover a hundred years, continues to amaze readers.

Written in the Victorian era, it reflects the fears and anxieties of the Victorianpeople, providing a view of London and the style of life at the time.

Dr. Jekyll appears as the main representative of theVictorian society, constantly repressed by rigid moralcodes and the growing desire to affirm their individuality.

This book can be also considered as a study of humannature itself.

The AuthorRobert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850, beingthe only child of a middle class couple.

Throughout his childhood he suffered a prolonged chronic lung disease, whichmeant that he spent a lot of time in bed, to the care of a nanny, AlisonCunningham, whose "dark convictions were profoundly influential on the littleboy.

Educated according to the strict Victorian codes, early that Stevenson wasconfronted with notions of good and evil, this notions were crucial to the writingof the novel.

Robert had a fertile imagination, the writer often dreamed ofhell and the punishments he would receive if he didnt devotehis life to practice the Gods will.

We can see the relationship between the authorseducation/mentality and the novel.


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Historical Background:Religious morality changed drastically during the Victorian Era.

In the beginning of the Victorian Era, England was a very religious country. TheChurch had a huge power on their society, running schools and universities.The holy bible was considered the literal truth and was the foundation of moralbehaviour. The Church demanded obedience and submissiveness to God.

The Church's power continued to rule in rural areas throughout the VictorianEra; however that was not the case in industrialized cities. In the cities thoseagainst the Church were many and dissent was rampant. The dissenting sectswere against what the Anglican Church was using its power for: the will of theelite and cared little if at all about the needs and wants of the lower and middleclasses.

The fin de sicle or Crisis of faith represented the collapse of religious ideas,especially due to new scientific theories that arose.

Religion was already falling a bit behind whenCharles Darwin published The Origin ofSpecies , which puts into question thereligious theory of Creationism, where manwas seen as a creature made in the image ofGod, in opposition to the new vision of humanbeings as a result of an evolutionary chain.

People were shocked by these revelations and felt the need to find a newsystem on which to base their values and morality.

People were shocked by these revelations, Victorians thought it wasunthinkable that humans were the product of an evolution and, moreover, thatthe basis of this evolution was the same whether for an aristocrat, or for anycriminal.

At this point the scientific development raised a problem, because new ideas

established themselves as a contrast against the prevailing religious ideas, andraised questions about the morality itself. Unable to completely lose faith, theycombined both their religious beliefs with their individual beliefs: duty to one'sGod, fellow man, social class, neighbour, the poor and the ill.

One of the mistakes of the physician illustrates this Victorian doubt.


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Good and evilOne of the main themes of the narrative lies in the dichotomy between good

and evil.

Mr. Hyde is no more than the dark side of Dr.Jekyll, his inner self " , the onewhere the darkest desires and wills of his being are, the desires and wills thathes banned from performing due to social and moral conventions.

Dr. Jekyll realizes his experiences alone, enclosed in an ancient medicalamphitheatre, without sharing with friends or other members of the scientificcommunity the reasons for his research and the steps taken. Mr. Hyderepresents the peoples fear around the new scientific discoveries.

Isolating the good and evil in human personality itself can lead to life of virtue,being free to practice all acts that themorality of the time did not allow to, andstill keeping his good reputation.

We can compare his two personalities toGod and to the Devil, because of thehuge contrast we see between Dr. Jekylla respectful gentleman that helps

everyone even the poor, and his darkside Mr Hyde who is a Beast that has no moral values whatsoever.


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Conclusions0

Bibliography http://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/religion-quotes.html 20/03/2014
http://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/religion-quotes.htmlhttp://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/religion-quotes.htmlhttp://www.shmoop.com/jekyll-and-hyde/religion-quotes.html

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The Strange Case of Dr-1