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Jekyll and Hyde Themes - Religion - Coggle Diagram
Jekyll and Hyde Themes - Religion
Religion
Religion was so prevalent in society, it would be universally understood by the reads of Jekyll and Hyde
Used throughout the text to shape meanings
Religious references serve to contrast with and highlight the immoral events occuring
Bible added a serious element to the text, juxtaposed the fanatastical concepts explored
Stephenson includes lots of biblib allusions
Quotes
'really like satan'
'Cain's heresy'
'if I ever read Satan's siganture upon a face'
Cain and Abel
Cain murders his brother Abel, some believe he is the origin of greed and evil
Comparison of the brothers, one good and one evil is a symbol of duality found wihtin Jekyll and Hyde
Evil is intrinsic to human nature
Religious allusions work to solidify the theme of religion vs science within the text
Friendship
Friendshop of Utteron and Enfield establish Utterson's interestst in Mr Hyde
Utterson's friendship with Jekyll causes him to pursue his case persistentl
Lack of female influece, rather than romantic relationships being depicted, it only presents friendships between bachelors
Good friendships
True friendship is presented as an admirable trait by Stevenson
Jekyll is at heart a sociable man who enjoys hosting friends
'He came out of his seclusion' - the prospect of seclusion concerns both the mental and social
Utterson's friendships seemed to be founded - evokes connotations of secutiry and longevity, traits of a good friends
'Catholicity of good nature' - religious connotations which add to the reader's impresison of Utterson's morality, implies he's a good person and thus a good friend
Utterson didn't like 'his friend's feverish manner' emphasises to the reader the relationship the two have despite their disagreement
Bad friendships
Lanyon says Jekyll became 'too fanciful for me' and thus seems more preoccupied with worrying about his welbeing
'Unscientific Balderdash' - Lanyon and Jekyll don't get along
Appearance vs Reality
Disparity between appearance and reality is clear in the novella and is present in both characters and setting
Can be seen as another form of duality within the text
Something that projects an outward image that is very different from the truth
Story of the door
Door being able to precent the realities of one's nature from being revealed
The door becomes a metaphor of transition in the novel
Hyde is able to transcend the balance between appearance and reality
Utterson defies his steryotype of 'shady lawyers' by being the moral compass of the novella
Chapter titles are relatively understated, and don't provoke emotion in the reader while their contents create mystery
Repression
All the characters apart from Mr Hyde repress parts of themselves, Stevenson makes a point about the strict nature of Victorian society
Jekyll, a character that has repressed his desires is no longer able to control himself
Chracters like Utterson also repress themselves by not showing their desires
Description
Steveson uses restrained and formal language when describing horrific events to make sure he didn't break any indeceny laws
Graphic violence is described with a formal tone, 'trampled calmly', this lack of description causes the read to image the events themselves, and perhaps creating horrific images
The murder of Carew is especially burtal, the auditory imagery 'aduibly shattered' demonstrate Hyde's nature. It shows that Hyde's violence is beacuse of repression
Hyde
Hyde is created as a release from Jekyll's repression
Jekyll had to 'conceal his pleasures'
Utterson
Typical traits of a repressed individual
He channels his passions to his investigation and profession
'Austere man', 'Dry divinity'
Science
Industrial revolution led to rapid scientific development
Rapid changes scared people about what would happen in the future
Scientists
In Victorian society, scientists were considered trustworthy, while lawyers were considered deceitful
Steveson reverses there traits to create tension
Experiments
Stevenson builds uptension around sciene by showing how far science can be pushed
Jekyll's work into the metaphysical makes the scientific community uncomfortable, this anxiety will be transferred to the reader
Jekyll's work is described as 'unscientific balderdash' by Lanyon, highlighting the conflic between the characters
Conflict between religion and science in society during the time is relfected during the story
Descriptions of Jekyll's experiments treads a fine line between scientific experimentation and the supernatural
Description like 'added one of the powders' could be seen as witchcraft and spells
Stevenson's description of Jekyll's experiments create fear to the audience, as it would be generally unheard of
Narration
Further adds a feeling of unease
3 different voices gradually unrave the mystery
Chapter 1-8 focus on the perspective of Utterson who acts as the detective, since he is presented as a reliable narrator, we learn to trust what he says, and our views are shaped by him
Chapter 9 is a letter written by Lanyon, it portrays what has happened as untrustworthy since it is in the first person
Jekyll's letter at the end summarises all of the story and answers all out questions
The different narration points creates uncertainty in the reader as they have to piece together what happens in the story