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Jekyll & Hyde - Context + Writer's Purpose - Coggle Diagram
Jekyll & Hyde - Context + Writer's Purpose
Stevenson
Studied Law at University - good background for Utterson
Gave up on religion and became an atheist - his novel deals with issues that were problematic within the Christian church (nature of evil, why people have urges to do bad things)
Lived in Edinburgh - was fascinated by an area - 'Old Town' - an area of deprivation overcrowding, crime and squalid living conditions
Would explore and engage in the darker side of Edinburgh - duality
Wanted to explore various facets of human nature
Wanted to craft a morality tale that acted as a stark warning
Intention - discuss and expose what he viewed as a very basic problem - regardless of social class, everyone is capable of committing evil acts
Setting
Jekyll - 'air of wealth and comfort' vs Hyde - 'prolonged and sordid negligence'
Reputable front and rundown rear form two sides to the same property
Respectable + disreputable frequently exist in close proximity
Respectable façade is no guarantee against dark secrets hidden below the surface
Summary
People/ events that are seemingly innocent become dark and sinister when viewed closely
Splitting the consciousness of Jekyll in two
Decent side that suppresses desires
Immoral side that runs riot
Exploring of battles everyone faces
Character
Dual nature of society
Respectability is doubled with degradation, abandon with restraint, honesty with duplicity
Character traits of Jekyll & Hyde demonstrate the differences between good and evil, comparison links to evolution and degeneration
Presentation of Jekyll as gentlemanly, repressed who then turns into a cruel, lustful and murderous Hyde
Scenarios of frightening devolution jolts the audience to consider Darwin and his theories of evolution
Stevenson exposes his Victorian reader to the theory that a criminal can lurk behind an acceptable public persona, and that appearances might provide no real indication of the personality within