DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE:
science vs religion
SCIENCE
Jekyll and Lanyon are scientists, their profession relies on rational methods and hard evidence
context
DARWINISM
RELIGION
They live in a Christian society
Jekyll is fond of religious texts, and often calls on God to help him
Lanyon deals with science of the material world and can't cope with Jekyll using scientific research to experiment with spiritual matters
The tension between science and religion was a source of conflict in the Victorian society
At the start of the 19th century most people believed the explanation from the Bible that the Earth was created by God. Throughout the 19th century scientists began to question this theory- they believed that plants and animals developed by evolution. Many Victorians thought this view was dangerous as it suggested that science had the power to create life. It challenged their religious views of the world.
Hyde's transformation into Jekyll has religious connotations. Before the transformation, Hyde promises that Lanyon's "sight shall be blasted" as the truth is "unveiled" to him. Hyde's language has religious undertones- he describes the transoformation as a kind of miracle. This encourages the reader to view the transformation as both a spiritual and scientific event
Hyde was created as Jekyll is troubled by his sins, even thought they weren't actually that bad. When he was younger he "regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame". He thinks of sin as "the doom and burden of our life" and so creates Hyde to rid himself of this "extraneous evil" This links to what Christianity teaches about everyone having sin.
Being seen to be doing good or charitable deeds is a sign of respectability. After Hyde murders Sir Danvers Carew, Jekyll becomes "distinguished for religion" for a few months- he's known for doing good deeds.
Stevenson criticises the act of being religious in public and sinful in private, by presenting Jekyll's actions as hypocritical
Jekyll finds it easy to put on a show of doing good deeds, but doesn't deal with his guilty conscience ( because he thinks it's "Hyde alone that was guilty"). This allows Hyde gain in strength, and in the end Jekyll is destroyed
Stevenson reminds the reader that Jekyll's actions are sinful by using religious language. For example, Jekyll is a "secret sinner" and Hyde is "the spirit of hell"
The transformation of Hyde to Jekyll is hideous, Lanyon finds it sickening, and Jekyll describes his first transformation as provoking "racking pangs", "deadly nausea" and "a horror of the spirit"
Jekyll's cabinet is full of the curious objects that Utterson and Poole don't understand. There are "traces" of chemicals, "various" measures of "some white salt", and they decide the coeval glass has seen "some strange things". Stevenson uses this vague language to present science as mysterious.
Jekyll's science causes death and destruction, showing how powerful science can be when it's used to upset the conventional order of Victorian life.
Jekyll says that the details of his experiment cannot be shared for 2 reasons:
1- Jekyll says he won't "deeply" describe his experiment because it caused his evil side to return with a "more awful pressure". This acts as a warning about science
2- His experiment was also "incomplete". Even Jekyll, a respected scientist, failed to achieve his aims, and he couldn't control the power of the evil he unleashed
Christianity had a strong influence on many areas of everyday life in Victorian England. One particularly influential branch of Christianity was called Evangelicalism. The Evangelicals taught that all people are naturally sinful, and that's it's up to the individuals to seek forgiveness from God. The should do this by living according to a strict moral and religious code- with emphasis on total morality an avoiding sin.
Jekyll's drugs "shook the doors of the prison house of [his] disposition". This strong language shows that Jekyll fells the sinful side of his personality was trapped by the more respectable side.
It is the "temptation of a discovery so singular and profound" that motivates Jekyll to create Hyde. He tries to change human nature, which Christians see as God's creation.
Jekyll meddles with nature for his own selfish reasons. He doesn't have good intentions - this means that Jekyll creates an evil, rather than good, alter ego.
Jekyll has made a scientific breakthrough. He repeats the phrase "I was the first...", showing how proud he is of himself. He starts to think he is "beyond the reach of fate"
By the end, Jekyll is the "chief of sufferers", and experiences "torments". This language of torment that Jekyll uses links to the Christian idea of Hell- a place in the afterlife of constant suffering
"I incline to Cain's heresy"- utterson. Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve, in the story Cain murders his brother, Abel, because he was jealous as God preferred Abel's sacrifices he makes to please him. Some people believe that Cain is the origin of evil and greed in the human race. This is symbolic to the duality of Jekyll and Hyde. It's like Jekyll has Cain and Abel in him because he's good and evil. This is also referenced when Hyde ends up killing Jekyll in the end.
In the early 1800s, Christianity taught that God created every species to be perfectly adapted to its environment. The Book of Genesis also taught that humans were made in God's image, different form all other animals and ruling over them. In contrast, some scientists argued that species evolved gradually over time. There were many different theories of how this occurred. Darwin put forward his theory in 'On the Origin of Species', publishes in 1859. Darwin's book claimed that all creatures evolved from common ancestors through a process called natural selection. In a later book, he wrote about about humans, arguing that they shared a common ancestor with apes. Darwin's writings went against the Christian idea Chatman's nature was different form other animals.
Hyde is described as the "animal within" Henry Jekyll. He "seems hardly human", lets out a scream of "animal terror" and Poole says he is "like a monkey", he is also described to have "ape-like fury". Hyde is also shorter than Jekyll, which could suggest that he is the less evolved version of the doctor.
Although the theory of evolution suggested that humans were connected to animals, it still implied that humans were more superior because they were higher up the evolutionary scale. This is reflected in the language used to describe Jekyll and Hyde- Jekyll is described as the "more upright twin" walking the "upward path" of progress, while Hyde is lower "in stature" and represents the "lower elements" of Jekyll's soul. Also, the fact that Hyde is sh0orter could show that he is Jekyll's lesser.
As a child, Stevenson was influenced by the strict Christian beliefs of his nanny.
In 1873 Stevenson quarrelled with his father about religion- his father was upset that Stevenson had become an atheist
The majority of the population would've been religious so by referencing the Bible, Stevenson is using a universally recognised system of symbolism