Discuss how Stevenson presents duality in ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay

In this essay I will show how Robert Louis Stevenson has giveed dichotomy in his novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.The novella is approximately a upright gentle worldly concern, Dr Jekyll, and how, under the pressure of senior high school society in Victorian England, experiments with potions to eventu every(prenominal)y come up with single that would turn him into Mr Hyde, a disreputable and evil man. create verb onlyy in 1886, the novella was based around the pressure to be respectable that Robert Louis Stevenson himself felt in high society of the Victorian era. It was besides influenced by scandals of the clip such as Deacon Brodie. Brodie, who suffered from gambling debts, was a cabinet maker for people in the higher home. To try and pay off his debts he would adjourn into the cabinets that he had sold and steal the valuables inside. This fits into the story of Jekyll and Hyde since Jekyll is a nice, respectable gentleman who turns into an evil, lower class man, Hyde.There was also a growing awareness of alchemy and psychology at the time the novella was compose. Sigmund Freud, a famous chemist and psychologist, convinced people that duality did exist in humans that in one person there could be both ripe(p) and evil, such as in Jekyll and Hyde, who were the same person, with the help of a potion, but Jekyll was good and Hyde evil.Since the novella was written in 1886 it was targeted at Victorian people. When it was first published it sold around 40,000 copies, mainly to the higher classes of Victorian England. They would have seen it as a twist on a horror book. The Victorians were into gothic books, except that they were al managements set in foreign countries and in the past. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde differs to these stories since it was set in London and in the then present day. In 1888, Jack the Ripper surfaced in the newspapers. This would non only have boosted the sales of Stevensons novella but would have been connected to it. Both the former and the last mentioned desires are because of the rumour that went around England at the time that Jack the Ripper was someone of upper class and respectable by day but commit frightening murders by night, like the duality of Jekyll and Hyde.Duality surfaces throughout the novella, including the characters. Mr Utterson is a lawyer and good friend of Henry Jekyll.of a rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile cold, scantyThis description of Mr Utterson, from the first page, portrays him to be a grumpy man, with sharp features on his face, who doesnt get on with anybody and who would drink on his birth. Howeversomehow loveable.This restate, again from the first page, shows the duality of the book since Utterson is described to be miserable and yet everybody loves him. This is enforced by the adjective lovable since this formulate implies that he is pretty easy to get on with and he isnt merely liked by those who know and get on with him, instead he is loved. The quotes convey that no matter what someones demeanour they can console be kind and popular. This introduces the theme of duality for the reasons said above.I let my brother go to the devil in his own mode.Being a lawyer, Mr Utterson is supposed to help others in any way he can, however, this metaphor is relative the ratifier that no matter how much he could do for someone, Utterson doesnt really care about them. This portrays Robert Louis Stevensons idea of duality.least save his assuranceI shall be back forward midnight, when we shall send for the police.This quote shows duality since Utterson himself said that he would let his brother go to the devil in his own way, yet here he is trying to save the reputation of one of his very good friends, Jekyll. To do this though, the good, honourable, respectable, law abiding lawyer does non send for the police as soon as he and Poole, Dr Jekylls butler, discoer the dead body of a certain Mr Edward Hyde lying on Jekylls cabinet floor. Instead, he goes home for two hours to read the letters that both Dr Lanyon, another good friend of both Utterson and Jekyll, and Jekyll left for him to read on the disappearance or death of Henry Jekyll. It also shows duality in that Utterson is a lawyer, who should go to the police but doesnt.in cause of disappearanceread the throw Gabriel John Utterson.This quote shows duality because as Utterson finds, and reads, Jekylls Last Will and Testament, Utterson, to his own amazement, reads his name instead of Hydes. This shows duality since Utterson is down as the last good friend of Dr Henry Jekyll, who would become disreputable and a big scandal if any one were to find out what he did.Dr Lanyon is another character in the novella, and a good friend of Jekyll and Utterson.This was a hearty, healthy, dapper, red faced gentleman with a shock of hair prematurely white.This quote portrays Lanyon to be a friendly, upper class gentleman who has plenty to drink. However, later on in the n ovella, Stevenson describes LanyonThe rosy man had grown pale his flesh had fallen away he was visibly barefaced and olderThis quote and the latter, reveals the duality between them since in the first quote he is described as being healthy and in the second as being on his death bed. The reader would want to know what has happened in such a short time to make this change in Lanyon appear so suddenly because he saw Hyde mix the potion, take a drink, and turn to Jekyll in front of his very own eyes all of which is revealed in the second to last chapter Dr Lanyons Narrative. To get the potions to Hyde however, Jekyll had to get Lanyon to steal for him. The very idea of Jekyll wanting another respectable gentleman breaking in and stealing the potions for him and Hyde would have been a very big scandal if Lanyon was caught, and Lanyon would go from respectable gentleman to disrespectable in a few hours.Stevensons novella is all about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.the doctor gave one of his pl easant dinnersThis shows how Jekyll is popular among the upper class, among his friends, and rich enough to hold dinners. The adverb pleasant conveys to the audience that everyone Jekyll invited got on with each other and it reinforces the idea that Jekyll is rich since he can hold dinners and provide nice food.sat Dr Jekyll, looking deadly sick.This quote describes Jekyll sitting in his bear-sized cabinet room, aft(prenominal) the death of sir Danvers Carew. It reveals how Jekyll is feeling remorse for knowing, or as the reader later finds out, for being Mr Hyde who was identified as the murderer of Carew. It portrays how Jekyll regrets his actions and wishes, to get away from the pressures of high society life in Victorian England.8th of January Utterson had dined at the doctorsOn the 12th, and again on the 14th, the door was shut against the lawyer.This reference conveys to the audience the duality in the novella, since four days after Utterson had seen Jekyll, and dined with him and Dr Lanyon, he was being denied entry to Jekylls signboard. This shows the duality since Jekyll was so ill that he couldnt stand up to know Utterson when Utterson went to see him, before being fine and healthy enough to hold a dinner party and then not allowing anyone into his house to see him all of a sudden without anybody knowing why.born in 18__ to a large fortuneThis quote portrays how Henry Jekyll recognises how he was born into a rich family. The adjectives large and fortune suggests he was born into a highly respected family, something that was of high importance in Victorian England. It shows how he didnt have to work intemperate for the position in society that he was in, only keep up his appearances with others of his class.worst of my faults was a certain gaiety of disposition, such as made the happiness of manyThis reference shows that Jekyll felt money wasnt everything. He felt that where it made most men content, it didnt make him happy. It conveys to the r eader how he wants to be happy, although where he is in life and society wasnt making his wishes come true. We learn later in the novella how this wish brings him to start mixing formulas that would eventually turn him into Mr Hyde.found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head highThe quote above portrays how, although Jekyll wants to be happy, he believes the only way would be one that was irreputable. However, he does not wish to recidivate his place in the upper class of society and he does not wish to lose his friends, both of which would happen if he did what he desired to do to become happier. This therefore is what led Jekyll to create the potion, as well as the written adaption of events, for Utterson to read, in Henry Jekylls full statement of the case where Dr Jekyll writes his version, and the truth of what happened in the last months of his life.Hence it came about that I concealed my pleasuresThis reveals how Jekyll had been hiding secrets sinc e before creating the medley that would turn him to Hyde, hiding what it was that was making him happy. The verb concealed tells the reader that Jekyll was being very careful about his pleasures. It conveys the importance of nobody finding out about Jekylls secret more than if Stevenson had written the verb hid instead.already committed to a profound duplicity of life.This conveys one of the themes in the novella, the theme of duplicity, and how it is not only in the settings and the characters but that the characters knew about it. We know this because of the adjective duplicity portraying to the reader how Jekyll has two lives, however different they are.morbid sense of shame.This quote reveals how although Jekyll wanted to be happy, he is ashamed of how his life has turned out. The alliteration of the s sound in sense and shame enforces the idea, in the readers mind, that he is ashamed of being Mr Hyde, of what he has done and is still doing as Mr Hyde and that both of these ir reputable things are making him happy.not truly one, but truly two.This does not reveal duality within the story, sort of in the themes of the novella. It indicates the views of Dr Jekyll that in one man, there is both good and evil, one of the themes. Jekyll describes how good and evil are different parts of the soul, and that good conquers evil in a raging war within the soul, and that is what makes a man good.flushed as I was with hope and triumph, to venture in my new shapeAs this quote conveys, Stevenson has written about how someone can be addicted to drugs. It shows that even someone of high stature can become addicted, in this case Dr Jekyll. Jekyll is addicted to how he can do what he wants as Mr Hyde, without losing any of his own stature, rather than do the respectable things he would have to do as himself to be happy. It reveals duality in the accompaniment that a respectable gentleman such as Jekyll can be addicted to the painful pangs and nausea the mixture makes hi m feel, whilst turning into Hyde.Edward Hyde is often portrayed animal-like.like a monkey jumped up from among the chemicals.This quote makes the reader imagine a monkey like creature start up upon hearing Poole, Jekylls butler, coming towards Jekylls cabinet. It creates the picture of Hyde being small, dumpy, and hairy and as having very long arms, whilst showing duality since Hyde is a man not a monkey.The other snarled aloud into a raging laughIn this quote the adjective snarled gives the build of Hyde as a savage beast, again being portrayed as some sort of animal. It also conveys how Hyde is an evil person, since someone who is portrayed as being a savage cannot be any good, and this would have been the view of people in Victorian England. Stevenson has used language to paint a picture of what Hyde might look like in the readers mind.so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running.This reference, again, allows the reader to imagine what Hyde looks like. It conveys h ow the other characters react to Hyde, that they all feel an air of disfiguration whenever they see him or speak to him, and that he looks so ugly, so mean that they feel uneasy around him.All of the latter three quotes show duality since Hyde is portrayed as being a small and ugly man with the impression of being deformed somewhere on his body. He is also conveyed as a mean, evil person via the descriptive language used by Stevenson. This is in contrast to Jekyll, since Jekyll is a respected gentleman and doctor of chemistry, who is regularly invited to dinner parties hosted by other well respected people in society. He is also taller, thinner and older than Hyde.All of the characters who meet Hyde in the novella have the appearance _or_ semblance to act in the same way towards him. This conveys to the reader just how unlikeable Hyde is. This is important to the story because it shows how everybody thinks him an evil man. It helps show the duality between Jekyll and Hyde.However, it isnt just the characters that show duality within Stevensons Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is also revealed in the settings the weather and the buildings and also in the narrative structure.The doorneither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouchedThis quote portrays the prize of the door that Hyde uses to enter Dr Jekylls house and grounds. This is in contrast to the front of Jekylls housewhich wore a great air of wealth and comfortThis portrays an image of what Jekylls house looks like from the front a grand house whose owner is wealthy and of a high social class.The latter quote also shows duality with Hydes house in Soho.showed him a dingy pathwayThis quote portrays what kind of domain of a function Hydes house is in. In the Victorian era, Soho was want stricken and full of prostitution, although there is no indication that Hyde was into prostitution and gambling (other than Jekyll turning into Hyde because doing respectable things did not make him hap py). It shows the difference between Jekylls big, respectable house in a respectable of London and Hydes dingy flat on a polluted street in the centre of London.An osseous tissue faced and silvery haired womanThis quote describes the Soho house landlady (or Hydes landlady). When the reader reads this they presume she is a nice friendly woman. HoweverShe had a smooth face, change surface by hypocracyshows duality in contrast with the quote before. It shows how a nice old lady may look nice but in fact can be evil, someone who doesnt like herself. I say evil because later in the chapter The Carew Murder Case she is excited and delighted by the idea of Hyde being in trouble with the police.Hydes house in Soho is, to Uttersons surprise, well furnished.furnished with luxury and good tasteThis conveys duality with how the house looks on the outside. With Soho being a dodgy area in Victorian England, and the street being described as dingy, the reader first imagines a poor, poverty fille d room, not a luxury, well furnished house.London is also shown in a dual nature.down a by street in a busy quarter of London. The street was small and what is called quiet.This quote shows duality in how although a street is in a busy area of London, off a busy main street it is actually very quiet (it would be expected to be busy if its off a main street).Stevenson has even included duality in the weather.cool and a little damp, and full with premature twilight,still bright with sunset.This quote conveys duality to the reader since Jekylls courtyard is described at the beginning of the quote that it is cold and looks as though it is around the time frame of dusk. However, the later half of the quote explains, it is in fact still sunny (nearing sunset) and so in theory Jekylls courtyard should be quite light.A fog rolled over the city early part of the night was cloudless.This reveals duality because it shows how the night was cloudless, until the fog came in. the adjective rolled gives the impression that the fog came swiftly, rather than slowly.About nine in the morning number of degrees and hues of twilight dark like the back end of eveningThis quote conveys to the reader that whatever time of day it is in Soho, it still looks like its dark, like it is night. This quote shows the duality of the weather by giving the time of day and describing what it looked like. The fog described is more likely to be smog from the factories, since the novella is set in the Victorian times. However, it does cast an eerie effect on the image conjured in the readers mind, would have made them think something ill was about to happen.There are many locked doors in Stevensons novella. This symbolises how secretive the story is, Utterson hypothetically being stopped solving the mystery of Jekyll and Hyde, by doors not able to be opened until another section of the mystery is found, and the actual looked doors that Jekyll shuts himself up behind.The narrative structure also sho ws duality since in the first vii chapters the narrative is third person.resumed the lawyer.This shows the third person narrative structure of The Last Night. However, the last two chapters are written in first person, Dr Lanyons Narrative is written by Lanyon from his point of view and tells of what he knows about Jekyll and Hyde, and explains the cause of his death. The last chapter is also in first person, however this is from the perspective of Dr Jekyll himself, who explains everything that had happened.I rose from my placeThese show duality because the first seven chapters, although written in third person, are all about Utterson and what he does to try and ply the mystery between Jekyll and Hyde. They also show Uttersons thoughts and feelings.The chapters are all arranged to follow what happens to Utterson and the titles are all to do with what happens within the chapter itself (and give a clue to what the chapter is about). The last two are in the order they are because th at way Lanyon doesnt repeat what the reader knows from reading Jekylls chapter, if they were the other way around.In this essay I have shown how Robert Louis Stevenson has presented the theme of duality in his novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I have achieved this by analysing the language of the text that describes the characters, weather, buildings and the narrative structure.