Historical Context

When was J+H published?

1886 during the Victorian era

What was the Victorian era known for?

strict moral code and emphasis of propriety

Where did a contrast lie in society

Between the rich and poor

What genre was becoming popular?

Gothic fiction- exploring darker supernatural sides on society

How does the novella show fears of scientific discovery?

It reflects fears that science could unleash evil and threaten morality

How does Darwin’s theory influence the novella?

Fear of evolutionary degeneration

Regression to primitive ancestry

Atavism

Link to duality

Victorian society’s double life (hypocrisy)

• public respectability vs private sinfulness

How does Jekyll and Hyde reflect Victorian fears about crime?

• Late 19th-century London had rising crime rates.

• Victorians feared hidden criminality beneath respectable society.

• Influenced by Lombroso’s theory of “born criminals” with distinct physical traits.

• Fear that evil was natural and visible in appearance

What fears does this tap into?

Fears of hidden evil and psychological depth

Pea-soupers

smog

• thick, yellow fog which creates ambiguity to the novella

Double Brain Theory

Popular theory in 1879s and 80s

• the brain having two hemispheres and ‘split personalities’

Freud’s Theory of the Id, Ego and Superego

Human psyche is divided into 3

Id

instinctual, pleasure seeking part that desires immediate gratification.

Ego

rational mediator between the id’s impulses and the superego’s moral constraints

Superego

internalised sense of morality and social norms, guiding behaviour and inducing guilt when violated

Which characters represent what part?

Id- Hyde

Ego- Jekyll

Superego- Victorian Society

What was the Saville club?

A haven for artists and writers that Stevenson joined during his university years, marked by close male friendships and intellectual exploration.

How did the Saville club influence J+H?

It likely influenced Stevenson’s portrayal of all-male social circles in the novella, like those of Utterson, Enfield, and Lanyon.

Fanny Stevenson

Stevenson’s wife

editor and confidante

burnt the first copy of J+H cause it was too gruesome

What was the source of “Jekyll and Hyde’s” core idea according to Stevenson?

A vivid nightmare that Stevenson experienced

What real life story may have influenced Stevenson?

William Brodie- respectable man with a criminal life

How did William Brodie influence the story?

His real life ‘double-life’ directly inspired the theme of duality in the novella

Addiction

Victorian era saw the rise of substances like opium.

Mirrors Jekyll’s dependence to drugs for his transformation

What might J+H be interpreted as regarding anxiety.

A metaphor for the anxieties surrounding loss of control and an allure of forbidden pleasures in addiction.