Key Themes (Jekyll and Hyde)
This section looks at the Key themes in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Duality of man
Jekyll asserts that “man is not truly one, but truly two,”
Stevenson uses the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to expresses his beliefs about human duality by introducing them as two contrasting characters. Using two completely different characters with different names and appearances gets his message of human duality across effectively.
Good versus Evil
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is as an allegory about the good and evil that exist in all men, and about our struggle with these two sides of our personality. In the novella the battle between good and evil rages within the individual. Since Hyde seems to be taking over, one could argue that evil is stronger than good. However, Hyde does end up dead, perhaps suggesting a weakness or failure of evil. The big question, of course, is whether or not good can be separated from evil, or whether the two are forever intertwined.
Repression is indisputably a cause of troubles in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The repression here is that of Victorian Britain: no sexual appetites, no violence, and no great expressions of emotion, at least in the public sphere. Everything is sober and dignified. The more Jekyll’s forbidden appetites are repressed, the more he desires the life of Hyde, and the stronger Hyde grows. We see this after Dr. Jekyll’s two-month hiatus from being Hyde; Dr. Jekyll finds that the pull to evil has been magnified after months of repression.
Friendship and Loyalty
Friendship in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde serves to drive the plot forward. Aside from human curiosity, Utterson is compelled to uncover the mystery of the evil man because of his friendship with Dr. Jekyll. In trying to unravel the secret, he uncovers crucial pieces of information. In this sense, friendship acts as both a motivator and an enabler. As for the friendship between Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll, it’s certainly not as unconditional as the loyalty Mr Utterson bears for Dr. Jekyll. Instead, it’s fraught with competition, anger, and eventually an irreconcilable quarrel. We see that friendships can be ruined by differences of opinion.
Appearances and Reputation
Appearances figure in the novel both figuratively and literally. Dr. Jekyll definitely wants to keep up a well-respected façade, even though he has a lot of unsavoury tendencies. In a literal sense, the appearances of buildings in the novel reflect the character of the building’s inhabitants. Dr.Jekyll has a comfortable and well-appointed house, but Mr. Hyde spends most of his time in the "dingy windowless structure" of the doctor’s laboratory.
In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, curiosity drives the characters to seek knowledge. This curiosity is either suppressed or fulfilled in each character. Curiosity lacks any negative connotation; instead, characters who do not actively seek to unravel the Jekyll and Hyde mystery may be viewed as passive or weak. Finally, the characters’ curiosities are, to some degree, transferred over to the reader; we seek to solve the puzzle along with Mr. Utterson.
Lies and Deceit
The plot is frequently driven forward by secrecy and deception; Mr.Utterson doesn’t know the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and he wants to find out. Also, by omitting the scenes of Mr. Hyde’s supposedly crazy debauchery, Stevenson allows our imaginations to run to wild and fill in the gaps.
This novel details two crimes of violence against innocent and helpless citizens: first, a little girl, and second, an elderly man. The violence in the novel centres on Mr. Hyde, and raises the question as to whether or not violence is an inherent part of man’s nature.
God and Satan figure prominently in this text, as well as many general references to religion and works of charity. As part of their intellectual lives, the men in the novel discuss various religious works. One sign of Mr. Hyde’s wickedness, for example, is his defacing Dr. Jekyll’s favourite religious work. Mr. Hyde is also frequently likened to Satan.
Women and Femininity
Most female characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are passive and weak. The first female we see is a young girl mowed over by Mr. Hyde. Although she is "not much the worse, more frightened, "she still kicks up an incredible fuss and a large group of people come to her aid. The next woman we see is via a maid’s narrative of the Carew murder. After witnessing the murder, she faints, awakening long after the murderer is gone making her a passive spectator.
Science, Reason and the Supernatural
Science Reason and the Supernatural are the main factors in the development of the conflict between Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll which is integral to the plot. Dr. Lanyon adheres to a more traditional set of scientific notions then Jekyll. In the book science becomes a cover for supernatural activities. Jekyll’s brand of science veers towards the supernatural.
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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
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Notes || Exam Prep || Character Profiles || Themes || Additional Reading & Videos
This topic is included in Paper 1 . You can find notes and guides for it below.
- Overview and Key Scenes
- Glossary of Key Terms
- Key Terms Flashcards
- Guide to Paper 1
- How to plan and write a top mark essay
- Question Bank - Characters
- Question Bank - Context
- Question Bank - Emotion and Tone
- Question Bank - Setting
- Question Bank - Themes
Additional Reading & Videos
- The strange double life of Robert Louis Stevenson
- Law, Science, Facts and Morals in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- The Beast Within
- A Study in Dualism: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Duality in Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- The effect of Charles Darwin on Victorian literature
- Sigmund Freud and the Psyche
Character Profiles
- Mr Utterson
- Appearance vs Reality
- Secrecy & Reputation
- The Gothic & Supernatural
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The Duality Between Good and Evil
AQA GCSE English Literature Grade 9 example: The theme of good versus evil in Dr Jekyll And My Hyde
Subject: English
Age range: 14-16
Resource type: Assessment and revision
Last updated
8 March 2021
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This is a Grade 9 exemplar for the question 'Explore the theme of good versus evil in R.L Stevenson’s novella ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’.
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The concept of the 'double' is central to 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. There are several types of duality - the most important is the mix of good and evil in human nature. Other types of duality include appearance and reality, and science and the supernatural. This passage focuses most on the duality of 'good and ill ...
"all human beings … are commingled out of good and evil" - Jekyll, Chapter X. Meaning and context. In this quote, Jekyll reveals the duality of good and evil in all human beings; Knowledge and evidence: Stevenson explores the tension which exists between good and evil and presents the temptation and allurement of evil within the novella
The theme of good and evil is closely linked with that of the duality of human nature. Evil is personified in Hyde: Jekyll says Hyde is 'alone in the ranks of mankind, pure evil' (p. 61). His evil lies in being entirely selfish: he will do whatever he wants to satisfy his own appetites without any regard for other people.
GCSE; AQA; Themes - AQA Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Themes overview. A theme is a key idea that runs through a text. The key themes in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are scientific development, duality of ...
Jekyll asserts that "man is not truly one, but truly two,". Stevenson uses the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to expresses his beliefs about human duality by introducing them as two contrasting characters. Using two completely different characters with different names and appearances gets his message of human duality across effectively.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a about the complexities of science and the duplicity of human nature. Dr Jekyll is a well-respected and intelligent scientist who meddles with the darker side of science ...
This is a very good study guide and beneficial for students and teachers. This new guide from Accolade Press will walk you through how to plan and structure essay responses to questions on Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. By working through seven mock questions, these essay plans will show you how to go about ...
This resource is a model essay answering the following question: How is the theme of good vs evil presented in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'? The essay response in this resource covers all aspects needed for a grade 8/9 answer.
GCSE English Literature, DR HENRY JEKYLL character in 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' essay, FULL MARKS Grade 9. Has been marked using exam board specifications such as AQA, Edexcel, OCR, and WJEC Eduquas by teachers, and it achieved full marks across all exam boards. 1061 word count total.
EXEMPLAR ESSAY on the theme of SCIENCE in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' NEW 9-1 GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE EXEMPLAR ESSAY on the theme of GOOD VS EVIL in 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' NEW 9-1 GCSE ENG LIT EXEMPLAR ESSAY on the theme of APPEARANCE VS REALITY in 'Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde' NEW 9-1 GCSE ENG LIT
Jekyll is considered a respectable, upstanding man, but feels he hides a dark inner identity. Hyde appears to be a normal, if ugly, person but is actually a 'child of Hell' (p. 71) Jekyll's predicament: it looks as though he is being blackmailed, and this is what Enfield and Utterson assume is happening. the physical deterioration of ...
The theme of duality is one of the most prominent in the text. The novella is concerned with how an upstanding member of society can become a savage criminal. Stevenson shocks the reader by first presenting Jekyll and Hyde as two separate characters and then revealing that they are the same person. This shows how a person can simultaneously ...
Jekyll is presented as a man with a reputation and a respected member of society representing good, while Hyde is depicted as a manifestation of evil: In Jekyll's view, "man is not truly one, but truly two" and while he is aware of his good side, he also acknowledges there is evil within him; Jekyll believes that it is the "curse of ...
5.Secrecy. 'Jekyll,' said Utterson, 'you know me: I am a man to be trusted. Make a clean breast of this in confidence; and I make no doubt I can get you out of it.' 'My good Utterson,' said the doctor, 'this is very good of you, this is downright good of you, and I cannot find words to thank you in.
Each essay is worth 40 marks and this resource is targeted at students sitting the 9-1 GCSE English Literature Exam. Teachers are encouraged to purchase this resource so that they can show their students an exemplar answer to analyse and obtain ideas from. All essay responses in this resource cover all aspects needed for grade 8/9 answers.
brothers, one good and one evil, is symbolic of the duality found within Jekyll and Hyde. Religious allusions also work to solidify the theme of religion vs science within the text , and ensures that the reader is always aware of this juxtaposition within their own society. Transmorphism Transformation and changing state is central to the text ...
Get yourself in the best position possible with our 1-day online AQA English Language GCSE Exam Preparation courses. Paper 1 course 19th May & Paper 2 course 26th May. Book now! This topic is included in Paper 1. You can find notes and guides for it below.
This is a video from our nugget on Jekyll and Hyde: Theme - Good and Evil from our English Literature - Jekyll and Hyde course. All our videos, questions and...
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Chapter 2 : " This document had long been the Lawyer's eyesore", Chapter 10: " i resolved in my future conduct to redeem the past; and i say with honesty that my resolve was fruitful of some good ", Chapter 10 : "I had now two characters as well as two appearances one was wholly evil, and the other was still the old Henry Jekyll ...
The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores the consequences of trying to separate good from evil, leading to an unfolding of personality. Jekyll was a 'good man', a distinguished man of good position, a man who, like all others, repressed the darkest impulses inside him. His passion for medicine and his obsession with the idea of ...
Jekyll explains that Hyde was pure evil, but Jekyll was a mix of both good and evil. he had not been successful in creating a wholly good person. "The doctor gave one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old cronies, all intelligent reputable men, and all judges of good wine". Dr Jekyll is respected due to his wealth, reputation as a ...
This is a Grade 9 exemplar for the question 'Explore the theme of good versus evil in R.L Stevenson's novella 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. International; Resources; ... AQA GCSE English Literature Grade 9 example: The theme of good versus evil in Dr Jekyll And My Hyde. Subject: English. Age range: 14-16. Resource type: Assessment and revision.
This was a semi-transformation which shows that Jekyll is losing power over Hyde. 'terror' and 'despair' is usually what Hyde brings. Mr. Hyde has destroyed the holiest part of the body - the soul. Evil has now managed to empower both sides of the soul. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like "I let my brother go to the ...
Whether or not these happenings are good or evil can shape one's mindset and outlook on the actions they take themselves. Both have distinct strengths and weaknesses; however, the real question one must ask is which side of the spectrum is more capable of influencing humanity. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a ...