THE THEME OF THE DOUBLE IN THE VICTORIAN AGE Classe 5ASA, Medi Prof. Pigliapochi 11/01/2016

The theme of the double The Victorian Age "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair". Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) Dickens’s quotation epigrammatically exemplifies the intricate knot of contradictions and contrasts permeating the Victorian Age… Can you guess which ones?

1) The world’s most powerful Empire At the beginning of the 20th century Britain was the greatest Empire ever. However, all this success was accompanied by some very serious problems, such as the Boer War in South Africa and the ‘Irish Question’. The theme of the double The Victorian Age

2) British economy and social problems The wealthiest part of the Victorian society almost ignored the growing separation between the highest social classes and the working class. The Industrial Revolution profoundly transformed the nation: the formerly predominant work of farmers was steadily replaced by that of factory workers in industrial cities. The theme of the double The Victorian Age

3)The living conditions Normal labourers earned very low wages, spent even hours a day at work and lived in small and dirty houses, mostly built in segregated, highly polluted and overcrowded areas, called slums. Therefore, several grave diseases, like cholera, tuberculosis and typhus, were widespread among the poor. Instead the upper classes had a lot of chances to improve their social conditions, thanks to investments in commerce, industry and war. The theme of the double The Victorian Age

4)Social respectability and The ‘Victorian Compromise’ The aristocracy and the middle classes were deeply concerned about morality, wealth and appearance, since they wanted to distinguish themselves from the lower strata of society. So they built an external façade of strict and oppressive moral rules behind which they hid their true characters, keeping their instincts, real preferences, and ‘forbidden activities’ secret. The theme of the double The Victorian Age

5)Philosophy and Religion Even if the Victorian Age was a period of doubt about God and Man, faith was still considered a fundamental part of everyone’s life. However, some intellectuals followed agnosticism or atheism, especially after the birth of Utilitarianism and Decadence. The increasing uncertainty was also due to the diffusion of Darwin’s ‘Theory of Evolution’ which stated the kinship between man and other living beings. The theme of the double The Victorian Age

The theme of the double The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson ( ) was born in Edinburgh into a rich Presbyterian family. During his years at university, he frequently rebelled against his parents’ religion and the excessive Puritanism of his city, and was also very critical of the hypocrisies of bourgeois respectability. His literary career began in 1878, but he reached success in 1883 when he wrote the series of novels that made him famous: Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886), The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and The Black Arrow (1888).

The theme of the double The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Plot Henry Jekyll is a brilliant scientist who, by mixing special drugs, succeeds in creating a potion which is able to separate the two nature of man: good and evil. The latter, the deformed and repulsive Mr Hyde, slowly manages to prevail over the former and commits several wicked and criminal deeds.

The theme of the double The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Themes All the themes of novel are linked to the central theme of the duality of human nature and the eternal struggle between good and evil. Jekyll and Hyde are the symbol of a double personality. The inner conflict between good and evil emerges very clearly when Jekyll decides to start his experiments and it is even given visible signification in the physical difference between the two characters.

The theme of the double The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Find terms (nouns & adjectives) to describe Mr Hyde’s appearance and relate them to aspects of his character and personality. (p.111) less robust – less developed – small – slighter – younger  he has been repressed, hidden for years deformity – decay – ugly – pure evil – dwarfish – repugnance – troglodytic  impulsive, passionate, uncontrollable, cruel, bold, impatient, shocking. He is the embodiment of Dr Jeckyll’s subconscious which needs to transgress. He represents Dr Jeckyll’s forbidden, shameful desires and secret pleasures. natural – human – livelier  man’s nature is dual, it is naturally composed of a good side and a bad side. Human identity has a dark face, an evil personality which is usually controlled and repressed.

The theme of the double The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Themes Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are symbolic of the duplicity of the Victorian Age. On one side, Jekyll represents the public face of the individual and is a respectable man  Victorian upper class’ façade of superficial respectability and moral integrity On the other side, at night in the bad areas of London, he is Mr Hyde, who represents the dark side in all people (Stevenson’s intuition was to represent the evil side as a separate creature, who is even given a physical dimension)  Victorian upper class’ unacceptable desires, primitive instincts and shameful actions that need to be hidden Even the name ‘Hyde’ is linked to the theme of the double: it means ‘to hide’, referring to the actions that you cannot do openly  Victorian hypocrisy

The theme of the double Other novels? The themes of dualism, ambiguity and equivocation, transgression, human regression to the animal state do not characterise only The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but also many other works. Any ideas? Etc…