Robert Louis Stevenson

Background Born 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland Was a sickly child Father was a lighthouse designer Stevenson attended Edinburgh University where he studied literature instead of engineering

Life after university Poor health (tuberculosis) forced Stevenson to spend time in warmer climates. While recuperating in the French Riviera, he met and fell in love with Fanny Osbourne, a married American. Stevenson followed Osbourne to San Francisco where he awaited her to divorce her husband. The journey from Europe to America and California almost killed Stevenson but Fanny nursed him back to health. The two were married upon Fanny’s divorce.

Stevenson’s Writing Career In spite of constantly moving because of his poor health, Stevenson wrote many popular books including travel books. Some of his works include: Treasure Island (1883) A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885) Kidnapped (1886) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) David Balfour (1893) – sequel to Treasure Island.

The South Pacific Years In 1888, an American publisher asked Stevenson to write a travel book about the South Pacific. Stevenson and his wife chartered a yacht from San Francisco to the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, and Hawaii. In 1890, Stevenson settled in Samoa. He died in Samoa on Dec. 3, 1894, at the age of 44. Stevenson’s tomb in Mt. Vaea

Epitaph on a Plaque Near Stevenson’s Tomb “Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill.” “Requiem” Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde an Introduction

FYI Stevenson intended the last name of his famous doctor to be pronounced JEEK-uhl. Such a pronunciation would have been more common in the author’s Scottish dialect. In spite of Stevenson’s insistence, the tormented doctor’s last name has been pronounced as JECK-uhl by readers, actors, and critics ever since the story first appeared.

Introduction to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde NOVELLA – longer and more complex than a short story but shorter and simpler than novels.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Takes place in London, 1880s Settings include:  Jekyll’s fine home in a formerly grand neighborhood now in decay  Lanyon’s comfortable home in Cavendish Square  Hyde’s house in Soho, a part of London known for its immigrant populations

Background/Setting Victorian England Victorian Society = CHANGE Divided sharply by social classes A time of general prosperity and accomplishments (Industrial Revolution; expansion of British Empire overseas) Increasing population in cities led to many problems – sanitation, crime, poverty, etc. Changes in traditional structure of society frightened many England’s increased involvement in wars and other problems led to a widespread disillusionment for people by the end of the Victorian Era

What does it mean to have a Jekyll and Hyde personality? Doppelganger: German translation literally means “double goer.” It is the concept of the “double self” or “ twin” and it became a popular literary genre in the 19 th century. Other well-known literary works from this time period that fall under the doppelganger genre: Frankenstein Dracula The Picture of Dorian Gray

Romantic Literature Characteristics Romantic Period Literature Characteristics: Love of Nature Love of the Common Man Neo-Classicism The Supernatural Nationalism Heroism Strange and Far-away Places

Romantic Literature Characteristics Love of Nature Emotions and instinct became more important than reason. There was a glorification of “The Natural Man”, the “noble savage,” and the primitive and untutored personality. Primitivism, meaning the thought that the simple and unsophisticated life was best, also grew popular. These ideas led to an interest in old civilizations, glorification of Greek society, a study in archeology developed as a science, with Egyptian and Medieval areas important to study. Also, the Medieval studies, urged by nationalism, helped nations develop identity, which was an important aspect of Romantic Period ideas.

Romantic Literature Characteristics Love of the Common Man The social and economic classes were disparaged, or put down. An era of revolutions opened when the governments were overthrown, due to the fact that it often seemed to require elimination of social classes. The American writers also provided a way to satisfy a cultural need for lore, or a mythology suitable to a new nation. The literature presented this in many pieces.

Romantic Literature Characteristics Neo-Classicism Neo-Classicism means a return to the Classic ideals of: clearness, elegance, symmetry, and repose produced by attention to traditional forms. It was sometimes synonymous with excellence or artistic quality of high distinction. Also, the term refers to the admiration and imitation of Greek and Roman literature, art, and architecture.

Romantic Literature Characteristics The Supernatural Fascination with the supernatural was a characteristic of the Romantic Period. This included: the unexplainable, horror, and anything that evoked the emotion of fear.

Romantic Literature Characteristics Nationalism Nationalism was a reaction against the dominating influences of German literature. Writers aimed to write works which were expressive and characteristic of their own nationality by: using scenes from their country’s life, history, folk-tales and legends as a basis for operas, songs, literature, and symphonic poems.

Romantic Literature Characteristics Heroism The idea that anyone, especially the common man, could be a hero is a characteristic of the Romantic Period. Heroism is the overcoming of our natural fears and limitations to achieve great things. Strange and Far-away Places This characteristic relates to the love of exotic locations around the world and in time and space. This could include the past or the future as well as strange places or situations in the present.

Gothic Literature Is a reaction against some of the elements of Romantic Literature Writers composed Gothic narratives during the Victorian Era largely in response to anxiety over the change in social and political structure brought about by such events as the French Revolution, the rise in secular-based government, and the rapidly changing nature of the everyday world brought about by scientific advances and industrial development, in addition to an increasing aesthetic demand for realism rather than folklore and fantasy.

Gothic Literature Combines elements of horror and romantic literature Terror (both physical and psychological) Mystery Supernatural (ghosts, haunted houses, darkness, etc.) Death and decay Doubles (doppelganger) Madness

THEMES for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Human ugliness originates in the soul People who succumb to the temptations of evil risk losing their capacity for good People who suppress their natural desires risk having them surface out of control

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The novella was an instant success in 1886 It was so successful that a parody of the novella appeared in Punch (a popular English satirical magazine) within a month of the publication of Jekyll and Hyde