A Novella is longer and more complex than short stories but shorter and simpler than novels “Dr. jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a novella. What is a novella?

 "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was written by Robert Louis Stevenson.  Stevenson was interested in what made up a person’s character: why they could be bad as well as good.  After a nightmare, Stevenson wrote the story of Dr. Jekyll in just three days.

Victorian London: Social Classes The rich people of London were those of high social status (e.g. doctors, lawyers, members of parliament) who lived like kings and queens with the finest of everything. They attended high-class balls, parties, and the theatre. Men normally worked and socialized with other men only. They employed lowly paid servants who cooked for them, cleaned, answered the door, and who would even help them dress in the formal attire of the rich. The butler was the head servant who had the most contact with the master.

Victorian London: Social Roles A wealthy woman, although there are none in the book, stayed at home and oversaw her children and the many servants and goings-on at her household. Women were not allowed to vote, and wealthy women did not work outside of the home. Members of the upper class in Victorian times were especially expected to behave virtuously. They, along with their homes, were expected to be proper and elegant at all times. The wealthy were looked up to and were expected to serve as caretakers of the less fortunate in society.

Social Roles and Rules, cont. Wealthy men often went to school together and established networks and friendships that lasted their lifetimes. We see this in the novella between all of the upper class male characters. Men were expected to behave as “Gentlemen” but had a looser leash than women. Transgressions, however, were not discussed in polite society.

Victorian Social Classes Victorian society was highly stratified. Social classes did not mix, and behavior, especially among members of the upper class, was expected to be exemplary at all times. The unrealistically rigid morality of upper class Londoners led many to live double lives.

London as Setting London was dreary at this time – foggy, dark, and poorly lit with gas lamps that were used to light the streets. The fog was also worse than it is today due to the coal fires used for heat. Crime was rife in London at the time of the book’s publication.

Author’s Background Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS) was born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland and died in 1894 in Samoa where he is buried and lovingly referred to as Tusitala (the teller of tales). In addition, he lived in Europe, America and in other parts of the South Pacific. RLS was the only child from a wealthy family, his father being a famous engineer (!). RLS was ill as a child and spent a lot of time reading.

Childhood – Good vs. Evil RLS had a strict Christian and moral upbringing. The theme of good vs. evil (strict repression of “evil” actions and even thoughts) was one that he was quite aware of. RLS was brought up in the wealthy part of Edinburgh. However, as a student he liked visiting the ghettos of Edinburgh and would even put on a false identity for his ventures into the ghettos. This dichotomy is much like differences between Jekyll and Hyde’s worlds. RLS studied engineering and law in college but became an author – a wild path compared to his father’s. In the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll says that he is like the father and Hyde is like the son.

Composing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The idea for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde came to RLS as a dream (Freud?). He wrote the first version of the book in three days and then burned it due to criticism from his wife (hmm!). He wrote the second version in three days as well. It became an overnight success and was published in The book was written when Stevenson lived in England.