1. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2. We Know the Story…
This novella is widely known, and the ending won’t surprise many of us.
Jekyll is Hyde, and Hyde is Jekyll.
With that in mind, we’re going to focus on specific themes and motifs, diving DEEP into this novella.
You’ll be writing an essay on this so it’s important to keep up, especially with the reading at home.

3. About the Author: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Scottish-born essay, poet, and novelist.
Wrote pirate romances, horror stories, children’s poetry, and plays.
He was an atheist, a workaholic, and had anti-establishment views of politics and society.
Perhaps his most famous published work is Treasure Island, which focused on the study of a character.
Suffered from various ailments throughout his life, including tuberculosis.

4. Writing the Story…
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a NOVELLA. Simply put, it’s shorter than a novel, but lengthier than a short story.
Usually between 7,000-40,000 words long.
Stevenson wrote the novella in 1885 (during Victorian Age) while while getting better from an illness.
When published, the novella received mixed reviews.

5. Early Reviews
Stevenson’s writing transitioned between high literary goals and writing commercially for money. As a result, many of his critics were confused as to where to place this novella.
Some critics saw it as nothing more than a “shocking” story.
The novella was conceived, written, rewritten, and published in less than ten weeks (rushed for the Christmas season).
Its place in the literary canon was debated at first, but it soon became a popular and commercial success.

6. Writing the Story, Continued…
The premise of the novella came to Stevenson in a nightmare:
“All I dreamed about Dr. Jekyll was that one man was being pressed into a cabinet, when he swallowed a drug and changed into another human being. I awoke and said at once that I had found the missing link for which I had been looking so long, and before I went to sleep almost every detail of the story, as it stands, was clear to me.”
Stevenson burned the first version of the novella.
The novel focuses on the idea of DUALITY, so it’s appropriate that there existed more than one version of this story, almost from the very start.

7. Important Background Before Reading
The novella starts off much like a detective story.
Dr. Jekyll has been elusive and acting strangely, and a mysterious, hideous character named Mr. Hyde has been seen entering and leaving his home and laboratory.
Mr. Utterson (Jekyll’s lawyer and friend) reluctantly attempts to get to the bottom of the strange happenings surrounding Dr. Jekyll.
The novella becomes more like a hallucination as it goes along, and the “detective elements” become a little less important.

8. Characters
Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Edward Hyde…well-respected doctor who has covered up a secret life of cruel deeds.
Mr. Utterson…lawyer and loyal friend of Jekyll’s
Dr. Lanyon…friend of Dr. Jekyll. Feels that Jekyll’s research has gone astray.
Poole…butler to Jekyll.
Mr. Enfield…Mr. Utterson’s cousin (mostly only present in chapter 1)

9. Different Locations
Jekyll’s fine home in a formerly grand neighborhood now in decay (believed to be in Leicester Square).
Dr. Lanyon’s comfortable home in Cavendish Square (many distinguished doctors have their houses and offices here).
Hyde’s house in Soho, (a part of London known for its immigrant populations).
*These locations help represent important information about the respective characters!

10. Historical Context Written during the Victorian Era.
Mr. Enfield’s opening story (discussing blackmail and abuse) in chapter 1 relates to anxieties that were occupying Londoners’ minds in the mid-1880’s.
Blackmailers were becoming “the most infamous of criminals.”
Child prostitution and sexual violence were recently exposed as a severe problem that was only increasing at the time.
Jack the Ripper (serial killer) was active around the streets of London only two years after Jekyll and Hyde was published (1888).

11. Some Images of 1880s London…

16. Themes We’ll Follow Public vs. Private Life
Repression (as it relates to Freudian theory)
Good vs. Evil
Faith vs. Science
Duality of Man

17. Symbols Letters and documents “The Door” Hyde’s Physical Appearance
Jekyll’s Home and Lab
Fog and Mist

18. Three Motifs Silence- Characters fail to explain themselves
Urban Terror- Links between the action and the setting
Violence Against the Innocent- destruction of innocent people

19. Some Other Ideas We’ll Discuss As We Go Along
Freud’s Id, Ego, and Superego
Addiction to drugs and alcohol
Duality of Man
More about Robert Louis Stevenson
“The Victorian Man”
*Understanding more about these concepts will help you to write an enthralling essay.

20. Some Odd Terms Jekyll’s “cabinet”= his study above the laboratory
Cheval Glass= full-length mirror

21. How We’ll Handle This
There are 10 chapters, and most of them are SHORT.
Make sure to read at home on your own; the assigned reading will be minimal, but please read. You can read ahead, but you really don’t have to.
You’ll be writing an essay on this novella, so you need to know it inside and out.
There will be pop quizzes. Once again, you have to keep up.
You’ll be keeping some “running notes” as we read along. Your biggest roadblock will be to stay organized on your own.
If you can’t make time to read the novella on your own, or you have trouble keeping up with notes, writing the essay will be painful for you.

22. Some Advice Take your time.
You’ll handwrite a summary for each chapter. Trust me, this is for your own benefit, not mine!
Give yourself up to the gothic and somber mood of the story.
Try to master the novel and make this the best paper you’ve ever written (also, possibly the last major paper of high school).