1. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
An Introduction

2. Who Was He? Born in 1850 ~ Edinburg, Scotland – SICKLY!
Doctors told his family he would die in a few months, but he lived until 1894
Studied literature at Edinburg University
Had to move to a warmer climate because of his deteriorating health, so he moved to California in 1879 and married Fanny Osbourne; the travel
almost killed him

3. Who Was He?
His first great writing success was Treasure Island – thrilling story of a swashbuckling pirate named Long John Silver
Robert Lois Stevenson died on December 3, 1894
At the time of his death, he had returned to Scotland to prepare an edition of his complete works

4. Why did he write it?
Stevenson was interested in what made up a person’s character: why they could be bad as well as good?
He came from a good family but he was fascinated by the "dregs of humanity", something that the upper class pretended never existed.
After a nightmare, Stevenson wrote the story of Dr. Jekyll in just three days.
Considered one of the first ‘psychological’ thrillers and led to modern detective novels.
Stevenson portrays how two contradictory personalities – one conventional “good”, the other an example of increasingly uncontrolled “evil”, can coexist in one body.

5. So What?
Believe it or not … Robert Louis Stevenson’s dark psychological fantasy gave birth to the idea of the split personality. The story of respectable Dr. Jekyll’s strange association with ‘damnable young man’ Edward Hyde; the hunt through fog-bound London for a killer; and the final revelation of Hyde’s true identity is a chilling exploration of humanity’s basest capacity for evil.

6. Symbolism and The Novella????
Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.
A novella is longer and more complex than a short story, but shorter and simpler than a novel.

7. The Setting:
Victorian London

10. Setting of Jekyll ..
The setting is greatly influential in Gothic novels. It not only evokes the atmosphere of horror and dread, but also portrays the deterioration of its world. The decaying, ruined scenery implies that at one time there was a thriving world. At one time the abbey, castle, or landscape was something treasured and appreciated. Now, all that lasts is the decaying shell of a once thriving dwelling.

11. Speaking of the “Gothic” Novel
Did you think of this?
Well ..
This is not really what I mean …

12. What I Meant was …
The “Goths” were originally a Germanic tribal culture.
"Gothic" has come to mean quite a number of things by this day and age. It could mean a particular style of art, be it in the form of novels, paintings, or architecture; it could mean "medieval" or "uncouth." It could even refer to a certain type of music and its fans. What it originally meant, of course, is "of, relating to, or resembling the Goths, their civilization, or their language" ("gothic").

13. Then ..
Many more centuries later, the word was used to describe novels.
“The Gothic novel took shape mostly in England from 1790 to and falls within the category of Romantic literature. It acts, however, as a reaction against the rigidity and formality of other forms of Romantic literature. The Gothic is far from limited to this set time period, as it takes its roots from former terrorizing writing that dates back to the Middle Ages, and can still be found written today by writers such as Stephen King. But during this time period, many of the highly regarded Gothic novelists published their writing and much of the novel's form was defined.”

14. Symbolism and The Novella
– Continued…
Britain was experiencing a period of intense social, economic, and spiritual change – poverty became a formidable problem
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde perfectly captured some readers’ fears that their carefully built society was hypocritical
It was a symbolic expression of threats to traditional British society; struggle between the social classes for power with an increase in political power of the working class
Other saw a challenge in the long-held religious belief in God’s creation of the universe being replaced by the evolution theory
Many considered Hyde to be a model of the strong yet evil individual who would survive while Jekyll, who represented good, was defeated by evil

15. Characters
Mr. Utterson – the narrator of the book. A middle-aged lawyer, and a man in which all other characters seem to confide in. He is perhaps the most circumspect, respected, and rational character in the book – this is significant because we see Jekyll’s hypocrisy and Hyde’s crimes through his perspective.
Mr. Richard Enfield – Mr. Utterson’s cousin, a younger
man who is slightly more wild than his relative. Enfield only
appears in two scenes in the novella.

16. Character Descriptions
Dr. Hastie Lanyon – a former friend of Dr. Jekyll’s, who disagrees with his scientific principles. Dr. Lanyon is highly respected,
Rational and values truth and goodness.
Mr. Poole – Jekyll’s faithful butler, who has worked for
Jekyll for almost 20 years. He calls on Utterson when he
becomes concerned about his employer and friend.

17. Character Descriptions
Dr. Henry Jekyll – a prominent middle-aged doctor described as both tall and handsome. He is extremely wealthy, respected and very proper. As the novel progresses, we witness his hypocritical behaviour, which Stevenson claimed was his tragic flaw. Jekyll believes that within each human there exists forces of good and evil and his experiments try to separate the two. In the story, Jekyll’s voice is only heard in the concluding chapter – he is usually “heard” through Utterson, Lanyon, Poole, and Enfield.

18. Character Descriptions
Mr. Edward Hyde – a small, deformed man, somewhat younger than Dr. Jekyll. Most of the characters describe him as something evil and horrific – there is something indiscernible in his face. Hyde is generally civilized in his interactions with others, most notably Utterson and Lanyon. Dr. Jekyll describes Hyde as “pure evil” who menaces society at night.

19. As earlier stated, Stevenson was very interested in the contrast between good and evil and he showed this in how he described the setting before Mr. Enfield and Mr. Utterson start talking about Mr. Hyde in the opening scene of the novella.

20. It chanced on one of these rambles that their way led them down a by-street in a busy quarter of London. The street was small and what is called quiet, but it drove a thriving trade on the weekdays. The inhabitants were all doing well, it seemed and all hoping to do better still - the shop fronts stood along that thoroughfare with an air of invitation, like rows of smiling saleswomen. Even on Sunday, when it veiled its more florid charms and lay comparatively empty of visitors, the street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest; and with its freshly painted shutters, well-polished brasses, and general cleanliness and cheerfulness of note, instantly caught and pleased the eye of the passenger.

21. After the positive description of the street, comes the negative.

22. Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east the line was broken by the entry of a court; and just at that point a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street. It was two storeys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence. The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the schoolboy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for close on a generation, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or to repair their ravages.

23. Note down the positive and negative descriptions.

24. Theme Our study of Dr. Jekyll… will focus heavily on theme.
What is a theme?

25. The author implies a theme while the readers infer its meaning.
Theme continued …
The central or dominant idea behind the story; the most important aspect that emerges from how the book treats its subject. Sometimes theme is easy to see, but, at other times, it may be more difficult.
Theme is usually expressed indirectly, as an element the reader must figure out.
The author implies a theme while the readers infer its meaning.
It is a universal statement about humanity, rather than a simple statement dealing with plot or characters in the story.
Themes are generally hinted at through different methods: a phrase or quotation that introduces the novel, a recurring element in the book, or an observation made that is reinforced through plot, dialogue, or characters.

26. It is now part of our culture

28. See for yourself .. Michael Caine transformation (Alfred from Batman)
watch the special effects!
A cartoon version??
the ul
timate transformation - computer generated graphics