Q: Discuss the important themes of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
Robert Louis Stevenson’s one of the most precious masterpiece
novels, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
And Mr. Hyde,” was
first published in 1886, which is a Gothic Novel. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who
investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and a murderous criminal named Mr. Edward Hyde. The novella was written in the southern English seaside town of Bournemouth in Hampshire, where Stevenson had moved in 1884 to benefit from its sea air and warmer climate. The book was initially
sold as a paperback for one shilling in the U.K. [CC-5] [750 Words] [© Created by Keshab Kumar Gayen]
At the beginning of the novel, Enfield tells to his friend that a sinister figure, Mr. Hyde who tramples a young girl into her doorstep. On the other hand, Utterson’s clients and close friends, Dr. Jekyll, has written a will transferring all of his
property to this same Mr. Hyde. Furthermore, an old man, Sir Danvers Carew is brutally beaten. Moreover, Utterson suspects to Dr. Jekyll. In addition, a childhood friend of Jekyll, Dr. Lanyon, says to Utterson about an instruction that he not open it until Jekyll’s death. On the one way, Dr. Jekyll is died; Utterson goes, and understands about the altering of Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. It explains how Jekyll, seeking to separate his good side from his
darker impulses. Utterson understands that being Mr. Hyde, his evil comes out, and
violently killed Sir Danvers Carew.
To conclude, Stevenson’s suspicious novella, “The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” explores, “duality, the consequences of unchecked ambition, and the darker
aspects of human nature.” It delves into the idea that every person has both good and evil within them and the struggle between these opposing forces.
Additionally, the story reflects on the societal expectations
of Victorian England and the consequences of defying those norms. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of unleashing the hidden and darker aspects of human
nature. According
to the author Jeremy Hodges, Stevenson was present throughout the trial and as “the evidence unfolded he found himself, like Dr Jekyll, ‘aghast
before the acts of Edward Hyde.”
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