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{{short description|1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson}} | |||
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{{redirect-multi|3|Dr Jekyll|Mr Hyde|Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde|the protagonist of the novella|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)|other uses|Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (disambiguation)}} | ||
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{{Use British English|date=June 2023}} | |||
| image_caption = Cover of the ] edition | |||
{{Infobox book | |||
| author = ] | |||
|name=Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | |||
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|title_orig=Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | |||
| cover_artist = | |||
|translator= | |||
| country = ] | |||
|image=Jekyll and Hyde Title.jpg | |||
| language = ] | |||
|caption=Title page of the first London edition (1886) | |||
| genre = | |||
|author=] | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
|country=United Kingdom | |||
| release_date = ] ] | |||
|language=English | |||
| media_type = Print | |||
|genre={{plainlist| | |||
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*] | |||
| isbn = NA | |||
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|publisher=] | |||
|release_date=5 January 1886 | |||
|pages=141 (first edition) | |||
|isbn=978-0-553-21277-8 | |||
|wikisource=Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Otheruses2|Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}} | |||
'''''The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'''''{{fn|1}} is a ] written by the ] author ] first published in ]. It is about a ] lawyer who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll{{fn|2}}, and the misanthropic man Edward Hyde. The work is known for its vivid portrayal of the ] of a ]; in mainstream culture the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" has come to signify wild or ]. | |||
'''''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'''''<ref>Stevenson titled the book without "The" in the beginning for reasons unknown, but it has been supposed to increase the "strangeness" of the case (Richard Dury (2005)). Later publishers added "The" to make it grammatically correct, but it was not the author's original intention. The story is often known today simply as '''''Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''''' or even '''''Jekyll and Hyde'''''.</ref> is an 1886 ] ] ] by British author ]. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend, ], and a vicious criminal named mr. Edward Hyde. | |||
''The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' was an immediate success and one of Stevenson's best selling works. Stage adaptations began in ] and London within a year of its publication and it has gone on to inspire scores of major film and stage performances. | |||
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is one of the most famous pieces of ], and is considered to be a defining book of the gothic horror genre. The novella has also had a sizeable impact on popular culture, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" being used in vernacular to refer to people with an outwardly good but sometimes shockingly evil nature.<ref>{{cite news |title=Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde |url=https://www.britishlibrary.cn/en/works/jekyllandhyde/ |access-date=15 June 2023 |publisher=British Library}}</ref> | |||
==Background== | |||
In early Autumn of 1885 Stevenson's thoughts turned to the idea of the ] of man's nature, and how to incorporate the interplay of ] and ] into a story. One night he had a dream, and on wakening had the idea for two or three scenes that would appear in ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. "In the small hours of one morning," says Mrs. Stevenson, "I was awakened by cries of horror from Louis. Thinking he had a ], I awakened him. He said angrily 'Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey<!--bogey is the correct quoted spelling--> tale.' I had awakened him at the first transformation scene." | |||
==Inspiration and writing== | |||
Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's step-son, remembers "I don't believe that there was ever such a literary feat before as the writing of ''Dr. Jekyll''. I remember the first reading as if it was yesterday. Louis came downstairs in a fever; read nearly half the book aloud; and then, while we were still gasping, he was away again, and busy writing. I doubt if the first draft took so long as three days." | |||
] in 1885]] | |||
Stevenson had long been intrigued by the idea of how human personalities can reflect the interplay of ]. While still a teenager, he developed a script for a play about ], which he later reworked with the help of ] and which was produced for the first time in 1882.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Swearingen |first1=Roger G. |last2=Stevenson |first2=Robert Louis |title=The Prose Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson: A Guide |date=1980 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-333-27652-5 |page=37 }}</ref> In early 1884, he wrote the short story "]", which he revised in 1884 for publication in a ]. | |||
Inspiration may also have come from the writer's friendship with an Edinburgh-based French teacher, ], who was convicted and executed for the murder of his wife in May 1878.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chantrelle |first1=Eugène Marie |url=https://archive.org/details/trialofeugnema00chanuoft |title=Trial of Eugène Marie Chantrelle |last2=Smith |first2=Alexander Duncan |publisher=Toronto, Canada Law Book Co |year=1906 |oclc=1085960179 }}{{pn|date=January 2024}}</ref> Chantrelle, who had appeared to lead a normal life in the city, poisoned his wife with opium. According to author Jeremy Hodges,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hodges |first1=Jeremy |title=Lamplit, Vicious Fairy Land |url=https://robert-louis-stevenson.org/?page_id=20277 |website=RLS Website }}{{dead link|date=January 2024}}</ref> Stevenson was present throughout the trial and as "the evidence unfolded he found himself, like Dr Jekyll, 'aghast before the acts of Edward Hyde'." Moreover, it was believed that the teacher had committed other murders both in France and Britain by poisoning his victims at supper parties with a "favourite dish of toasted cheese and opium".<ref>{{cite news |title=Real-life Jekyll & Hyde who inspired Stevenson's classic |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/real-life-jekyll-hyde-who-inspired-stevensons-classic-612461 |work=The Scotsman |date=16 November 2016 }}</ref> | |||
As was the custom, Mrs. Stevenson would read the draft and offer her criticisms in the margins. Louis was confined to bed at the time from a ], and she left her comments with the ] and Louis in the bedroom. She said in effect the story was really an ], but Louis was writing it just as a story. After a while Louis called her back into the bedroom and pointed to a pile of ashes: he had burnt the manuscript in fear that he would try to salvage it, and in the process forcing himself to start over from scratch writing an ] story as she had suggested. Scholars debate if he really burnt his manuscript or not. Other scholars suggest her criticism was not about allegory, but about inappropriate ] content. Whatever the case, there is no direct factual evidence for the burning of the manuscript, but it remains an integral part of the history of the novel. | |||
The novella was written in the southern English seaside town of ] in ], where Stevenson had moved in 1884 to benefit from its sea air and warmer climate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hainsworth |first1=J. J. |title=Jack the Ripper—Case Solved, 1891 |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9676-1 }}{{pn|date=January 2024}}</ref> Living then in Bournemouth was the former Reverend ], younger brother of horticulturalist and landscape designer ],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sinclair |first1=Jill |title=Queen of the mixed border |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/jun/17/featuresreviews.guardianreview7 |work=The Guardian |date=16 June 2006 }}</ref> whom Stevenson befriended and from whom he borrowed the name Jekyll.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sinclair |first1=Jill |title=Queen of the mixed border |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/jun/17/featuresreviews.guardianreview7 |work=The Guardian |date=16 June 2006 }}</ref> Jekyll was almost certainly homosexual,<ref>Wayne F. Cooper, ''Claude McKay: Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance'', Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1987, pp23-24, 29-30</ref> and having renounced his Anglican vocation, and exiled himself to the Continent for several years, had clearly struggled to find his place in society.<ref>Sarah Festing, ''Gertrude Jekyll'', Viking, London 1991, pp175-176, 243</ref> Stevenson was friends with other homosexual men, including ], ], and ],<ref>Claire Harman, ''Robert Louis Stevenson: a biography'', HarperCollins, 2008, p210.</ref> and the duality of their socially suppressed selves may have shaped his book.<ref>Claire Harman, ''Robert Louis Stevenson: a biography'', HarperCollins, 2008, p305.</ref> Symonds was shocked by the book, writing to Stevenson that "viewed as an allegory, it touches one too closely."<ref>Claire Harman, ''Robert Louis Stevenson: a biography'', HarperCollins, 2008, p214.</ref> | |||
Stevenson re-wrote the story again in three days. According to Osbourne "The mere physical feat was tremendous; and instead of harming him, it roused and cheered him inexpressibly." He refined and continued to work on it for 4 to 6 weeks afterward. | |||
According to his essay "A Chapter on Dreams" (], Jan. 1888), Stevenson racked his brains for an idea for a story and had a dream, and upon waking had the idea for two or three scenes that would appear in the story ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. Biographer ] quoted Stevenson's wife, ]: <blockquote>In the small hours of one morning, I was awakened by cries of horror from Louis. Thinking he had a nightmare, I awakened him. He said angrily: "Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey<!--bogey is the correct quoted spelling--> tale." I had awakened him at the first transformation scene.<ref name="Balfour">{{cite book|last=Balfour|first=Graham|title=The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEdAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA15|access-date=28 December 2012|volume=II|year=1912|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York|pages=15–6}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
The manuscript was initially sold as a paperback for one shilling in the UK and one dollar in the ]. Initially stores would not stock it until a review appeared in '']'' (Jan.25 1886), giving it a favourable reception. Within the next six months close to forty-thousand copies were sold. By 1901 it was estimated have sold over 250,000 copies. Its success was probably due more to the "moral instincts of the public" than perception of its artistic | |||
merits, being widely read by those who never otherwise read fiction, quoted in ] ]s and in religious papers. | |||
], Stevenson's stepson, wrote: "I don't believe that there was ever such a literary feat before as the writing of ''Dr Jekyll''. I remember the first reading as though it were yesterday. Louis came downstairs in a fever; read nearly half the book aloud; and then, while we were still gasping, he was away again, and busy writing. I doubt if the first draft took so long as three days."<ref name="Balfour" /> | |||
As was customary, Mrs. Stevenson would read the draft and offer her criticisms in the margins. Robert was confined to bed at the time from a ]. In her comments in the ], she observed that in effect the story was really an ], but Robert was writing it as a story. After a while, Robert called her back into the bedroom and pointed to a pile of ashes: he had burnt the manuscript in fear that he would try to salvage it, and thus forced himself to start again from nothing, writing an allegorical story as she had suggested. Scholars debate whether he really burnt his manuscript; there is no direct factual evidence for the burning, but it remains an integral part of the history of the novella.<ref name=Guardian /> In another version of the story, Stevenson came downstairs to read the manuscript for his wife and stepson. Enraged by his wife's criticism, he went back to his room, only to come back later admitting she was right. He then threw the original draft into the fire, and stopped his wife and stepson from rescuing it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Doyle |first1=Brian |title=Findings: A Bogey Tale |url=https://theamericanscholar.org/a-bogey-tale/ |work=The American Scholar |date=1 June 2006 }}</ref> | |||
Stephen fingered Talbot in cinemas | |||
] where he wrote ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'']] | |||
==Plot summary== | |||
Stevenson rewrote the story in three to six days. A number of later biographers have alleged that Stevenson was on drugs during the frantic re-write: for example, William Gray's revisionist history ''A Literary Life'' (2004) said he used ], while other biographers said he used ].<ref>Possibly with the help of cocaine, according to William Gray's revisionist history ''Robert Louis Stevenson: A Literary Life'' (2004). {{ISBN|978-0-333-98400-0}}.{{pn|date=January 2024}}</ref> However, the standard history, according to the accounts of his wife and son (and himself), says he was bed-ridden and sick while writing it. According to Osbourne, "The mere physical feat was tremendous, and, instead of harming him, it roused and cheered him inexpressibly". He continued to refine the work for four to six weeks after the initial revision. | |||
{{spoiler}} | |||
] was best known for his dual role depicted in this double exposure. The stage adaptation opened in London in 1887, a year after the publication of the novella. Picture 1895.]] | |||
The story begins when the lawyer Gabriel John Utterson hears from his cousin Richard Enfield of an ambiguous, solitary, violent man called Hyde. This Hyde is said to have simply walked over a girl whom he met on the road, leaving her bruised and terrified; wherapon Enfield ordered him, backed by several other people, to pay a fine to the girl's family. Hearing this tale, Utterson is perturbed; a friend of his, Dr. Henry Jekyll, has made a will declaring that in the event of the doctor's death or disappearance, Hyde should inherit all his property. Suspecting trouble, Utterson seeks to investigate Hyde. | |||
==Plot== | |||
This investigation begins as a matter of curiosity and concern despite Dr. Jekyll's assurances that Hyde is nothing to worry about. That changes when Hyde is seen committing a savage murder of a respected ]. As Utterson assists in the investigation of the crime, Jekyll becomes more and more reclusive and sombre. This leads Utterson to believe that Hyde has some influence over Jekyll, which he is using to conceal himself. | |||
Gabriel John Utterson, a reserved and morally upright lawyer, and his lighthearted cousin Richard Enfield are on their weekly walk when they reach the door of a mysterious, unkempt house located down a by-street in a bustling quarter of London. Enfield recounts to Utterson that, months ago, in the eerie silence of three o'clock in the morning, he witnessed a malevolent-looking man named Edward Hyde deliberately trample a young girl after a seemingly minor collision. Enfield forced Hyde to pay her family £100 to avoid a scandal. Hyde brought Enfield to this door and gave him a cheque signed by a reputable gentleman later revealed to be Doctor Henry Jekyll, Utterson's friend and client. Utterson fears Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll, as Jekyll recently changed his will to make Hyde the sole beneficiary in the event of Jekyll's death or disappearance. When Utterson tries to discuss Hyde with Jekyll, Jekyll says he can get rid of Hyde when he wants and asks him to drop the matter. | |||
A year later in October, a servant sees Hyde beat Sir Danvers Carew, another one of Utterson's clients, to death and leave behind half a broken cane. The police contact Utterson, who leads officers to Hyde's apartment. Hyde has vanished, but they find the other half of the broken cane, which Utterson recognises as one he had given to Jekyll. Utterson visits Jekyll, who produces a note allegedly written to Jekyll by Hyde, apologising for the trouble that he has caused. However, Hyde's handwriting is similar to Jekyll's own, leading Utterson to conclude that Jekyll forged the note to protect Hyde. | |||
Eventually, Jekyll isolates himself in his laboratory gripped with an emotional burden that no one can comprehend. Another friend of Utterson's, Lanyon, suddenly dies of a horrific emotional shock with which Jekyll seems to be connected. Eventually, Jekyll's ] comes to Utterson to ask for his help to deal with a stranger who has somehow entered the locked ] and killed Jekyll. Together they discover that the stranger in the lab is Hyde, and they break in only to find Hyde dead by his own hand and Jekyll nowhere to be found. | |||
For two months, Jekyll reverts to his former sociable manner, appearing almost rejuvenated, but in early January, he abruptly begins refusing all visitors, deepening the mystery and concern surrounding his behaviour. Dr Hastie Lanyon, a mutual friend of Jekyll and Utterson, dies of shock after receiving information relating to Jekyll. Before his death, Lanyon gives Utterson a letter to be opened after Jekyll's death or disappearance. In late February, during another walk with Enfield, Utterson starts a conversation with Jekyll at his laboratory window. Jekyll suddenly slams the window shut and disappears, shocking and concerning Utterson. | |||
Eventually, Utterson reads two letters left for him from his deceased friends. The first one is from Lanyon and reveals that he witnessed first hand that Hyde is none other than Jekyll physically transformed into the other identity by means of a potion of Jekyll's design. | |||
In early March, Jekyll's butler, Mr Poole, visits Utterson and says Jekyll has secluded himself in his laboratory for weeks. Utterson and Poole forcefully break into the laboratory, their hearts pounding with dread, only to find Hyde’s lifeless body grotesquely draped in Jekyll’s clothes, a scene suggesting a horrifying and desperate suicide. They find a letter from Jekyll to Utterson. Utterson reads Lanyon's letter, then Jekyll's. | |||
The other letter is a confession from Jekyll which reveals what occurred when he realised that every man has two aspects within him – good and evil – which constantly wage war upon him. Acting on the theory that it was possible to polarise and separate these two aspects, he created a potion that could change a man into an embodiment of his evil side, thereby also making pure his good side. After using the potion on himself, Jekyll became physically smaller as his evil nature became predominant; this persona was called Edward Hyde. The potion did not work as planned, in that the shape-changing was successful, but the identity of Jekyll remained unchanged while adding an alternate character who was purely evil. After a few trial runs as Hyde, Jekyll soon began to undergo the change regularly in order to indulge in all the forbidden pleasures that he would never commit otherwise. However, the Hyde aspect himself began to grow strong beyond Jekyll's ability to control it with a counter-agent. Eventually, Jekyll wakes up in bed one day to discover that he has turned into Hyde overnight. He resolves to give up Hyde for good, but the allure proves too strong to resist, and after two months he takes the potion once more. | |||
Lanyon's letter reveals his deterioration resulted from the shock of seeing Hyde drink an elixir that turned him into Jekyll. Jekyll's letter explains he held himself to strict moral standards publicly, but indulged in unstated vices and struggled with shame. He found a way to transform himself and thereby indulge his vices without fear of detection. Jekyll's transformed body, Hyde, was evil, self-indulgent, and uncaring to anyone but himself. Initially, Jekyll controlled the transformations with the serum, but one night in August, he became Hyde involuntarily in his sleep. | |||
This time, Hyde does not just indulge himself; he commits murder, and can no longer be seen in public for fear of being recognised and sent to the gallows. This reassures Jekyll, and he attempts to redeem himself for the actions of Hyde by being charitable. However, as a result of vainglorious thought, once more he undergoes the transformation, without the aid of his potion, in a park in broad daylight. He manages to avoid capture by finding a hotel room. He writes to Lanyon, asking him to fetch from his study the drawer in which the counter-agent is found. | |||
Jekyll resolved to cease becoming Hyde. Despite this, one night he had a moment of weakness and drank the serum. Hyde, his desires having been caged for so long, killed Carew. Horrified, Jekyll tried more adamantly to stop the transformations. Then, in early January, he transformed involuntarily while awake. Far from his laboratory and hunted by the police as a murderer, Hyde needed help to avoid capture. He wrote to Lanyon in Jekyll's hand, asking his friend to bring chemicals from his laboratory. In Lanyon's presence, Hyde mixed the chemicals, drank the serum, and transformed into Jekyll. The shock of the sight instigated Lanyon's deterioration and death. Meanwhile, Jekyll's involuntary transformations increased in frequency and required ever larger doses of the serum to reverse. It was one of these transformations that caused Jekyll to slam his window shut on Utterson. | |||
Lanyon complies, and Hyde shows up at his house unrecognised. He takes the potion, as although he has begun to despise Jekyll, he fears recognition and the resulting death even more. He changes into Jekyll before Lanyon's astonished eyes. Heartbroken by this shocking revelation, Lanyon wastes away and dies. | |||
Eventually, the supply of salt used in the serum ran low, and subsequent batches prepared from new stocks failed to work. Jekyll speculated that the original ingredient had some impurity that made it work. Realising that he would stay transformed as Hyde, Jekyll wrote out a full account of the events. Jekyll concludes by confessing that he is uncertain whether Hyde will face execution or muster the courage to end his own life, but it no longer matters to him. Jekyll’s consciousness is fading fast, and whatever fate awaits, it is Hyde's alone to endure. | |||
Jekyll finds that he can now only remain in his original form with the potion in his system. Eventually Jekyll ran out of the unique components to the potion, and in particular a "salt" of which he had initially acquired quite a large quantity. New supplies of this salt did not produce an effective potion, which he initially attributed to an impurity in the new supplies, but finally concluded that it was the initial order that was impure, and that an "unknown impurity" in it was vital to its effectiveness. As he had no way of acquiring any more of this impure salt, he was doomed to remain as Hyde permanently. | |||
==Characters== | |||
In the end, Jekyll decided to write the confession letter, and he finally "dies" as he transforms completely into Hyde. Hyde commits suicide, through poison, when Utterson and Jekyll's butler try to force their way into the laboratory. | |||
===Gabriel John Utterson=== | |||
==Analysis== | |||
Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer, has been a close loyal friend of Jekyll and Lanyon for many years. Utterson is a measured and at all times emotionless bachelor – who nonetheless seems believable, trustworthy, tolerant of the faults of others, and indeed genuinely likeable. However, Utterson is not immune to guilt, as, while he is quick to investigate and judge an interest in others' downfalls, which creates a spark of interest not only in Jekyll but also regarding Hyde. He concludes that human downfall results from indulging oneself in topics of interest. As a result of this line of reasoning, he lives life as a recluse and "dampens his taste for the finer items of life". Utterson concludes that Jekyll lives life as he wishes by enjoying his occupation. | |||
This novel has become a central concept in ] of the inner conflict of humanity's sense of good and evil. It has also been noted as "one of the best guidebooks of the ] because of its piercing description of the fundamental dichotomy of the 19th century outward respectability and inward lust" as it had a tendency for social hypocrisy. | |||
===Dr Henry Jekyll / Mr Edward Hyde=== | |||
<!--Direct influences--> | |||
{{main|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)}} | |||
Various direct influences have been suggested for Stevenson's interest in the mental condition that separates the sinful from moral self. Among them are the ] text of ] (7:20 "Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."); the split life in the 1780s of ] city councillor ], master craftsman by day, burglar by night; and ]'s novel '']'' (1824), in which a young man falls under the spell of the devil. | |||
Based in ] in London's West End, Dr Jekyll is a "large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty with something of a slyish cast",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stevenson |first1=Robert Louis |title=The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |edition=2nd |date=2005 |publisher=Broadview Press |isbn=978-1-55111-655-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bi8wCEHnssQC&pg=PA44 |quote-page=44 |quote=To this rule, Dr. Jekyll was no exception: and as he now sat on the opposite side of the fire—a large, well made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness—you could see by his looks that he cherished for Mr. Utterson a sincere and warm affection. }}</ref> who sometimes feels he is battling between the good and evil within himself, leading to the struggle between his dual personalities of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. He has spent a great part of his life trying to repress evil urges that were not fitting for a man of his stature. He creates a serum, or potion, in an attempt to separate this hidden evil from his personality. In doing so, Jekyll transformed into the smaller, younger, cruel, remorseless, and evil Hyde. Jekyll has many friends and an amiable personality, but as Hyde, he becomes mysterious and violent. As time goes by, Hyde grows in power. After taking the potion repeatedly, he no longer relies upon it to unleash his inner demon, i.e., his ]. Eventually, Hyde grows so strong that Jekyll becomes reliant on the potion to remain conscious throughout the book. | |||
<!--Literary--> | |||
]s which critics have applied as a framework for interpreting the novel include religious allegory, ], ], ], ], ] literature, Scottish ] tales, ]. | |||
===Richard Enfield=== | |||
<!--Scientific--> | |||
Richard Enfield is Utterson's cousin and is a well-known "man about town". He first sees Hyde at about three in the morning in an episode that is well documented as Hyde is running over a little girl. He is the person who mentions to Utterson the actual personality of Jekyll's friend, Hyde. Enfield witnessed Hyde recklessly running over a little girl in the street and the group of witnesses, with the girl's parents and other residents, force Hyde into writing a cheque for the girl's family. Enfield discovers that Jekyll signed the cheque, which is genuine. He says that Hyde is disgusting-looking but finds himself stumped when asked to describe the man. | |||
Stevenson never says exactly what Hyde takes pleasure in on his nightly forays, saying generally that it is something of an evil and lustful nature; thus it is in the context of the times, abhorrent to Victorian ''religious morality''. However scientists in the closing decades of the 19th century, within a post-Darwinian perspective, were also beginning to examine various ''biological'' influences on human morality, including drug and alcohol addiction, homosexuality, multiple personality disorder, and regressive animality. | |||
===Dr Hastie Lanyon=== | |||
<!--Social--> | |||
A longtime friend of Jekyll, Hastie Lanyon disagrees with Jekyll's "scientific" concepts, which Lanyon describes as "...too fanciful". He is the first person to discover Hyde's true identity (Hyde transforms himself back into Jekyll in Lanyon's presence). Lanyon helps Utterson solve the case when he describes the letter given to him by Jekyll and his thoughts and reactions to the transformation. After he witnesses the transformation process (and subsequently hears Jekyll's private confession, made to him alone), Lanyon becomes shocked into critical illness and, later, death. | |||
Jekyll's inner division has been viewed by some critics as analogous to schisms existing in British society. Divisions include the social divisions of ], the internal divisions within the Scottish identity, the political divisions between ] and ], and the divisions between religious and ] forces. | |||
===Mr Poole=== | |||
The novel can be seen as an expression of the dualist tendency in Scottish culture, a forerunner to what ] termed the 'Caledonian Antisyzygy' (the combination of opposites) which influenced the 20th Scottish cultural renaissance led by ]. The London depicted in the novel resembles more closely the Old Town of Edinburgh which Stevenson frequented in his youth, itself a doppelganger to the city's respectable, classically ordered New Town. Scottish critics have also read it as a metaphor of the opposing forces of Scottish Presbyterianism and Scotland's atheistic Enlightenment. | |||
Poole is Jekyll's butler who has been employed by him for many years. Poole serves Jekyll faithfully and attempts to be loyal to his master, but the growing reclusiveness of and changes in his master cause him growing concern. Finally fearing that his master has been murdered and that his murderer, Mr Hyde, is residing in Jekyll's chambers, Poole is driven into going to Utterson and joining forces with him to uncover the truth. He chops down the door towards Jekyll's lab to aid Utterson in the climax. | |||
== |
===Inspector Newcomen=== | ||
Utterson joins this ] inspector after the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. They explore Hyde's loft in ] and discover evidence of his depraved life. | |||
There have been dozens of major ] and ] adaptations, and countless references in popular ]. The very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" has become shorthand to mean wild, controversial and polar behaviour, or else schizophrenia. Most adaptations of the work omit the reader-identification figure of Utterson, instead telling the story from Jekyll and Hyde's viewpoint, thus eliminating the mystery aspect of the tale about who Hyde is; indeed there have been no major adaptations to date that stay close to Stevenson's original work, almost all introducing some form of ] element. | |||
===Sir Danvers Carew, MP=== | |||
For a complete list of derivative works see (by ]). There have been over 123 film versions, not including stage, radio etc. This is not an inclusive list, it is '''major and notable adaptations''' listed in chronological order: | |||
A kind, 70-year-old Member of Parliament. The maid claims that Hyde, in a murderous rage, killed Carew in the streets of London on the night of 18 October. At the time of his death, Carew is carrying on his person a letter addressed to Utterson, and the broken half of one of Jekyll's walking sticks is found on his body. | |||
===Maid=== | |||
*1887, stage play, opened in Boston. ]'s ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. This was the first serious theatrical rendering, it went on to tour Britain and ran for 20 years. It became forever linked with ]'s performance, who continued playing the part up until 1907. Sullivan re-worked the plot to center around a domestic ] interest. | |||
A ], whose employer{{Snd}}presumably Jekyll{{Snd}}Hyde had once visited, is the only person who has witnessed the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. She saw Hyde murder Carew with Jekyll's cane and his feet. Having fainted after seeing what happened, she then wakes up and rushes to the police, thus initiating the murder case of Sir Danvers Carew. | |||
*1912, movie USA, '']''. ] Directed by ] starring ] amd ] | |||
*1920, movie USA, '']''. Directed by ]. The most famous of the ] versions, starring an inspired ] in a bravura performance. Plot follows the Sullivan version of 1887, with some elements from '']''. | |||
==Analysis of themes== | |||
*1931, movie USA, '']''. Directed by ]. Widely viewed as the classic film version, known for its skilled acting, powerful visual symbolism, and innovative special effects. Follows the Sullivan plot. ] won the ] for his deft portrayal and the technical secret of the amazing transformation scenes wasn't revealed until after the director's death decades later. | |||
] was mostly known for his dual role depicted in this ]. The ] opened in Boston in 1887, a year after the publication of the novella. Picture from 1895.]] | |||
]s that critics have applied as a framework for interpreting the novel include religious allegory, ], ], ], ] literature, Scottish ] tales, and ]. | |||
*1941, movie USA, '']''. Directed by ]. Largely an imitation of the 1931 movie, it stars ], ], and ]. | |||
===Dualities=== | |||
*1960, movie UK, '']'' (released in the US as ''The House of Fright''). Directed by ]. A lurid love triangle and explicit scenes of ]s, ] dens, ], ] and bodies crashing through glass roofs. | |||
The novella is frequently interpreted as an examination of the duality of human nature, usually expressed as an inner struggle between good and evil, with variations such as human versus animal, ] versus ] sometimes substituted, the main point being that of an essential inner struggle between the one and other, and that the failure to accept this tension results in evil, or barbarity, or animal violence, being projected onto others.<ref name="multiple">{{cite book |last1=Sanford |first1=John A. |title=Evil: The Shadow Side of Reality |date=1981 |publisher=Crossroad |isbn=978-0-8245-0526-4 }}{{pn|date=January 2024}}</ref> In ] theory, the thoughts and desires banished to the ] mind motivate the behaviour of the ] mind. Banishing ] to the unconscious mind in an attempt to achieve perfect ] can result in the development of a Mr Hyde-type aspect to one's ].<ref name="multiple" /> | |||
*1963, movie USA, '']''. Directed by ]. This screwball comedy retains a thin plot connection to the original work. Its enduring popularity has given it a significant role in the cultural visibility of the Jekyll and Hyde motif. Lewis re-works the Victorian polarised identity theme to the mid-20th century American dilemma of ]. | |||
In Christian theology, Satan's fall from Heaven is due to his refusal to accept that he is a created being (that he has a dual nature) and is not God.<ref name="multiple" /> This idea is suggested when Hyde says to Lanyon, shortly before drinking the famous potion: "your sight shall be blasted by a prodigy to stagger the unbelief of Satan." This is because, in Christianity, pride (to consider oneself as without sin or without evil) is a sin, as it is the precursor to evil itself.<ref name="multiple" /> | |||
*1968, TV USA/], "Robert Louis Stevenson's ''The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''". Starring ], directed by ] and porduced by ] of '']'' fame. Shown in two-parts on ] in Canada and as one two hour movie on ] in the USA. Nominated for several ] awards, it follows Hyde on a series of sexual conquests and hack and slash murders, finally shot by "Devlin" (as Utterson is renamed). | |||
In his discussion of the novel, ] argues that the "good versus evil" view of the novel is misleading, as Jekyll himself is not, by Victorian standards, a morally good person in some cases.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |chapter=Introduction |first1=Vladimir |last1=Nabokov |date=2003 |publisher=Signet Classic |pages=7–34 |chapter-url=https://bostoncollege.instructure.com/courses/1398054/files/53102834/download }}</ref> | |||
*1971, movie UK, '']''. Directed by ]. The earliest work to show Jekyll transform into a ]. Recasts Jekyll as ], who uses Sister Hyde as a convenient disguise to carry out his murders. | |||
===Id, ego and superego=== | |||
*1971, movie UK, '']''. Directed by ]. Recasts Jekyll (with a name change to Dr. Marlowe/Mr. Blake) as a 1906 ]ian ]. Retains a fair amount of Stevenson's original ] and ]. | |||
According to ]'s theory of ], which he introduced in 1920, Mr Hyde is the id which is driven by primal urges, instincts, and immediate gratification, the superego is represented by the expectations and morals of Victorian society, and Dr Jekyll is the rational and conscious ego which acts as a balance between the id and superego. When Jekyll transforms into Hyde, the ego is suppressed, and the id is no longer held back by either the ego or the superego.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chakraverty |first1=Aditi |title=Into the Brains of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – A Psychoanalytic Reading of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by RL Stevenson |journal=International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development |volume=5 |issue=4 |date=2022 |url=http://www.ijsred.com/volume5/issue4/IJSRED-V5I4P81.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=ShubhM |last2=Chakrabarti |first2=Subho |title=A study in dualism: The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |journal=Indian Journal of Psychiatry |date=2008 |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=221–223 |doi=10.4103/0019-5545.43624 |pmid=19742237 |pmc=2738358 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | |||
===Public vs. private=== | |||
*1971, movie USA, '']'', Directed by ]. The first ] ] adaptation. | |||
The work is commonly associated today with the Victorian concern over the public and private division, the individual's sense of playing a part and the ] of London.<ref name="Saposnik">{{cite journal |last1=Saposnik |first1=Irving S. |title=The Anatomy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |journal=Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 |date=1971 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=715–731 |doi=10.2307/449833 |id={{ProQuest|1297401011}} |jstor=449833 }}</ref> In this respect, the novella has also been noted as "one of the best guidebooks of the Victorian era" because of its piercing description of the fundamental dichotomy of the 19th century "outward respectability and inward lust", as this period had a tendency for social hypocrisy.<ref name="Nightmare 1996">''Nightmare: Birth of Victorian Horror'' (TV series) "Jekyll and Hyde...." (1996)</ref> | |||
*1981, TV UK, with ] in the dual role and directed by ]. This version gave a twist to the usual ending when the body turns into Mr. Hyde upon his death. | |||
===Scottish nationalism vs. union with Britain=== | |||
*1989, TV UK, with ] in the dual role. This version was unique in that Mr Hyde is the more physically attractive of the two; Dr Jekyll is depicted as a shy, mousy asocial scientist & Hyde is a handsome sociopath. | |||
Another common interpretation sees the novella's duality as representative of Scotland and the Scottish character. In this reading, the duality represents the national and linguistic dualities inherent in Scotland's relationship with wider Britain and the English language, respectively, and also the repressive effects of the ] on the Scottish character.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=James |title=The beast within |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/dec/13/dr-jekyll-mr-hyde-stevenson |work=The Guardian |date=13 December 2008 }}</ref> A further parallel is also drawn with the city of Edinburgh itself, Stevenson's birthplace, which consists of two distinct parts: the old medieval section historically inhabited by the city's poor, where the dark crowded slums were rife with all types of crime, and the modern Georgian area of wide spacious streets representing respectability.<ref name="Guardian"/><ref>''Robert Louis Stevenson and His World'', David Daiches, 1973</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/721207/Edinburgh-Where-Jekyll-parties-with-Hyde.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412041255/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/721207/Edinburgh-Where-Jekyll-parties-with-Hyde.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=12 April 2014 | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=Edinburgh: Where Jekyll parties with Hyde | date=25 July 1998 | access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref> | |||
*1990, TV UK, "Jekyll and Hyde". Directed by ]. Jekyll is a widower in love with a ] woman. | |||
=== Addiction === | |||
*1991, Stage play, opened in london. Written by ] for the ]. The play is notable for it's fidelity to the book's plot, though it invents a Sister for Jekyll. Also, Hyde is a much younger man that Jekyll in this version. | |||
Some scholars have argued that addiction or ] is a central theme in the novella. Stevenson's depiction of Mr Hyde is reminiscent of descriptions of substance abuse in the nineteenth century. Daniel L. Wright describes Dr Jekyll as "not so much a man of conflicted personality as a man suffering from the ravages of addiction".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Daniel L. |title='The Prisonhouse of My Disposition': A Study of the Psychology of Addiction in ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' |journal=Studies in the Novel |date=1994 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=254–267 |jstor=20831878 }}</ref> Patricia Comitini argues that the central duality in the novella is in fact not Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but rather Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde and Utterson, where Utterson represents the rational, unaddicted, ideal Victorian subject devoid of forbidden desires, and Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde constitutes his opposite.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Comitini |first1=Patricia |title=The Strange Case of Addiction in Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |journal=Victorian Review |date=2012 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=113–131 |id={{Project MUSE|546074}} |doi=10.1353/vcr.2012.0052 |s2cid=161892546 }}</ref> | |||
===Darwin=== | |||
*1996, movie US, '']''. Directed by ]. Starring ] and ] and based on the 1990 novel ''Mary Reilly'' by ], a re-working of Stevenson's plot centered around a ] in Jekyll's household named Mary Reilly. | |||
The publication of ''The Origin of Species'' had a significant impact on Victorian society. Many did not fully understand the concepts of evolution, and assumed ] meant humans had evolved directly from apes, and that if it was possible to evolve into humans, it was also possible to degenerate into something more ape-like and primitive. Mr. Hyde is described as a more primitive and less developed version of Dr Jekyll, and gradually Hyde becomes more bestial as his degeneration progress.<ref></ref> | |||
=== Homosexuality === | |||
*1997, stage play, Broadway musical, '']''. Ran for four years. Involves a ] with Jekyll and two women, with Jekyll killed by Utterson on his ] day. | |||
The novel was written at a time when the ] was published, criminalising homosexuality.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Berisha |first1=Shyhrete |title=Two Sides of the Same Coin : Understanding Homophobia in The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |date=2022 |url=http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-41359 |oclc=1337537921 }}</ref> The discourse on sex in general had become a secret and repressed desire, while homosexuality was not even to be thought about. This represents Mr. Hyde, whose purpose is to fulfill all of Dr. Jekyll’s repressed desires.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Mendlinger |first1=Olivia |title=Repressing Deviance: The Discourse of Sexuality in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Portrait of Dorian Gray |date=7 May 2020 |url=https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/eng_stu_schol/39/ }}</ref> The lack of prominent women in the novel also helps to create a homosexual interpretation, since the focus is on romanticising bachelor boyhood for men.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|89071142}} |last1=Koestenbaum |first1=Wayne |title=The Shadow on the Bed: Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and the Labouchere Amendment |journal=Critical Matrix |volume=4 |issue=1 |date=31 March 1988 |page=35 }}</ref> There were some things that Dr. Jekyll did as Mr. Hyde that he was too embarrassed to confess for, even on his deathbed, which follows the secrecy and shame of homosexuality in the Victorian era. Lanyon also refused to speak, sparing Jekyll the embarrassment and criminality of being known as a homosexual.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanna |first1=Antonio |title=Silent Homosexuality in Oscar Wilde's Teleny and The Picture of Dorian Gray and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde |journal=Law and Literature |date=2012 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=21–39 |doi=10.1525/lal.2012.24.1.21 |jstor=10.1525/lal.2012.24.1.21 |s2cid=143314418 }}</ref> | |||
==Reception== | |||
*2004, movie US, ''Jekyll''. Written and directed by ], starring ]. Jekyll is a medical researcher who helps create a violent computer character, which he tests by downloading into his brain. | |||
===Publication=== | |||
The book was initially sold as a paperback for one shilling in the UK. These books were called "shilling shockers" or ]s.<ref name=":0" /> The American publisher issued the book on 5 January 1886, four days before the first appearance of the UK edition issued by Longmans; Scribner's published 3,000 copies, only 1,250 of them bound in cloth. Initially, stores did not stock it until a review appeared in '']'' on 25 January 1886 giving it a favourable reception. Within the next six months, close to 40 thousand copies were sold. As Stevenson's biographer ] wrote in 1901, the book's success was probably due rather to the "moral instincts of the public" than to any conscious perception of the merits of its art. It was read by those who never read fiction and quoted in pulpit sermons and in religious papers.<ref>Graham Balfour, ''The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume II'', pp. 17-18{{missing date}}</ref> By 1901, it was estimated to have sold over 250,000 copies in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Middleton |first1=Tim |chapter=Introduction |pages=vii–xvii |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FfaDcn2fO0C&pg=PR9 |quote-page=ix |quote=estimated 250,000 pirated copies in the United States |title=Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with the Merry Men and Other Stories |date=1993 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |isbn=978-1-85326-061-2 }}</ref> | |||
*2007, television drama, '']''. Written by ], starring ], an updated version of the story taking place in the 21st century. Produced by ] for ]. Due to go into production in September 2006. . | |||
=== |
===Stage version=== | ||
*'''Direct examples''' | |||
**A ] ] was named after and based on Mr Hyde (see ]). | |||
**The character(s) of Jekyll and Hyde appear in ]'s ], '']'', and the film based on it. Hyde - stronger than ever, and with the Jekyll Persona buried - dies aiding the saving of earth from the Martians of ]. | |||
**The character(s) of Jekyll and Hyde play a minor role in the film, ], as well as a substantially larger role in the animated prequel ]. | |||
**The song "Jekyll & Hyde" from the TV show ], where ''']''' envisions himself as Dr. Jekyll (and, thus, Mr. Hyde as well). | |||
**A ] book ''Jekyll and Heidi'' depicts a young girl (named Heidi) moving to live with her reclusive uncle, only to discover he is the direct descendant of the original Dr. Jekyll, and is carrying on his work. | |||
**In ], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are a random event. Dr. Jekyll asks for a certain herb, if the player does not talk to him for a certain amount of time, Jekyll will transform into Mr. Hyde and attack the player. | |||
**In a movie called "The Pagemaster", Jekyll is shown transforming into Hyde. | |||
*'''Motif examples''' | |||
**This is a ] which is often applied, for example in the following ] news report in which the ] with Jekyll and Hyde is clearly meant ''"Over the course of our filming we sometimes felt that ] seemed unsure of the image he wants to project of himself and his party. At times it was the new, touchy-feely ], at others – as with ] and ] – it was hard-line stuff. A kind of Dr Jekyll and Mr Howard."'' | |||
**The ], the powerful and brutishly emotional alter ego of an emotionally ] ] who comes forth whenever he experiences extreme emotional ] like ] or ], is an example of the Jekyll and Hyde motif. While the Hulk often proves vital to saving the day, seeking usually to protect, his terrifying nature drives Bruce Banner into isolation, much like Jekyll, fearing discovery. | |||
**The book was the inspiration behind ], a supervillain ] created in ] to battle ]. An upstanding citizen and DA, Harvey Dent was horribly scarred and traumatized. This caused his formerly repressed Hyde to emerge. The two personalities come into direct conflict often and make decisions they are split on using the outside moderator of a flipped coin. Submerged in the underworld, it appears that the darker side of Dent finally replaced the better side. | |||
**In the ] cartoon short, '']'', ] takes on a Jekyll and Hyde-type split personality when he gets behind the wheel and becomes a demon driver and a menace at the wheel. | |||
**The ] character Dr N Brio, the scientist who drinks his potion to become a giant green and powerful monster. | |||
**The novel and subsequent film of ] by ] shares many thematic qualities to Stevenson's work. The protagonist Patrick Bateman, while on an outward and social level is a respectable, charming and all-together normal twenty-something, is at night, unknown to those who believe they know him, a psychopathic, amoral serial murderer-rapist. The juxtaposition between the two seeming opposites echoes that of Jekyl and Hyde.{{fact}} | |||
**], the novel and movie, share, not thematic, but stylistic elements, with the protagonist and antagonist being revealed to the same person. Thematically though, this differs from Stevenson's novella, as in the normal-blue collar character is shown to be the depressed, emotionally dead one, whereas the amoral Tyler Durden is the fun, charming and more interesting character, not the abominal evil alter-ego of Hyde.{{fact}} | |||
**] / ]. In his lust for power, the good Anakin is overcome by evil becoming Darth Vader. Having been denied a childhood with his mother, an open relationship with his lover, and the right to question the Jedi Order, his repression opens the doorway to Palpatine. The inner conflict between good and evil is explored here in greater detail.{{fact}} This theme appears often in the ] movies and related media, focusing on the collision of the two basic forces of the universe: The Dark and Light side of the ]. The teachings of the Dark Side often emphasize the Hyde personality(power, dominance, freedom) while the Light Side exemplifies Jekyll(reason, isolation, control). | |||
** In ], Sherman Klump is a friendly, naive, obese college science teacher who develops a formula for rapid weight loss. This formula gives birth to Sherman's alter ego, a sexual, fast-talking, remarkably thin Buddy Love. The two eventually come into conflict as Buddy ceases to be an alter ego and develops his own personality and motives, attempting to completely supplant Sherman and assume dominance. In a twist, Sherman does not become subsumed by Buddy, but regains control by realizing that the freedom Buddy granted was not worth losing his identity over. | |||
** Jekyll is a line of Mountain bicycles produced by ]. So named as the rider can adjust the bike's angle-of-attack, from mellow Cross-Country style to aggressive Downhill style. | |||
** In the anime, ], the monster "]" is based on the legend of Jekyll and Hyde. | |||
Although the book had initially been published as a "shilling shocker", it was an immediate success and one of Stevenson's best-selling works. Stage adaptations began in Boston and London and soon moved all across England and then towards his home country of Scotland.<ref name="Saposnik" /> | |||
See also ]. | |||
The first stage adaptation followed the story's initial publication in 1886. ] bought the rights from Stevenson and worked with Boston author ] to write a script. The resulting play added to the cast of characters and some elements of romance to the plot. The addition of female characters to the originally male-centred plot continued in later adaptations of the story. The first performance of the play took place in the Boston Museum in May 1887. The lighting effects and makeup for Jekyll's transformation into Hyde created horrified reactions from the audience, and the play was so successful that production followed in London. After a successful 10 weeks in London in 1888, Mansfield was forced to close down production. The hysteria surrounding the ] serial murders led even those who only played murderers on stage to be considered suspects. When Mansfield was mentioned in London newspapers as a possible suspect for the crimes, he shut down production.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|last=Stevenson|first=Robert Louis|publisher=Broadview|year=2015|isbn=978-1-55481-024-6|editor-last=Danahay|editor-first=Martin A.|edition=3rd|location=Canada|page=24}}</ref> | |||
==Trivia== | |||
*At the time of writing the book, Stevenson was possibly being treated with the fungus ] at a local hospital. While ergot has been known to induce ] experiences, there is no factual basis that ergot was an influence on Stevenson or the book. Stevenson was a broadly gifted artist, almost every one of his literary works broke ground in a new ], including the ] ]. | |||
*Stevenson's death in 1894, eight years after finishing the story, happened while he was straining to open a bottle of ] in his ]. He suddenly exclaimed that his face had changed appearance. Collapsing on the ground, he was dead within six hours of a burst ] in the ]. It remains a curious thematical link between the last episode in Stevenson's life and the transformations he wrote about in his book. | |||
*According to Paul M. Gahlinger, M.D., Ph.D., "Robert Louis Stevenson used ] for inspiration, and is said to have written ''The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' in a single six-day and night binge" (Gahlinger, 2001). If this is based on factual evidence, or is merely speculation, is unclear. | |||
*At ] in Edinburgh there is a museum dedicated to Stevenson, ], and ]. Among the exhibits is a large chest of drawers, one of the few surviving pieces known to have been made by the notorious ], a famous citizen of Edinburgh who led a double life as a cabinetmaker by day and a house-breaker by night. This chest was in Stevenson's room when he was young, and bears a strong resemblance to the press in Doctor Jekyll's cabinet. | |||
*According to Wendy Moore, author of ''The Knife Man'', Dr. Jekyll's house was modeled after the home of famous eighteenth century anatomist and surgeon ]. Hunter, always in need of cadavers for his research, was deeply involved in the ] business, employing body-snatchers to dig up graves (often entire graveyards) in search of corpses. His house was designed to receive high society at the front and stolen bodies at the back, reflected in the dualist nature of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and his surroundings. | |||
== |
==Adaptations== | ||
]'']] | |||
*{{fnb|1}}Stevenson published the book as ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' (without "The"), for reasons unknown, but it has been supposed to increase the "strangeness" of the case. Later publishers added "The" to make it grammatically correct, but it was not the ]'s original intent. The story is often known today simply as ''Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' or even ''Jekyll and Hyde''. | |||
{{main|Adaptations of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} | |||
*{{fnb|2}}''JEEK-ull'' (JĒ-kəl) is the correct ] pronunciation of the name, but ''JEK-ull'' (JE-kəl) remains an accepted and common pronunciation. | |||
There have been numerous adaptations of the novella, including over 120 stage and film versions alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/derivative-works|title=Derivative Works - Robert Louis Stevenson|work=Robert Louis Stevenson}}</ref> | |||
*{{fnb|3}}Stevenson, quoted in Cherie D. Abbey (ed.). ''] ] Criticism: Excerpts From Criticism of the Works of Novelists, ]s, ]s, ] Writers, and Other Creative Writers Who Lived Between 1800 And 1900, From the First Published Critical Appraisals to Current Evaluations, Volume 14.'' ]: Gale Research Co., 1984. | |||
There have also been many audio recordings of the novella, with some of the more famous readers including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. | |||
] was created by ], ], and ]. | |||
There have also been several video games based on the story, such as "Jekyll and Hyde", published by MazM. | |||
==Illustrated versions== | |||
] illustrated a 1930s edition,<ref> ''bl.uk/collection-items'', accessed 11 August 2018</ref> and in 1948 ] provided the newly founded Folio Society with memorable illustrations for the story. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | |||
*Richard Dury. . | |||
*Richard Dury, ed. (2005). ''The Annotated Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. ISBN 88-7544-030-1, over 80 pages of introduction material, extensive annotation notes, 40 pages of derivative works and extensive bibliography. | |||
==Further reading== | |||
*Paul M. Gahlinger, M.D., Ph.D. (2001). Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse. Sagebrush Medical Guide. Pg 41. ISBN 0-9703130-1-2. | |||
* |
* Katherine B. Linehan, ed. (2003). ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. Norton Critical Edition, W. W. Norton & Co. Text, annotations, contextual essays, and criticism. {{ISBN|0-393-97465-0}} | ||
== External links == | |||
{{wikisource|The Annotated Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde|''The Annotated Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''}} | |||
{{Commonscat}} | |||
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/robert-louis-stevenson/the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde|Book Title=The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}} | |||
* from ]. Many antiquarian illustrated editions. | |||
* {{gutenberg|no=43|name=The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} | |||
* , Freudian fable, sexual morality tale, gay allegory – the novella has inspired as many interpretations as it has film adaptations. By James Campbell, '']'', 13 December 2008 | |||
* at ] | |||
* {{librivox book | stitle=Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde | dtitle=Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | author=Robert Louis Stevenson}} | |||
{{Robert Louis Stevenson}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}} | |||
*'']'', an annotated version at ]. | |||
*{{gutenberg|no=42|name=The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} ver.1 | |||
*{{gutenberg|no=43|name=The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} ver.2 | |||
* , in HTML format. | |||
* from FreeClassicAudioBooks.com'' - computer generated text to voice. | |||
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Latest revision as of 00:41, 28 December 2024
1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson "Dr Jekyll", "Mr Hyde", and "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" redirect here. For the protagonist of the novella, see Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character). For other uses, see Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (disambiguation).
Title page of the first London edition (1886) | |
Author | Robert Louis Stevenson |
---|---|
Original title | Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde |
Language | English |
Genre | |
Publisher | Longmans, Green & Co. |
Publication date | 5 January 1886 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Pages | 141 (first edition) |
ISBN | 978-0-553-21277-8 |
Text | Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at Wikisource |
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an 1886 Gothic horror novella by British author Robert Louis Stevenson. 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 vicious criminal named mr. Edward Hyde.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is one of the most famous pieces of English literature, and is considered to be a defining book of the gothic horror genre. The novella has also had a sizeable impact on popular culture, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" being used in vernacular to refer to people with an outwardly good but sometimes shockingly evil nature.
Inspiration and writing
Stevenson had long been intrigued by the idea of how human personalities can reflect the interplay of good and evil. While still a teenager, he developed a script for a play about William Brodie, which he later reworked with the help of W. E. Henley and which was produced for the first time in 1882. In early 1884, he wrote the short story "Markheim", which he revised in 1884 for publication in a Christmas annual.
Inspiration may also have come from the writer's friendship with an Edinburgh-based French teacher, Eugene Chantrelle, who was convicted and executed for the murder of his wife in May 1878. Chantrelle, who had appeared to lead a normal life in the city, poisoned his wife with opium. According to 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'." Moreover, it was believed that the teacher had committed other murders both in France and Britain by poisoning his victims at supper parties with a "favourite dish of toasted cheese and opium".
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. Living then in Bournemouth was the former Reverend Walter Jekyll, younger brother of horticulturalist and landscape designer Gertrude Jekyll, whom Stevenson befriended and from whom he borrowed the name Jekyll. Jekyll was almost certainly homosexual, and having renounced his Anglican vocation, and exiled himself to the Continent for several years, had clearly struggled to find his place in society. Stevenson was friends with other homosexual men, including Horatio Brown, Edmund Gosse, and John Addington Symonds, and the duality of their socially suppressed selves may have shaped his book. Symonds was shocked by the book, writing to Stevenson that "viewed as an allegory, it touches one too closely."
According to his essay "A Chapter on Dreams" (Scribner's, Jan. 1888), Stevenson racked his brains for an idea for a story and had a dream, and upon waking had the idea for two or three scenes that would appear in the story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Biographer Graham Balfour quoted Stevenson's wife, Fanny Stevenson:
In the small hours of one morning, I was awakened by cries of horror from Louis. Thinking he had a nightmare, I awakened him. He said angrily: "Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogey tale." I had awakened him at the first transformation scene.
Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's stepson, wrote: "I don't believe that there was ever such a literary feat before as the writing of Dr Jekyll. I remember the first reading as though it were yesterday. Louis came downstairs in a fever; read nearly half the book aloud; and then, while we were still gasping, he was away again, and busy writing. I doubt if the first draft took so long as three days."
As was customary, Mrs. Stevenson would read the draft and offer her criticisms in the margins. Robert was confined to bed at the time from a haemorrhage. In her comments in the manuscript, she observed that in effect the story was really an allegory, but Robert was writing it as a story. After a while, Robert called her back into the bedroom and pointed to a pile of ashes: he had burnt the manuscript in fear that he would try to salvage it, and thus forced himself to start again from nothing, writing an allegorical story as she had suggested. Scholars debate whether he really burnt his manuscript; there is no direct factual evidence for the burning, but it remains an integral part of the history of the novella. In another version of the story, Stevenson came downstairs to read the manuscript for his wife and stepson. Enraged by his wife's criticism, he went back to his room, only to come back later admitting she was right. He then threw the original draft into the fire, and stopped his wife and stepson from rescuing it.
Stevenson rewrote the story in three to six days. A number of later biographers have alleged that Stevenson was on drugs during the frantic re-write: for example, William Gray's revisionist history A Literary Life (2004) said he used cocaine, while other biographers said he used ergot. However, the standard history, according to the accounts of his wife and son (and himself), says he was bed-ridden and sick while writing it. According to Osbourne, "The mere physical feat was tremendous, and, instead of harming him, it roused and cheered him inexpressibly". He continued to refine the work for four to six weeks after the initial revision.
Plot
Gabriel John Utterson, a reserved and morally upright lawyer, and his lighthearted cousin Richard Enfield are on their weekly walk when they reach the door of a mysterious, unkempt house located down a by-street in a bustling quarter of London. Enfield recounts to Utterson that, months ago, in the eerie silence of three o'clock in the morning, he witnessed a malevolent-looking man named Edward Hyde deliberately trample a young girl after a seemingly minor collision. Enfield forced Hyde to pay her family £100 to avoid a scandal. Hyde brought Enfield to this door and gave him a cheque signed by a reputable gentleman later revealed to be Doctor Henry Jekyll, Utterson's friend and client. Utterson fears Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll, as Jekyll recently changed his will to make Hyde the sole beneficiary in the event of Jekyll's death or disappearance. When Utterson tries to discuss Hyde with Jekyll, Jekyll says he can get rid of Hyde when he wants and asks him to drop the matter.
A year later in October, a servant sees Hyde beat Sir Danvers Carew, another one of Utterson's clients, to death and leave behind half a broken cane. The police contact Utterson, who leads officers to Hyde's apartment. Hyde has vanished, but they find the other half of the broken cane, which Utterson recognises as one he had given to Jekyll. Utterson visits Jekyll, who produces a note allegedly written to Jekyll by Hyde, apologising for the trouble that he has caused. However, Hyde's handwriting is similar to Jekyll's own, leading Utterson to conclude that Jekyll forged the note to protect Hyde.
For two months, Jekyll reverts to his former sociable manner, appearing almost rejuvenated, but in early January, he abruptly begins refusing all visitors, deepening the mystery and concern surrounding his behaviour. Dr Hastie Lanyon, a mutual friend of Jekyll and Utterson, dies of shock after receiving information relating to Jekyll. Before his death, Lanyon gives Utterson a letter to be opened after Jekyll's death or disappearance. In late February, during another walk with Enfield, Utterson starts a conversation with Jekyll at his laboratory window. Jekyll suddenly slams the window shut and disappears, shocking and concerning Utterson.
In early March, Jekyll's butler, Mr Poole, visits Utterson and says Jekyll has secluded himself in his laboratory for weeks. Utterson and Poole forcefully break into the laboratory, their hearts pounding with dread, only to find Hyde’s lifeless body grotesquely draped in Jekyll’s clothes, a scene suggesting a horrifying and desperate suicide. They find a letter from Jekyll to Utterson. Utterson reads Lanyon's letter, then Jekyll's.
Lanyon's letter reveals his deterioration resulted from the shock of seeing Hyde drink an elixir that turned him into Jekyll. Jekyll's letter explains he held himself to strict moral standards publicly, but indulged in unstated vices and struggled with shame. He found a way to transform himself and thereby indulge his vices without fear of detection. Jekyll's transformed body, Hyde, was evil, self-indulgent, and uncaring to anyone but himself. Initially, Jekyll controlled the transformations with the serum, but one night in August, he became Hyde involuntarily in his sleep.
Jekyll resolved to cease becoming Hyde. Despite this, one night he had a moment of weakness and drank the serum. Hyde, his desires having been caged for so long, killed Carew. Horrified, Jekyll tried more adamantly to stop the transformations. Then, in early January, he transformed involuntarily while awake. Far from his laboratory and hunted by the police as a murderer, Hyde needed help to avoid capture. He wrote to Lanyon in Jekyll's hand, asking his friend to bring chemicals from his laboratory. In Lanyon's presence, Hyde mixed the chemicals, drank the serum, and transformed into Jekyll. The shock of the sight instigated Lanyon's deterioration and death. Meanwhile, Jekyll's involuntary transformations increased in frequency and required ever larger doses of the serum to reverse. It was one of these transformations that caused Jekyll to slam his window shut on Utterson.
Eventually, the supply of salt used in the serum ran low, and subsequent batches prepared from new stocks failed to work. Jekyll speculated that the original ingredient had some impurity that made it work. Realising that he would stay transformed as Hyde, Jekyll wrote out a full account of the events. Jekyll concludes by confessing that he is uncertain whether Hyde will face execution or muster the courage to end his own life, but it no longer matters to him. Jekyll’s consciousness is fading fast, and whatever fate awaits, it is Hyde's alone to endure.
Characters
Gabriel John Utterson
Gabriel John Utterson, a lawyer, has been a close loyal friend of Jekyll and Lanyon for many years. Utterson is a measured and at all times emotionless bachelor – who nonetheless seems believable, trustworthy, tolerant of the faults of others, and indeed genuinely likeable. However, Utterson is not immune to guilt, as, while he is quick to investigate and judge an interest in others' downfalls, which creates a spark of interest not only in Jekyll but also regarding Hyde. He concludes that human downfall results from indulging oneself in topics of interest. As a result of this line of reasoning, he lives life as a recluse and "dampens his taste for the finer items of life". Utterson concludes that Jekyll lives life as he wishes by enjoying his occupation.
Dr Henry Jekyll / Mr Edward Hyde
Main article: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)Based in Soho in London's West End, Dr Jekyll is a "large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty with something of a slyish cast", who sometimes feels he is battling between the good and evil within himself, leading to the struggle between his dual personalities of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. He has spent a great part of his life trying to repress evil urges that were not fitting for a man of his stature. He creates a serum, or potion, in an attempt to separate this hidden evil from his personality. In doing so, Jekyll transformed into the smaller, younger, cruel, remorseless, and evil Hyde. Jekyll has many friends and an amiable personality, but as Hyde, he becomes mysterious and violent. As time goes by, Hyde grows in power. After taking the potion repeatedly, he no longer relies upon it to unleash his inner demon, i.e., his alter ego. Eventually, Hyde grows so strong that Jekyll becomes reliant on the potion to remain conscious throughout the book.
Richard Enfield
Richard Enfield is Utterson's cousin and is a well-known "man about town". He first sees Hyde at about three in the morning in an episode that is well documented as Hyde is running over a little girl. He is the person who mentions to Utterson the actual personality of Jekyll's friend, Hyde. Enfield witnessed Hyde recklessly running over a little girl in the street and the group of witnesses, with the girl's parents and other residents, force Hyde into writing a cheque for the girl's family. Enfield discovers that Jekyll signed the cheque, which is genuine. He says that Hyde is disgusting-looking but finds himself stumped when asked to describe the man.
Dr Hastie Lanyon
A longtime friend of Jekyll, Hastie Lanyon disagrees with Jekyll's "scientific" concepts, which Lanyon describes as "...too fanciful". He is the first person to discover Hyde's true identity (Hyde transforms himself back into Jekyll in Lanyon's presence). Lanyon helps Utterson solve the case when he describes the letter given to him by Jekyll and his thoughts and reactions to the transformation. After he witnesses the transformation process (and subsequently hears Jekyll's private confession, made to him alone), Lanyon becomes shocked into critical illness and, later, death.
Mr Poole
Poole is Jekyll's butler who has been employed by him for many years. Poole serves Jekyll faithfully and attempts to be loyal to his master, but the growing reclusiveness of and changes in his master cause him growing concern. Finally fearing that his master has been murdered and that his murderer, Mr Hyde, is residing in Jekyll's chambers, Poole is driven into going to Utterson and joining forces with him to uncover the truth. He chops down the door towards Jekyll's lab to aid Utterson in the climax.
Inspector Newcomen
Utterson joins this Scotland Yard inspector after the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. They explore Hyde's loft in Soho and discover evidence of his depraved life.
Sir Danvers Carew, MP
A kind, 70-year-old Member of Parliament. The maid claims that Hyde, in a murderous rage, killed Carew in the streets of London on the night of 18 October. At the time of his death, Carew is carrying on his person a letter addressed to Utterson, and the broken half of one of Jekyll's walking sticks is found on his body.
Maid
A maid, whose employer – presumably Jekyll – Hyde had once visited, is the only person who has witnessed the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. She saw Hyde murder Carew with Jekyll's cane and his feet. Having fainted after seeing what happened, she then wakes up and rushes to the police, thus initiating the murder case of Sir Danvers Carew.
Analysis of themes
Literary genres that critics have applied as a framework for interpreting the novel include religious allegory, fable, detective story, sensation fiction, doppelgänger literature, Scottish devil tales, and Gothic novel.
Dualities
The novella is frequently interpreted as an examination of the duality of human nature, usually expressed as an inner struggle between good and evil, with variations such as human versus animal, civility versus barbarism sometimes substituted, the main point being that of an essential inner struggle between the one and other, and that the failure to accept this tension results in evil, or barbarity, or animal violence, being projected onto others. In Freudian theory, the thoughts and desires banished to the unconscious mind motivate the behaviour of the conscious mind. Banishing evil to the unconscious mind in an attempt to achieve perfect goodness can result in the development of a Mr Hyde-type aspect to one's character.
In Christian theology, Satan's fall from Heaven is due to his refusal to accept that he is a created being (that he has a dual nature) and is not God. This idea is suggested when Hyde says to Lanyon, shortly before drinking the famous potion: "your sight shall be blasted by a prodigy to stagger the unbelief of Satan." This is because, in Christianity, pride (to consider oneself as without sin or without evil) is a sin, as it is the precursor to evil itself.
In his discussion of the novel, Vladimir Nabokov argues that the "good versus evil" view of the novel is misleading, as Jekyll himself is not, by Victorian standards, a morally good person in some cases.
Id, ego and superego
According to Sigmund Freud's theory of id, ego and superego, which he introduced in 1920, Mr Hyde is the id which is driven by primal urges, instincts, and immediate gratification, the superego is represented by the expectations and morals of Victorian society, and Dr Jekyll is the rational and conscious ego which acts as a balance between the id and superego. When Jekyll transforms into Hyde, the ego is suppressed, and the id is no longer held back by either the ego or the superego.
Public vs. private
The work is commonly associated today with the Victorian concern over the public and private division, the individual's sense of playing a part and the class division of London. In this respect, the novella has also been noted as "one of the best guidebooks of the Victorian era" because of its piercing description of the fundamental dichotomy of the 19th century "outward respectability and inward lust", as this period had a tendency for social hypocrisy.
Scottish nationalism vs. union with Britain
Another common interpretation sees the novella's duality as representative of Scotland and the Scottish character. In this reading, the duality represents the national and linguistic dualities inherent in Scotland's relationship with wider Britain and the English language, respectively, and also the repressive effects of the Church of Scotland on the Scottish character. A further parallel is also drawn with the city of Edinburgh itself, Stevenson's birthplace, which consists of two distinct parts: the old medieval section historically inhabited by the city's poor, where the dark crowded slums were rife with all types of crime, and the modern Georgian area of wide spacious streets representing respectability.
Addiction
Some scholars have argued that addiction or substance abuse is a central theme in the novella. Stevenson's depiction of Mr Hyde is reminiscent of descriptions of substance abuse in the nineteenth century. Daniel L. Wright describes Dr Jekyll as "not so much a man of conflicted personality as a man suffering from the ravages of addiction". Patricia Comitini argues that the central duality in the novella is in fact not Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but rather Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde and Utterson, where Utterson represents the rational, unaddicted, ideal Victorian subject devoid of forbidden desires, and Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde constitutes his opposite.
Darwin
The publication of The Origin of Species had a significant impact on Victorian society. Many did not fully understand the concepts of evolution, and assumed Darwin meant humans had evolved directly from apes, and that if it was possible to evolve into humans, it was also possible to degenerate into something more ape-like and primitive. Mr. Hyde is described as a more primitive and less developed version of Dr Jekyll, and gradually Hyde becomes more bestial as his degeneration progress.
Homosexuality
The novel was written at a time when the Labouchere Amendment was published, criminalising homosexuality. The discourse on sex in general had become a secret and repressed desire, while homosexuality was not even to be thought about. This represents Mr. Hyde, whose purpose is to fulfill all of Dr. Jekyll’s repressed desires. The lack of prominent women in the novel also helps to create a homosexual interpretation, since the focus is on romanticising bachelor boyhood for men. There were some things that Dr. Jekyll did as Mr. Hyde that he was too embarrassed to confess for, even on his deathbed, which follows the secrecy and shame of homosexuality in the Victorian era. Lanyon also refused to speak, sparing Jekyll the embarrassment and criminality of being known as a homosexual.
Reception
Publication
The book was initially sold as a paperback for one shilling in the UK. These books were called "shilling shockers" or penny dreadfuls. The American publisher issued the book on 5 January 1886, four days before the first appearance of the UK edition issued by Longmans; Scribner's published 3,000 copies, only 1,250 of them bound in cloth. Initially, stores did not stock it until a review appeared in The Times on 25 January 1886 giving it a favourable reception. Within the next six months, close to 40 thousand copies were sold. As Stevenson's biographer Graham Balfour wrote in 1901, the book's success was probably due rather to the "moral instincts of the public" than to any conscious perception of the merits of its art. It was read by those who never read fiction and quoted in pulpit sermons and in religious papers. By 1901, it was estimated to have sold over 250,000 copies in the United States.
Stage version
Although the book had initially been published as a "shilling shocker", it was an immediate success and one of Stevenson's best-selling works. Stage adaptations began in Boston and London and soon moved all across England and then towards his home country of Scotland.
The first stage adaptation followed the story's initial publication in 1886. Richard Mansfield bought the rights from Stevenson and worked with Boston author Thomas Russell Sullivan to write a script. The resulting play added to the cast of characters and some elements of romance to the plot. The addition of female characters to the originally male-centred plot continued in later adaptations of the story. The first performance of the play took place in the Boston Museum in May 1887. The lighting effects and makeup for Jekyll's transformation into Hyde created horrified reactions from the audience, and the play was so successful that production followed in London. After a successful 10 weeks in London in 1888, Mansfield was forced to close down production. The hysteria surrounding the Jack the Ripper serial murders led even those who only played murderers on stage to be considered suspects. When Mansfield was mentioned in London newspapers as a possible suspect for the crimes, he shut down production.
Adaptations
Main article: Adaptations of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThere have been numerous adaptations of the novella, including over 120 stage and film versions alone.
There have also been many audio recordings of the novella, with some of the more famous readers including Tom Baker, Roger Rees, Christopher Lee, Udo Kier, Anthony Quayle, Martin Jarvis, Tim Pigott-Smith, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Gene Lockhart, Richard Armitage, John Sessions, Alan Howard, Rory Kinnear and Richard E. Grant.
A 1990 musical based on the story was created by Frank Wildhorn, Steve Cuden, and Leslie Bricusse.
There have also been several video games based on the story, such as "Jekyll and Hyde", published by MazM.
Illustrated versions
S. G. Hulme Beaman illustrated a 1930s edition, and in 1948 Mervyn Peake provided the newly founded Folio Society with memorable illustrations for the story.
References
- Stevenson titled the book without "The" in the beginning for reasons unknown, but it has been supposed to increase the "strangeness" of the case (Richard Dury (2005)). Later publishers added "The" to make it grammatically correct, but it was not the author's original intention. The story is often known today simply as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or even Jekyll and Hyde.
- "Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". British Library. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- Swearingen, Roger G.; Stevenson, Robert Louis (1980). The Prose Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson: A Guide. Macmillan. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-333-27652-5.
- Chantrelle, Eugène Marie; Smith, Alexander Duncan (1906). Trial of Eugène Marie Chantrelle. Toronto, Canada Law Book Co. OCLC 1085960179.
- Hodges, Jeremy. "Lamplit, Vicious Fairy Land". RLS Website.
- "Real-life Jekyll & Hyde who inspired Stevenson's classic". The Scotsman. 16 November 2016.
- Hainsworth, J. J. (2015). Jack the Ripper—Case Solved, 1891. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9676-1.
- Sinclair, Jill (16 June 2006). "Queen of the mixed border". The Guardian.
- Sinclair, Jill (16 June 2006). "Queen of the mixed border". The Guardian.
- Wayne F. Cooper, Claude McKay: Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1987, pp23-24, 29-30
- Sarah Festing, Gertrude Jekyll, Viking, London 1991, pp175-176, 243
- Claire Harman, Robert Louis Stevenson: a biography, HarperCollins, 2008, p210.
- Claire Harman, Robert Louis Stevenson: a biography, HarperCollins, 2008, p305.
- Claire Harman, Robert Louis Stevenson: a biography, HarperCollins, 2008, p214.
- ^ Balfour, Graham (1912). The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. Vol. II. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 15–6. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Campbell, James (13 December 2008). "The beast within". The Guardian.
- Doyle, Brian (1 June 2006). "Findings: A Bogey Tale". The American Scholar.
- Possibly with the help of cocaine, according to William Gray's revisionist history Robert Louis Stevenson: A Literary Life (2004). ISBN 978-0-333-98400-0.
- Stevenson, Robert Louis (2005). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2nd ed.). Broadview Press. ISBN 978-1-55111-655-6. p. 44:
To this rule, Dr. Jekyll was no exception: and as he now sat on the opposite side of the fire—a large, well made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness—you could see by his looks that he cherished for Mr. Utterson a sincere and warm affection.
- ^ Sanford, John A. (1981). Evil: The Shadow Side of Reality. Crossroad. ISBN 978-0-8245-0526-4.
- Nabokov, Vladimir (2003). "Introduction". The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Signet Classic. pp. 7–34.
- Chakraverty, Aditi (2022). "Into the Brains of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – A Psychoanalytic Reading of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by RL Stevenson" (PDF). International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development. 5 (4).
- Singh, ShubhM; Chakrabarti, Subho (2008). "A study in dualism: The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 50 (3): 221–223. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.43624. PMC 2738358. PMID 19742237.
- ^ Saposnik, Irving S. (1971). "The Anatomy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 11 (4): 715–731. doi:10.2307/449833. JSTOR 449833. ProQuest 1297401011.
- Nightmare: Birth of Victorian Horror (TV series) "Jekyll and Hyde...." (1996)
- Robert Louis Stevenson and His World, David Daiches, 1973
- "Edinburgh: Where Jekyll parties with Hyde". The Daily Telegraph. London. 25 July 1998. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- Wright, Daniel L. (1994). "'The Prisonhouse of My Disposition': A Study of the Psychology of Addiction in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Studies in the Novel. 26 (3): 254–267. JSTOR 20831878.
- Comitini, Patricia (2012). "The Strange Case of Addiction in Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Victorian Review. 38 (1): 113–131. doi:10.1353/vcr.2012.0052. S2CID 161892546. Project MUSE 546074.
- Darwin's Screens: Evolutionary Aesthetics, Time and Sexual Display in the Cinema
- Berisha, Shyhrete (2022). Two Sides of the Same Coin : Understanding Homophobia in The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Thesis). OCLC 1337537921.
- Mendlinger, Olivia (7 May 2020). Repressing Deviance: The Discourse of Sexuality in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Thesis).
- Koestenbaum, Wayne (31 March 1988). "The Shadow on the Bed: Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and the Labouchere Amendment". Critical Matrix. 4 (1): 35. ProQuest 89071142.
- Sanna, Antonio (2012). "Silent Homosexuality in Oscar Wilde's Teleny and The Picture of Dorian Gray and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". Law and Literature. 24 (1): 21–39. doi:10.1525/lal.2012.24.1.21. JSTOR 10.1525/lal.2012.24.1.21. S2CID 143314418.
- ^ Stevenson, Robert Louis (2015). Danahay, Martin A. (ed.). Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (3rd ed.). Canada: Broadview. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-55481-024-6.
- Graham Balfour, The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson Volume II, pp. 17-18
- Middleton, Tim (1993). "Introduction". Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with the Merry Men and Other Stories. Wordsworth Editions. pp. vii–xvii. ISBN 978-1-85326-061-2. p. ix:
estimated 250,000 pirated copies in the United States
- "Derivative Works - Robert Louis Stevenson". Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Illustrations to Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1930 bl.uk/collection-items, accessed 11 August 2018
Further reading
- Katherine B. Linehan, ed. (2003). Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Norton Critical Edition, W. W. Norton & Co. Text, annotations, contextual essays, and criticism. ISBN 0-393-97465-0
External links
- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at Standard Ebooks
- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from Internet Archive. Many antiquarian illustrated editions.
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at Project Gutenberg
- "The Beast Within", Freudian fable, sexual morality tale, gay allegory – the novella has inspired as many interpretations as it has film adaptations. By James Campbell, The Guardian, 13 December 2008
- 1950 Theatre Guild on the Air radio adaptation at Internet Archive
- Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
- Short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson
- 1886 British novels
- 1886 science fiction novels
- Scottish novellas
- Novels set in London
- Scottish Gothic novels
- Victorian novels
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- Human experimentation in fiction
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