illustration of a face with two separate halves, one good and one evil, located above the fumes of a potion

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Psychoanalytic Criticism of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

Summary:

Psychoanalytic criticism of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores the duality of human nature, symbolized by Jekyll's struggle between his good and evil sides. Critics appreciate the novel's exploration of the darker aspects of humanity but note its limitations due to Victorian morality, which prevents detailed depictions of Hyde's crimes. The narrative style is criticized for being overly complex, yet some view it as a command of language. Psychoanalytic analysis might also examine the symbolism of Jekyll's house and the role of Utterson as a conflicted observer.

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What are the pros and cons of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?

Robert Louis Stevenson's novel is a classic because it is a worthwhile exploration of the human heart.  Like Frankenstein, it is a fascinating exploration of the propensity for and appeal of evil in man as well as the loss of control that many scientists experience.  Clearly, there are lessons to be learned from those that would play God. The narrative, however, is rather disappointing in that Jekyll dies well before the ending.

Rather than finding the sentences "ponderous," the reader can delight in a writer who has a command of British English.  The banal vocabulary and simple sentences of current pulp fiction pale in comparison.   

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What are the pros and cons of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?

Oh come on, I love this novel!  It definitely shows us the darker side of human nature.  One point that can be made is that we all have a Jekyll and a Hyde, even if we don’t transform completely.  Everyone has a good and bad side.  You have to understand this duality.  Stevenson’s point was that everyone has these sides, and ignoring them only leads to our destruction while embracing them, or at least heading them off, makes us better people.

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What are the pros and cons of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?

The only good thing about this novel is that it reveals that everyone has a dark side and even suggests that people like Dr. Jekyll who seem almost completely good may have a darker side than others who seem less righteous and benevolent. Otherwise, the novel is hard to read because it is written in a stuffy, pretentious style full of circumlocutions, hints, metaphors, euphemisms, independent clauses, parentheses, semi-colons, and affectations--all of which is obviously intended to impress the reader with the author's eloquence and erudition. Here is a sentence taken at random:

This person (who had thus, from the first moment of his entrance, struck in me what I can only describe as a disgustful curiosity) was dressed in a fashion that would have made an ordinary person laughable; his clothes, that is is to say, although they were of rich and sober fabric,were enormously too large for him in every measurement--the trousers hanging on his legs and rolled up to keep them from the ground, the waist of the coat below his haunches, and the collar sprawling wide upon his shoulders.

There is no relief from the succession of such ponderous sentences. They seem to be disguising the fact that there is very little action or substance to the story. Everything that is unimportant is described in detail, while everything that is important, i.e., the actual deeds of Mr. Hyde, is left unsaid. The structure of the tale is awkward. There is a long buildup to the final chapter, which explains what should probably have been explained at the beginning--and what has become perfectly obvious to the reader by the time he gets to it. Fortunately, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is not very long, and it is mercifully broken up into short chapters featuring some of the dullest and stuffiest characters in English literature, all of whom can do little except sit in front of their fireplaces and drink port.

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What is the common criticism of Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Robert Louis Stevenson's story has become a classic mainly because it contains a truth about human nature, that everyone is a mixture of good and bad. According to the eNotes Study Guide (see reference link below), the story was published in 1886, and it is "Victorian" in the sense that it avoids offensive language, and especially any reference to matters of sex. Human behavior in Victorian times was--at least externally--prim and proper.

Stevenson had an excellent idea in creating an character who took pleasure in wicked activities, but because of the Victorian morality of the period the author was unable actually to describe any of the terrible things Mr. Hyde did during his evenings out on the town. This is pretty much left up to the reader's imagination. Instead, Stevenson focuses on a colorless character named Gabriel John Utterson, who decides to investigate Mr. Hyde and find out what kind of a hold he has on poor Dr. Jekyll.

What Stevenson's story seems to cry for is descriptions of Mr. Hyde in action. He is terribly, terribly wicked--but what does he actually do? He commits a murder, but many murders are committed by men and women who are motivated by an impulse of one kind or another but are not inherently wicked. The worst thing Hyde does is described by Stevenson:

"...the man trampled calmly over the child's body and left her screaming on the ground."

This is rather ridiculous. A little girl gets in his way, so he knocks her down and walks right over her body. It is merely suggesting, merely hinting at the sorts of things Hyde might do to children in addition to all his other misdeeds. There were plenty of child prostitutes in Victorian London, and Hyde, we would imagine, might have patronized them and even tortured and murdered them. He could have committed every conceivable crime while on his rampages. But no publisher would have considered accepting Stevenson's book if he had attempted to describe even one of the really wicked deeds Hyde might have committed.

Stevenson was influenced by Edgar Allan Poe--but Poe himself did not describe any of the terrible things a truly wicked man might do. The worst act in Poe's horror stories was Montresor's immolation of Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado"--and this was published in a women's magazine called Godey's Lady's Book!!

According to the Introduction to Stevenson's story in the eNotes Study Guide,

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on the story of Edinburgh's infamous Deacon Brodie.

Deacon Brodie's activities seem far more interesting than those of Mr. Hyde. Brodie (1741-1788) was a locksmith who used his knowledge of locks and keys for the thrill of burglarizing wealthy homes and at least one bank. He used the large sums of stolen money for gambling and philandering. He had at least two wives. He started his own little gang of criminals and was ultimately hanged.

According to the eNotes Introduction to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the author, who relied on dreams for inspiration, conceived the tale in a dream:

The next morning, Stevenson started to write a detective/horror story in the style of those written by Edgar Allan Poe, and three days later his draft was complete. After a critical response from his wife, Stevenson threw the draft in the fire and started a new one that he completed in another three days and revised during the next six weeks.

We can imagine the gist of his wife's "critical response" to the first draft and his reason for burning it.

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How can psychoanalytic criticism be applied to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

The generated response presents a detailed and accurate overview of the application of psychoanalytic literary criticism to Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Let's look at a couple points in more detail to help you understand even more deeply.

The response is correct when it mentions symbolic elements in the text, but it does not go into further detail. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are symbols in their own right. The former symbolizes a longing for something more in life, a desire to be someone different. Dr. Jekyll also symbolizes a flawed humanity that is generally good yet fallen. Mr. Hyde, on the other hand, symbolizes everything horrible about humanity. You might also discuss the symbolism of Jekyll's house and of windows and doors. Psychoanalytic literary criticism would explore all of this in great detail.

You might also look at how Mr. Utterson works in the text because a critic focusing on psychoanalytic theory certainly would. Mr. Utterson stands as a witness, but he does not want to reveal what he knows, at least not right away. His psyche is severely challenged by what he sees and experiences, and we might wonder how his point of view is affected by the strange events he encounters.

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