was mostly known for his dual role depicted in this
double exposure. The
stage adaptation opened in Boston in 1887, a year after the publication of the novella. Picture from 1895.
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.
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 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
Charles 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. This was coined
devolution, and was a prominent anxiety at the time. As Mr Hyde is described as a more primitive and less developed version of Dr Jekyll, and gradually Hyde becomes more bestial as his degeneration progresses, Stevenson can be seen to explore these anxieties in his work.
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, whereas homosexuality was not even to be thought about. It has been theorized that this could represent Mr Hyde, whose purpose is to fulfil all of Dr Jekyll's repressed desires. The lack of prominent women in the novel also help point to a homosexual interpretation, since there is a focus 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 could follow the historically-noted secrecy and shame of homosexuality in the Victorian era. Lanyon also refused to speak, sparing Jekyll the scandal and overall criminality of possibly being a homosexual. ==Reception==