Few stories that are over a hundred years old retain as much importance in popular imagination as Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Aside from the title characters becoming a shorthand description for a person who manifests a frightening bipolarity, the novel’s gothic depiction of London remains the popular conception of the city during the late Victorian era. Though the story is commonly interpreted as a depiction of good and evil and the duality of man, I submit that Jekyll and Hyde is in large part a gothic allegory about repressed homosexuality and covert substance abuse.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Repressed Sexuality and Drug Abuse in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Jekyll and Hyde: A Gothic Allegory
- The Murder of Sir Danvers Carew
- Hyde's Female Characteristics
- Jekyll's Homosexual Id Unleashed by Addiction
- Medical Influence on the Novel
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This essay examines Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, arguing that the novel’s gothic narrative serves as an allegory for repressed homosexuality and covert substance abuse in late Victorian England.
- Repressed Homosexuality in Victorian Society
- Drug Addiction and its Impact on Jekyll's Character
- The Role of Gender and Sexuality in the Narrative
- The Influence of Medical Literature on Stevenson's Work
- The Gothic Depiction of London and its Social Undercurrents
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The essay begins by establishing the enduring relevance of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in popular culture, noting its association with themes of good and evil and the duality of man. However, the essay then diverts from this common interpretation, arguing that the novel is actually a gothic allegory for repressed homosexuality and covert substance abuse.
The essay further explores the connection between the novel and the Jack the Ripper murders, highlighting the contemporary press’s tendency to conflate Jekyll and Hyde with the infamous killer. However, the essay emphasizes the absence of female victims in the narrative, suggesting that Hyde's violence is not directed toward women. This absence, combined with the novel's predominantly male cast of characters and the portrayal of Jekyll as a passive and effeminate figure, further supports the argument that the novel is an allegory for repressed homosexuality.
The essay then examines the murder of Sir Danvers Carew, analyzing the suggestive language used to describe the scene and suggesting that Carew may have been soliciting sex from Hyde. This interpretation, combined with the fact that Hyde was never portrayed as murdering a woman, reinforces the argument that the novel's violence is tied to male desire and sexuality.
The essay continues to explore the novel's themes of repression and addiction, focusing on the character of Hyde as a manifestation of Jekyll's repressed homosexual desires fueled by his dependence on an unnamed psychoactive substance. The essay also discusses the influence of medical literature on Stevenson’s work, noting the novel's resemblance to contemporary medical case studies and the author's interest in drug addiction and the emerging field of internal medicine.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This essay explores key concepts like repressed homosexuality, drug addiction, gothic allegory, Victorian society, medical literature, and the duality of man. It analyzes the narrative themes of gender, sexuality, violence, and social repression, highlighting the influence of Victorian social norms and the literary and medical contexts of the period on the novel's themes and characters.
- Quote paper
- Mark Schauer (Author), 2012, Repressed sexuality and drug abuse in Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/230260
