Stevenson's idea, however, was not completely originally, he had encountered precursors to his tale long before he wrote Jekyll and Hyde. The fictions most frequently cited as having had an influence on Jekyll and Hyde are E.T.A. Hoffman's The Devil's Elixirs" (1816), Thomas Jefferson Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824), Edgar Allan Poe's "William Wilson´(1839), and most significantly, Theophile Gautier's Chvalier Double." (1840) Gautier's story centers around a protagonist, Oluf, who has a double nature and leads a tormented life, much like Jekyll and Hyde.
The gap between the film and the print version of the story is also worth noting in the case of Jekyll and Hyde. In every version of the story from 1920 to the present, Jekyll and Hyde's involvement with women has been an essential part of his image. As first-time readers of the story discover, in Stevenson's 1886 narrative such women characters as do appear have little or nothing to do with the plot. Instead, the book is much more of an "intellectual" horror story, having not to do with the gruesome details (of which there are few) but instead about the nature of man
Robert Louis Stevenson was born November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the only son of respectable middle-class parents. Throughout his childhood, he suffered chronic health problems that confined him to bed. The strongest influence during his childhood was that of his nurse, Allison Cunnigham, who often read aloud Pilgrim's Progress and The Old Testament, his most direct literary influences during this time. In 1867, he entered Edinburgh University as a science student, where it was tacitly understood that he would follow his father's footsteps and become a civil engineer. Robert, however, had much more of a romantic nature at heart and while obstentiously working for a science degree, he spent much of his time studying French Literature, Scottish history, and the works of Darwin and Spencer. When he confided to his father that he did not want to become an engineer and instead wished to pursue writing, his father was naturally upset. They settled on a compromise Robert would study for the Bar and if is literary ambitions failed, he would have a respectable profession to fall back on.
In order to fully understand the world in which Stevenson was raised, it is necessary to understand that there were two Edinburghs, both which played a part in molding his personality and outlook. On one hand was New Town, respectable, conventional, deeply religious, and polite. On the other was a much more bohemian Edinburgh, symbolized by brothels and shadiness. The juxtaposition of the two aspects in contrast to each other made a deep impression and strengthened his fascination with the duality of human nature, later providing the theme for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
In the autumn of 1873, Stevenson was taken ill with nervous exhaustion and a severe chest condition, consequently, his doctor ordered him to take an extended rest abroad. For the next six months, he convalesced in the South of France, working on essays. On his return to Edinburgh, he spent much of his time writing book reviews and articles and experimenting with short stories. Slowly but surely, he earned a name for himself in journalism and his pieces began appearing in distinguished journals such as The Fortnightly Review. At this time, he met an American married woman, Fanny Vandergrift Osbourne, ten years his senior, whom was in Europe trying to escape her estranged husband's influence. For three years, Stevenson (still in ill health) continued his relationship with her and eventually followed her to San Francisco, where she obtained a divorce from her husband and married Stevenson in May 1880.
During this time, he published his first book, An Inland Voyage in 1878, an engaging account of a canoeing holiday in Belgium. In August 1880, the Stevensons returned to England. The story of Stevenson life from this point forward is a story centered on a search of a climate where he could live without the fears of his failing health. He and his wife wintered in the South of France and lived in England from 1880-1887, and this time was marked by an active period of literary achievement. His first novel, Treasure Island, was published in 1883, followed by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and Kidnapped (1886). For the first time in his life, Stevenson had became a popular author.
Upon the death of his father in 1887, Robert Louis Stevenson decided to leave England and sailed for America, where he stayed for a year. In May 1888, accompanied by his wife, his step-son, and his mother, he set sails for the South Seas. Eventually, Stevenson was so enchanted by the life of the South Seas that in December 1889 he bought an estate in Apia, Samoa, convinced that he could never endure the harsh winters of his native Scotland or England. Apia was a perfect location because the climate was tropical but not wild, the people were friendly and hard working, and it possessed a good postal service. He lived at his 300 acre estate, Vailima, in the hills of Apia until his death five years later. The list of his writings for 1890-94 reveals an impressive range of activities. During this time, he completed two of his finest novellas, ŒThe Beach of Falesa' and The Ebb Tide, two novels, The Wrecker and Catriona, the short stories ŒThe Bottle Imp,' ŒThe Isle of voices' and Œthe Waif Woman,' and the short pieces collected under the title of Fables. He also worked on a number of novels that he did not live to complete, including St. Ives, The Young Chevalier and Heathercat. He worked with enthusiasm on Weir of Hermiston until the day of his death, December 3, 1894. On that day, he dictated another installment of the novel, seemed in excellent spirits, and was talking to his wife in the evening when he felt a violent pain in his head and almost immediately lost consciousness. He died of a cerebral hemmorauge a few hours later at the age of forty-four.
Both Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein tell cautionary tales of scientists abusing their creative powers to exist in another sphere where they cannot be directly blamed for their actions. Though Frankenstein's creation is a "Creature" distinct from his creator while Dr. Jekyll metamorphoses into Mr. Hyde, the "double" of each protagonist progressively grows more violent throughout his story. By doing so he symbolizes his creator's repressed desires in a stifling society
The stories have parallel structures in the three main ways. First, both Dr. Jekyll and Frankenstein are scientists who, though welcomed by society, find it constraining and often alienate themselves. Each creates an alter ego for himself to live out his liberated passions, Hyde for Jekyll and the Creature for Frankenstein. Jekyll creates his with intention for evil and Frankenstein with the idea of building a supreme being. However, it could be argued that Frankenstein unconsciously wishes his creation to commit acts of sin. Hyde's and Frankenstein's first victims are children. They each evolve over time and develop their violent tendencies, culminating in the murder of a well-esteemed man for Hyde and Frankenstein's family and friends
Mr. Utterson: the narrator of the book . A middle-age lawyer, he is someone that all the characters confide in throughout the novel. As an old friend of Jekyll, he recognizes the changes and strange occurrences that center around both Jekyll and Hyde. He is perhaps the most circumspect, respected, and rational character in the book; therefore, it is significant that we view the crimes of Hyde and the hypocrisy of Jekyll through his observant, but generally sympathetic, frame.
Richard Enfield: Mr. Utterson¹s cousin, a younger man who is assumed to be slightly more wild than his more respectable and sedate cousin. While initially it is assumed that Enfield will play a large part in this novel (it is he who is witness to Hyde¹s initial crime), he appears in only two scenes, both walking past the mysterious door with Mr. Utterson.
Dr. Lanyon: a former friend and colleague of Dr. Jekyll. Ten years before the events in the novel, he suspended his friendship with Dr. Jekyll because of a disagreement over scientific endeavors. This doctor is highly respected and rational, someone who values the truth and goodness above all else.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: A prominent middle-age doctor. Throughout the novel, he is physically described as both tall and handsome. He is also extremely wealth, having a fortune well over two million dollars in 19th century money (a significant sum). By all that know him, he is described as well respected and proper. This, however, was a not always true, as throughout the novel we subtly witness his hypocritical behavior, something that Stevenson claimed was Jekyll¹s fatal flaw. The doctor belief that within each human being there exists two countering forces, good and evil, leads to his experiments that try to separate the two. This, however, was not done merely for scientific reasons, but also because he enjoyed escaping the confines of the respectable guise of Dr. Jekyll. In the book, his voice is only heard in the concluding chapter, only after being described through the lens of Utterson, Lanyon, Poole, and Enfield.
Edward Hyde: A small, deformed, disgusting young man (much younger, although we are not certain of precise numbers, than Dr. Jekyll) that is devoid of an apparent profession. Despite the many descriptions of the horror that Edward Hyde invokes (by Lanyon, Utterson, and Enfield), we are never told precisely why or what features are so disgusting to observers. He is often compared to animals, implying that he is not a fully evolved human being. Despite these horrific descriptions, Hyde is generally civilized in his interactions with others, most notably Utterson and Lanyon. Dr. Jekyll describes Hyde as "pure evil," and he menaces society at night, trampling a girl in the street and murdering Sir Danvers Carew.
Sir Danvers Carew: a highly respected and prominent member of English society. He is described as "silver haired" and "gentle."
Mr. Guest: Mr. Utterson¹s clerk at his law office; he discovers the handwriting similarity between the note supposedly from Mr. Hyde but whose writing was Dr. Jekyll¹s.
Richard Poole: Dr. Jekyll¹s faithful butler. It is he who goes to Mr. Utterson because of his concern for Dr. Jekyll and the mysterious occurrences in the basement of Dr. Jekyll¹s residence.
Why has Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde touched so many readers so powerfully? One answer lies in the spirit of the time in which it was written. At the end of the 1800s, Britain was experiencing a period of intense social, economic, and spiritual change, after many decades of confident growth
and national self-fulfillment. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde perfectly captured some readers’ fears that
their carefully built society was hypocritical. Stevenson was aware of the new ideas about
economics, science, and the workings of the mind. To many readers, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was a
symbolic representation of these threats to traditional British society. Political reforms had given
many more men the right to vote, and the working classes were beginning to flex their political
muscles. Karl Marx’s ideas about the struggle for power among the different social classes were
becoming more influential. To some of Britain’s upper-class readers, the character of Edward Hyde
represented the increasing political power of the working class.
