"Dr Jekyll is a victim of his time and deserves our sympathy." Do you agree?

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"Dr Jekyll is a victim of his time and deserves our sympathy." Do you agree?    Dr. Henry Jekyll was born into an age of respectability, religion, and morality. The Victorians believed in "progress", self discipline and strict, stern morality. Writers like Samuel Smiles wrote about "Self Help". The Victorian age was one of polarisation of the lifestyle of the people. There were always two kinds of people, the respectable Jekylls and the destructive and filthy Hydes. "Pleasures" like prostitution and gambling,  were frowned on by all of high society. Even so, many respectable people indulged in these activities in secret by night and then by day take part in a communal criticism of these actions. The Victorians were hideous hypocrites. Famous people such as Dr. Banardo were biefly suspected of the 1888 Ripper murders. The Victorians had a rigid social structure. There were the middle and upper classes who owned the vast majority of the nation's wealth. There were the lower classes who often lived in abysmal conditions, meanwhile the rich people lived in luxury. Stevenson was fascinated by this polarisation, this was maybe because his father was a strict Protestant calvinist. In his writing Stevenson highlights the extremes of society because this
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was something which was a feature of his life, he had been known to be a "slum adventurer".           Dr. Henry Jekyll  held a very high position in Victorian society. However, he was truly a rebellious character who wanted to do exactly as he pleased. It was incredibly difficult for him to do as he liked, because of his high social status. Jekyll created Hyde to let Jekyll be a rebel without the risk of being caught.At the other end of the spectrum there is Mr. Utterson. He was a lawyer and very respectible, but he does not indulge in "pleasures". ...

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