How does Robert Louis Stevenson explore the duality of human nature in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

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How does Robert Louis Stevenson explore the duality of human nature in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

Robert Louis Stevenson addresses duality in a variety of themes; this duality is first express in the title which introduces the two most important characters as two opposites in one body, the opening is narrated by another to characters both Mr Utterson and his friend Mr Enfield. This theme of duality introduces two extremes in one, for example; one character being the good guy whilst the other is evil; this brings the characters to contrast as one. Themes such as science and religion, love and lust, sex and sexuality are sometimes implied. The author Robert Louis Stevenson was recognized in the nineteenth century and was often unable to express their ideas directly due to the pressure that society enforced and were instead forced to follow those given instructions and rules. For example; women were expected and wanted to cover up like respectable citizens.

The Victorian society was a society of extremes. There was a duality of racism such as in 1865 when the slave trade was finally abolished the time of which Queen Victoria was due to take to the thrown. A couple years later after Queen Victoria was then crowned queen we began to see that the slave trade was still in play, we saw this through prostitution otherwise known as the white slave trade. Within this society women were known as respectable citizens but in true matter of fact they weren't. This was because although they kept themselves covered up in hidden attires they were keeping dirty secrets of prostitution away from the British society. This links to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because they were both keeping secrets away from society; the main secret being the relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The obsession with secrets is suggested even in the first chapter when Dr Jekyll talks about his ‘hidden pleasure’; this suggests pleasures that are perhaps even more extreme than are really happening because it is left to the reader’s imagination. The reader’s imagination is often left hanging by Stevenson to think the worst, suggestive comments such as ;it brings to mind a very strange tale’, also in the first chapter , reinforces this sense of mystery.

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The setting of the book resembles the characteristics of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; features shown by Dr Jekyll tend to be more genteel, comfort, loved and well presented whereas Mr Hyde’s features tend to focus more on the night life, dark, evil experiences. Night is usually associated with evil because stereotypically evil represents darkness and the cold leaving people feeling uneasy and insecure. Mr Utterson who provides the narrative framework has characteristics based upon Dr Jekyll and so when he follows Mr Hyde he is appalled with the lifestyle and attitude of the Victorian London; ...

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