In what ways is the 'profound duplicity' exhibited by Jekyll a reflection of the Victorian way of life?

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Lauren Allen

In what ways is the ‘profound duplicity’ exhibited by Jekyll a reflection of the Victorian way of life?

The Victorian society was filled with many divisions. It consisted of two extremes, the very wealthy and intense poverty. It was these divisions that contributed to the causes behind the life of Henry Jekyll to be split between the two. However, there are many other reasons as to why Jekyll wanted the best of both worlds.

Within the Victorian period, there were many successes, including inventions such as the first public railway link between the coal mines of Darlington and the port of Stockton; this was built by an engineer named George Stevenson. Also was the improvements in people’s health, this was due to progresses with clean water and better drains.  Victorian scientists, for example, Michael Faraday, also made discoveries such as various inventions including the telegraph, the telephone and the electric light.  In addition to this the British Empire had grown like never before. At this point the Victorians were in a time of sanguinity and fulfilment. However in the country’s capital, London, not everywhere was quite like this. The city was divided in to two, the rich and the poor. Regents Park was filled with respectable and hard working people. Conversely a few streets down backing on to Regents Park, was Soho, a place of squalor and deprivation,  yet the wealthy were not going to make any changes, they liked the way it was and saw no need for the situation to change.

Religion was an important aspect of Victorian life, and acted as a form of control of retaining the status quo. It was religion that kept the two divisions standing. The poor were made to be obedient, and the rich were imposed levels of expected behaviour. The rich were very God fearing people, and strict when it came to going to Church, this included attending Church every Sunday in their best clothes, and worshipping up to three times a day. Children would read the Bible and their toys consisted of those relating to Bible stories, such as Noah’s Ark. Within the rich society they were conscious of their reputation, family mattered and they should have always kept a professional status, because of this idleness was most certainly a sin.  Despite this it was often found that men throughout the rich, paid for prostitutes, this is just one of the examples of leading a double life. The wealthy men of Victorian times were looked upon as good family people, and had a profession in which they could always provide for their families. They would not have been able to take part in sins such as prostitutes in wealthy areas for instance Regents Park, and so would have to go elsewhere, this means starting a different life, this being the main theme of ‘The Strange Case of Henry Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, duplicity.

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Robert Louis Stevenson’s life itself reflects the idea of duplicity in his novel.  He grew up in a Calvinistic household, his parents being strict, in both their home and religion.  However his childhood was filled with fear and insomnia, he was often in bed down with one illness or another. Due to his long hours spent within the four walls of his bedroom, he built up a close relationship with his nurse. She was also strict when it came to religion and used to repeatedly read the Bible to Stevenson. From a young age Stevenson would often lay awake, ...

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