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, woken from his frequent nightmares. He lived in a clean town, but just on the other side was situated a grim area, a place he was not encouraged to go. Growing up under the rules of his oppressive parents drew him even more to the other side of town, and it was at this point he began his double existence.
Even as an adult Stevenson’s nightmares continued, yet now they were regarding scientific experiments, surgical theatres, in old towns. Stevenson naturally became concerned about the regular occurrences of these dreams, and consulted a Doctor. Nothing was solved and following this he decided to spend time with medical students, around this time Stevenson was drawn to William Burke and William Hare, serial killers from Ulster, who moved to Scotland to work as labourers on the Union Canal. Burke and Hare set themselves up as procurers of human bodies to satisfy the demand of Edinburgh’s medical schools. Originally the two would dig up the graves of the recently departed in the dead of the night, steal the body and then sell it for money to a doctor, to use for demonstrations. After tiring of this technique, the two began murdering people in Edinburgh’s old town and after would sell them. They killed their victims using a perfected method in which no evidence of murder was left; this was simply to strangle the victim to death.
Following his fascination with science Stevenson first became a professional writer. Influenced by the likes of Burke and Hare he wrote his first published book ‘Body Snatchers’. After travelling throughout Europe in 1884 he was advised to settle in Bournemouth, where he met and married his wife, Fanny Osbourne. Fanny was known to be a strict woman, and it was often heard that Stevenson was to call her ‘Mother’. His nightmares returned and after a three day attack of fever and haemorrhaging, he wrote the well known novel, ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. This was plainly a story of a divided self.
Around this time cracks began to appear amongst the Victorian society. Charles Darwin was an English naturalist. He is famous for his theory of ‘natural selection’, which means that some species are better able to survive than others. When published in 1859, this theory caused an uproar, Darwin had also suggested that humans had evolved from apes. Darwin’s most famous book was ‘The Origin of Species’, This said that the Earth was much older than most people thought, and that animals and plants had evolved over millions of years. This theory disagreed with the story of creation given in the Bible, causing an uproar within the community. Many Christians believed that everything in the Bible was true and should not be questioned.
People such as Darwin were now speaking out, they wanted there views to be considered, and if not at least heard. The public began demonstrations calling for higher wages, better working conditions, and also enhanced living conditions.
In the novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ Stevenson was trying to show how difficult life was in Victorian times and that when people were under such pressures they can appear to be someone who is actually another.
From the very start of the novel you can see these pressures among the people within the Victorian society,
‘…drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages; and though enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years.’ These were the minor pressures put on the character, Mr. Utterson, a lawyer who was the typical kind of person who followed the strict unwritten rules of Victorian times. This self discipline shown by, Mr. Utterson, represents how the people should be strong minded and resist temptations.
Henry Jekyll is not the only character in the novel to lead a double life; however he is the character who epitomises many who found life intolerable. Jekyll was brought up a highly regarded Victorian ‘...but every mark of capacity and kindness…’ He worked hard and was a popular personality within his companions, but being a perfect citizen means keeping away a side that is inside us all, an evil side which not every one can contain. Since Jekyll was a child he had to suppress his evil side deep inside him, even though this side was actually a part of him. Jekyll was unable to control his temptations,
‘…plod in the eye with a load of genial respectability and in a moment, like a school boy, strip off these lendings and spring headlong, into the sea of liberty…’ Jekyll used his medical knowledge and skill, to come up with a solution to put these temptations in to action. He managed to produce a formula, in which he could change from a respectable, traditional, Victorian, to Mr. Hyde a small, detestable and a completely evil human being.
After Henry Jekyll worked out this solution, and tested it, he thought he had it sussed. Now he could lead two opposite lives and no longer have to try and suppress a side which was a part of him. When Jekyll became Edward Hyde, he gained more energy and could carry out more things that he had longed to do as Henry Jekyll. However Edward Hyde was pure evil, ‘…if I ever read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend…’ Hyde had been suppressed for a long time and so when released was going to cause obvious damage amongst the community, ‘…the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground…’ This is something Jekyll never dreamt of doing and yet it is this evil that he had let out into the community around him.
Edward Hyde was Jekyll’s alter ego, someone who allowed Jekyll to enjoy life not having to continually suppress something that is naturally his, but Jekyll’s satisfaction of being able to lead a double life did not last forever. Having the ability to live as two people without people realising, caused Jekyll to fail to realise what problems he was facing in the near future. ‘…Edward Hyde would pass away like the stain of breath upon a mirror…’ Jekyll became accustomed to this, but one morning, Jekyll awoke involuntarily as Hyde, and from then on Jekyll had to face up to the rapidly arising problems. Hyde had been gaining power, and through a long struggle, evil pulled through.
Towards the beginning of the novel we are told in the dialogue between Utterson and Dr. Lanyon, a former friend of Jekyll, why exactly Lanyon was no longer a companion of his. We are informed how extremely dismissive Lanyon was towards Jekyll, because of the many scientific experiments Jekyll had been dabbling in. Lanyon condemned these experiments and left Jekyll to continue with them on his own. Despite this after Jekyll realises his fate, in that he is unable to beat Edward Hyde, and asks for Lanyon’s assistance, Lanyon is unable to resist temptations until eventually his curiosity kills him.
‘The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is a novel of duplicity, Henry Jekyll accomplished his dreams of being able to lead a double life, and was left dead, unable to beat his evil side. However it was not just Jekyll affected by the pressures of austere Victorian life. Hyde’s landlady is an example of this, she should have stayed loyal to Hyde , but failed by allowing Scotland Yard to search the rooms of the house, this showing another side to her personality.
Duplicity was not only shown through the characters, or in the divide of the cities, but also within Jekyll’s house itself. Jekyll’s house was situated in Regents Park and from the front looked respectable, with a tidy interior and a typical example of how people should be living, but attached to the back of the house was the laboratory. This was the complete opposite of the House Jekyll lived in, and was where Hyde use to come and go. This part of the house helps show the differences in Jekyll and Hyde and again the idea of duplicity.
Although Henry Jekyll was not the only character to show duplicity, he was the main focus; the novel shows the readers a contrast between Jekyll and Hyde, and lets us see how, in the end, evil wins through.