To what extent can 'The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' be viewed as a 'gothic novel'
To what extent can 'The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' be viewed as a 'gothic novel'? Jekyll and Hyde is a gothic novel. It was written by Robert Louis Stevenson, he got the idea for the story after a dream he had. The word 'Goth' is originally from a German tribe and has come to mean 'barbarian' and later know as 'Gothic'. In Gothic Literature certain features are expected. These are supernatural events, have villains and hero characters, strange weather, horror, mystery and deaths. Older Gothic literature was in castles and deserted buildings. Modern Gothic novels were written is more populated areas. Another text that can be classed as 'Gothic' is the novel 'Frankenstein'. The reason for it being a 'Gothic' novel is the way it has a mutant character. Frankenstein is a mutant and is made by a crazy scientist 'I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world.' Here the crazed scientist is describing his creation coming to life. This quote describes the vision of the scientist looking at the monster he created. The images in this quote evokes some of the key gothic themes, such as the horrific
Why would a Victorian reader find "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" shocking yet fascinating?
Why would a Victorian reader find "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" shocking yet fascinating? Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Jekyll and Hyde in 1886 in the middle of the Victorian era. This book is both shocking yet fascinating to a Victorian reader, I will explore this further. "Polar twins ... continually struggling," this quotation is talking about the struggle between Jekyll and Hyde; they are struggling to gain dominance over each other in Jekyll's body. They are polar twins, Jekyll is good and Hyde is Evil, this quotation shows that Jekyll and Hyde are linked, and this idea that they are linked in body and soul would be shocking to a reader yet it would also be fascinating because it shows the dual nature of man, the ability to do good and evil. There are many themes in Jekyll and Hyde that a Victorian reader would find shocking and fascinating at the same time, like Science vs. religion, civilisation vs. savagery, the dual identity of man, the way Stevenson portrays London, the gothic elements of the story, and the description of the characters and their relationships. Jekyll manipulates science to resurface the dual identity of man, only God should be able to do this, Jekyll is going against his god and dwells on the thought of committing suicide to get rid of Hyde, a Victorian reader would find this shocking because almost all Victorian people at this time
"Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" - the Victorians view of the novel
Pre 1914 Prose Coursework. "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was written in the late 19th century by an English author named R.L.Stevenson. Victorians were interested in Darwin's theory of evolution and Stevenson took advantage of this. Not all classes were educated, so Stevenson had to aim for higher-class people. Jekyll would be the same class as the readers, whereas Hyde would be unknown to such people because he was associated with the lower classes. Stevenson was influenced by Darwinism in the novella to involve Victorian Society. When "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" was released, Charles Darwin had just revealed his theory of man evolving from apes. When the Victorians read this book, Hyde was referred to as evidence of Darwin's theory by the use of phrases such as: "With ape-like fury" and "Like a monkey, jumped", which gives you an image of primate characteristics. Another thing that Stevenson referred to is the Faust legend from the fifteenth century. Dr Jekyll gives Dr Lanyon a choice, very much similar to Faust's. Faust drove himself so hard that the Devil appeared and gave him the choice, to stay normal and behold the restrictions of humanity, or he could have all the power and knowledge that he ever wanted, but at a price. At the end of twenty-four years Faust would lose his soul to the Devil. In Jekyll and Hyde, Lanyon is given the choice of wealth and
The author not only wrote this novel to present his views on human personality but also because he wanted to shock contemporary readers out of their complacency. Show how parts of Jekyll and Hyde read as a horror story
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Coursework "The author not only wrote this novel to present his views on human personality but also because he wanted to shock contemporary readers out of their complacency. Show how parts of Jekyll and Hyde read as a horror story." There are many aspect of the horror genre that contribute to making a story scary in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Fighting and violence are evident as well as conflict between good and evil; the supernatural and the transformation; also the weather. These all appear in the novel and each contribute to the horror side of the narrative. The first element of horror that I will discuss is fighting and violence. This is a very prominent element of horror in the novel. At the start of the book Mr Enfield describes an incident where he sees Mr Hyde trample a young girl "then came the horrible part of the thing for the man trampled calmly over the child's body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear but it was hellish to see." This was quite a horrific graphic description of Mr Hyde and this is just the start of the build up of Mr Hyde's character. At this early description of suspense and horror the reader has a sense of the type of character of Mr Hyde and the tension is built up throughout the novel. A reader will have a sense of anticipated horror and repulsion every time they read about him, knowing what he
The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Discussion as an example of Gothic Fiction and as a critique of Victorian society.
The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Discussion as an example of Gothic Fiction and as a critique of Victorian society. This book was written at a time of change in the world of fiction as a new form of gothic literature emerged. Fin de Siecle was a new type of New Gothic that had elements that differed from previous gothic stories. Stevenson's story is based around various shards of the gothic and is mainly focused on exposing the "duality of man" and his struggle to hide it from the outside world. The symbolism of Jekyll and Hyde is truly extended to all with differing parts in all of us. It was not a new idea as it had been seen in the classic example of a good and bad guardian, a devil on one shoulder and an angel on another, and also in gothic literature before it, such as Frankenstein with the duelling personalities of Frankenstein and the monster, creator and creation which is easily comparable with the roles of Jekyll and Hyde, ". Stevenson had his influences apart from classic novels, his past had a tremendous affect on this novella as the language, used by Jekyll in particular is similar to Stevenson with possible links between the two, gives the reader an insight into his mind. His Calvinistic upbringing has a bearing on the way Jekyll tries to describe Hyde in his final statement. We get a lexical set of words like "hellish but inorganic", "That child of
Examine how a sense of mystery, terror and suspense is created and maintained in 'The Old Nurse's Story' By Elizabeth Gaskell. You should consider specifically, how successful the story is as a piece of Gothic fiction.
GCSE Coursework Assignment: The Pre-Twentieth Century Unit Examine how a sense of mystery, terror and suspense is created and maintained in 'The Old Nurse's Story' By Elizabeth Gaskell. You should consider specifically, how successful the story is as a piece of Gothic fiction. The Gothic Novel is a type of prose fiction, first introduced around the 1760s by Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story (1764). This style of writing was popular until the mid 1800s. Primary examples of the Gothic Novel are William Beckford's Vathek in 1786, and perhaps the best known, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein of 1817. It was only into the 19th Century that the Gothic Novel started to appear a little outdated, as Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey in 1818 satire of the genre showed. The stereotypical view of women harboured in Gothic fiction, discussed later, became less and less apparent as time drew on, views of women changed, and more of the authors were female. The main characteristics of the Gothic tradition are its medieval context, with the typical settings of large, sprawling mansions and castles, harbouring hidden tunnels, secret areas, dungeons and unexplored rooms. Outdoors were desolate moors and twisted, dead trees, and events usually took place at nighttime or when it was snowing. This bleak setting reflected the macabre atmosphere of the stories, which usually involved
With particular reference to the construction of Mr Hyde, discuss how portrayal of the character places the novella into the Gothic Horror genre.
With particular reference to the construction of Mr Hyde, discuss how portrayal of the character places the novella into the Gothic Horror genre. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886, a time where the "Gothic Horror" story was at its fullest expression, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde continues to remain one of the most well written, exciting and terrifying Gothic Horror stories to date. The Gothic Horror story has adapted over time, first being associated with dark, mysterious forces of the personality which were though of as uncivilised and therefore medieval and Gothic. However, it was then being used to describe the mysterious, the fantastic and occasionally, the horrific, appealing to the emotional side of human experience and throwing off the shackles of reason. Gothic Novels all shared similar settings, which were not just castles but anywhere that created a dark and mysterious atmosphere, and by the nineteenth century, Gothic Horror began to develop into ordinary human beings in familiar environments, to make the reader even more inclined to believe the unbelievable; that such dreadful events could actually happen; and this is exactly what Stevenson has done. Stevenson wrote Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at a time where science was still relatively new; Darwin's theory of evolution had turned what was a very religious world
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coursework
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde coursework 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has appealed to a wide audience from the first time it was published in 1886 to the present day. What do you think are the reasons for this?' The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was first published in a time when classes separated the rich and the poor. These classes never mixed and never talked. The poor classes lived on one side of London and the rich classes lived on the other. The rich would of never had been thought about the poor because there was very few means of learning. Before the story of Dr Jekell and Mr Hyde the two classes would have read different books but when the book was published it had elements that appealed to both classes. The genre of the book is 'gothic horror and fiction'. The elements of gothic in it are the horror, super natural and the mystery. It also has a dark and very gloomy setting and it talks about the smog lying very low on the floor. "For a moment, the fog would be quite broken up, and a haggered shaft of daylight would glance in between the swirling wreaths." This is gothic because it is quite mysterious and spooky. This could appeal to many people because this is like real life with the smog coming under the door. People could relate to this. It always has a dark and gloomy character in it to. In this case it's Mr Hyde. This dark and gloomy character first appears in the
How doesStevenson use the gothic novel to explore the nature of good and evil in "thestrange case of doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde"?
How does Stevenson use the gothic novel to explore the nature of good and evil in "the strange case of doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde"? The story is about a doctor called Jekyll who has an alternate identity called Hyde. Until the last two chapters it is told from the view point of Mr Utterson; a friend of Jekyll's who is trying to piece together the story. It uses features of gothic novels such as doppelganger which is an alternate identity. It also uses multiple narratives to make the reader think, it also helps the reader solve the case themselves, and piece the story together, from the evidence given. To a certain extent Stevenson also uses the monster feature in the form of Edward Hyde. In this novel, Stevenson was trying to show that good and evil are not separate within us but are a combined part of us so instead of trying to split them we should except the unity and only then will we be able to make our good side prevail in the struggle of good and evil. One of the features of a gothic novel used is the haunted house. Authors of gothic novels use a character's house to reflect the characters psychological manner. In this story Jekyll's house is described as being "grand and having an air of wealth and comfort". This mimics Jekyll's personality as he is portrayed for the reader," a large, well-made, smooth-faced man". The description "smooth-faced man" gives the
To what extent can Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea and Jamaica Kincaid's Ovando be classified as Postcolonial Gothic texts?
To what extent can Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea and Jamaica Kincaid's Ovando be classified as Postcolonial Gothic texts? Before starting this essay, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the term 'postcolonial gothic' is quite difficult to define accurately. For the most part of this essay, I will be taking for granted the fact that these texts are essentially postcolonial in form, in so far as they are texts that have 'emerged in their present form out of the experience of colonization and asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with imperial power.'1 It is with this certainty in mind that I will be looking more specifically at the gothic elements of the pieces, which separate the texts from other typically postcolonial works. Nevertheless, certain distinguishing postcolonial features will arise throughout the essay and this will be especially explicit when I look at the contextual aspects of the pieces. Turcotte identifies the fact that 'it is certainly possible to argue that the generic qualities of the Gothic mode lend themselves to articulating the colonial experience in as much as each emerges out of a condition of deracination and uncertainty, of the familiar transposed into unfamiliar space.'2 As such, the idea of displacement presents itself clearly though the two texts. In Wide Sargasso Sea for instance, we feel a strong sense of Rochester's