'How does Stevenson show the concerns about morality and respectability in the 19th century?' Stevenson through the characters and the plot as a writer shows the concern about morality and

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         ‘How does Stevenson show the concerns about morality and      

                        respectability in the 19th century?’

        Stevenson through the characters and the plot as a writer shows the concern about morality and respectability.

        Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father –Thomas Stevenson was prosperous civil engineer. Stevenson’s childhood was shaped by the strict code of respectability of the Victorian middle class in Edinburgh. Since little, he was raised by his nanny Alison Cunningham, this was one of the major inspirations for him. His upbringing thought that if he wasn’t a good person he would go to hell. This influences Stevenson to be interested in morality and also influences him there is evil inside him. This inspired Stevenson to write the novel.  

        Stevenson wrote the book ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ in 1884-1887 to show the horrors of others. At the time people were afraid of people who weren’t like them. The story was set in London, he himself lived in Edinburgh. Edinburgh itself had two faces: the prosperous middle-class New Town, where Stevenson lived and the ‘Old black city’- where there is disease, poverty and overcrowding. Stevenson conveys the middle- class people that even though there is evil in ‘Old black city’ there are also evil inside the middle-class as well. This contrasts in the novel as well through Jekyll who has a respectable character and a hideous evil character of Hyde. This also was a slight inspiration for him to write the novel. Stevenson lived double lives himself as a result of his upbringing thought that if he wasn’t good person he would go to hell. His duel way of living is reflected in the novel. Most of the novel is set on dark, black nights. The characters show the lack of morality and respectability as Hyde shows. The plot of the novel is set against the backcloth of evil; people can live evil dual lives.

In 1859 Charles Darwin, in his book ‘On the Origin of Species’, had tried to put into mind of the Victorians the theory that man evolved from apes. The Victorians did not want to accept this idea. Stevenson however knew about Darwin’s theory and by writing Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, he was to some extent accepting ‘the beast in man’ but stressing that animal passion had to be kept down. Stevenson shows even if we have evolved from apes we still have ape like characters inside us. Stevenson by describing Hyde ‘like a monkey’ illustrates his point.  

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Stevenson said in his book that he was writing about ‘that damned old business of the war in the members’. Because of the strict religion and morality in the Victorian age men and woman had to hide their secret feelings and only reveal them at night. Stevenson shows the concern that if belief of Christianity declines, what is going to be used to stop people doing evil things. Stevenson also shows the struggle of people with their good and evil inside them. This compares back to the novel and the struggle between Jekyll and Hyde.      

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