Why does Stevenson choose not to write a chronological plot told from Dr Jekyll's point of view?

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Why does Stevenson choose not to write a chronological plot told from Dr Jekyll’s

point of view?

        Firstly, telling “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” from Dr Jekyll’s point of view would have presented a number of problems. The elements of tension provided by telling the story from others points of view would be lost, and therefore the definitive style of the book would have to be changed for one less exciting, and the plot would progress far slower.

        Also, telling the story from different peoples perspectives makes the text physically longer, and although this isn’t an essential quality, without the length the story may have been regarded as a short story and not received so much acclaim.        

        Most of the tale is told from the perspective of Mr Utterson, a character who the reader is acquainted with early on in the book. The reader learns he is a lawyer, and also learns of his suspicious nature when he hears the tale of Hyde’s viciousness in Story of the Door. It was a good choice to tell the story from his perspective, as when the reader begins this book, they are suspicious from the start.

        These different perspectives provide insight into the story as well. Without them, some of the key events and morals of the story would be missing. For example, without “Dr Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case” the reader would never have learned of Dr Jekyll’s past, and the book would have ended with the reader asking why Dr Jekyll did the acts in the book. This chapter, although told in chronological order in itself, is set at the end of the book, providing a new set of events, from a new perspective, from the end of the book.

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        The perspective of Dr Jekyll is a vital one. In the Victorian era in which this book was written and set, there was a large interest in the then-revolutionary theory of evolution. This ‘Darwinism’ was very fashionable, and people were obsessed with the idea of physical change and metamorphosis in people. It was also popular to lead two lives, one as a respectable member of society, and the other, an ‘after hours’ life. Without the perspectives of Jekyll (Dr Jekylls Full Statement of the Case) and Lanyon (Dr Lanyons Narrative), the dual lives of Jekyll and Hyde would never be discovered. ...

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