Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

1. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

2. Life • Born into a middle-class family in Edinburgh in 1850. • Since his childhood, he sufferedfrom tuberculosis and spent much of his time in bed. • He travelled a lot in an attempt to improve his health. • His trips provided him with inspiration for his writings. • He settled in Samoa and died there in 1894.

3. Works • Treasure Island (1883) brought him success. • TheStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) made his reputation. • He wrote many other notable books including Kidnapped (1886) and Master of Ballantrae (1889). He also published collections of short stories and other tales.

4. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: plot • Mr Utterson, a respectable London lawyer, is a friend of the brilliant scientist Henry Jekyll. • The scientist has created a potion able to release his evil side, Mr Hyde. • Thesetwo beings are in perpetual struggle. • Hyde achieves domination over the Jekyll aspect. • In the end Jekyll’s suicide is the final and only choice.

5. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: the setting • Victorian Londonin the 1870s. The town had a double nature: • the respectable West End vs • the appalling East End slums. • Jekyll’s house has two façades: • the front used by the doctor is attractive, part of a square of handsome houses, while the rear side, used by Mr Hyde, is part of a sinister block of buildings. • Most of the scenes takes place at night.

6. Style: The language is simple and clear : Uttersonthe story is told in the 3rd person from his point of view. He plays the role of a detective. Enfield  a distant relative of Utterson’s. He tells Utterson a terrible story about a man trampling a child. Multi-narrative structure and four narrators: Dr Lanyon  a friend and colleague of Jekyll’s. He tells of his experiencing Jekyll’s transformation. Dr Jekyll his narrative and final confession takes up the last chapter

7. Sources The novel had its origin in a dream:a man in a laboratory swallowed a drug and turned into a different being. The Gothic aspect of this dream excited Stevenson who produced a first draft The Calvinismof Stevenson’s family gave the writer a sense of the duality of man’s nature

8. Influences and interpretations • Darwin’s studiesabout man’s kinship to the animal worldHyde is deformed and abnormal, the symbol of repressed psychological drives. • Jekyll is a Victorian Faust His awareness is a sort of a pact with interior evil that controls him in the end. • A reflection on art itself Jekyll’s discovery may be the artist’s journey into the human psyche.

9. Main theme The double nature of human beings Jekyll and Hyde are the stereotypes of people who are good and evil. • Jekyllhas led a virtuous life  • his face is handsome; • his hands white; • his body islarge and harmonious. • Hydeis pure hate and evil  • his face is pale; • his hands are dark and hairy; • his body is dwarfish and deformed.