What Is Gothic Literature In Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde

First published in 1885, Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story about a distinguished Victorian doctor, Henry Jekyll, who discovers a way to transform himself into another persona, Edward Hyde, who unlocks or amplifies thoughts, feelings, and desires not normally expressed by Dr. Jekyll but are the norm for Mr. Hyde. A scene of the text will be analyzed. A comparison will be made as to the motives of Hyde’s actions between Darwin’s theory of evolution and an evil nature as described in the Holy Bible. Both of these were hot topics of culture in the Victorian era as Darwin’s views were starting to challenge the Bible as the

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Gothic literature is a style of writing dating back to 1764, some of the most important elements of this writing style are of an eerie setting and mental decay, stories that made great use of these elements are: “The Raven”, “Black Cat”, “The House of Usher”, and “The Devil and Tom Walker”. The authors use the gothic element of eerie setting so that they can enhance the mood of the story and of mental decay to highlight what the conflict in the characters’ lives is causing.

Gothic literature, which is sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre that links horror and romance into one tale of ‘transgressing the boundaries’. Gothicism was unheard of until the late 1700’s, this movement into a new genre of literature. This was pioneered by the English author Horace Walpole, in his famous fictional book ‘The Castle of Otranto’, or as Walpole alternatively titled it ‘a Gothic story’. Horace Walpole himself had transgressed the boundaries slightly; by introducing this new style of writing he had added a whole new genre into literature. Walpole’s style of writing was unique and captivated the readers mind and

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Stevenson shows how repression can lead to the development of dangerous, horrible secrets. The novella depicts repression through the character of Dr. Henry Jekyll, and shows what kind of threats it could pose on the society and its individuals. Edward Hyde is Dr. Jekyll’s doppelganger. He is the manifestation of Dr. Jekyll’s suppressed thoughts and desires. When Dr. Jekyll transformed into Hyde he turned the tables around. He challenged society. The transformation of a typical, respected Victorian gentleman into a troglodytic, dwarfish creature is an unsettling secret that highlights Gothicism in the novella. The idea of transforming from a high class Victorian gentleman into an apelike atavist underlines society’s fear of social and moral regression (Clausson, 2005).

Mary Shelley creates a sense of gloom, mystery, and suspense, in her novel Frankenstein. The book generates these perceptions though the setting and the terrible events that go on throughout the book. Gothic novels came from the English genre of fiction popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Gothics are defined by the mysterious and horrific atmosphere, similar to that of Mary Shelley’s writing. Frankenstein is a gothic novel because of the combined elements of extreme and sinister landscapes, horrifying events, supernatural elements, and a passionate, wilful villain.

This book, published in 1886 by C. Scribner’s Sons, is called “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. The book was written by Robert Louis Stevenson and is a mystery book. The book is also quite short and is only 138 pages long. The book, so far is quite strange. It’s very interesting because the author is very interested in writing about evil. That fact alone adds to the suspense about this mystery book.

The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a science fiction/horror narrative that follows a lawyer, Mr. Utterson, who is in charge of Dr. Jekyll’s will. He after hearing horror stories about a mysterious man named Mr. Hyde, he worries about the recent change in Dr. Jekyll's will that give everything to Mr. Hyde. The story continues as Mr. Utterson begins to unravel the truth. Stevenson portrays many themes throughout the novel but one stands out which is the contrast between good and evil. Stevenson demonstrates the theme of good and evil through the characters: Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Utterson, and Mr. Hyde.

Gothic Literature is a style of writing found in many books. It combines fiction with horror, death, and sometimes romance. It includes settings, which are usually dark and scary, characters, with some hidden morals, a plot that might have a horrifying twist at the end, and supernatural entities. Strange Angels by LiLi ST. Crow, who is known for Gothic Literature style novels, is a great example of Gothic Literature because it includes horror, death, a strong heroine, and supernatural beings.

Stephen King's The Boogeyman was my favorite piece of gothic literature that we read. I was trying to figure the story out all the way until the end and had to re-read some of it to fully understand. It was suspenseful, scary, but also had a good story to listen to. The Boogeyman was full of gloomy settings, monsters, characters in distress, and intense emotions. These 4 things are just a couple elements that make up gothic literature.

This is important because the author was able to show us many different views and looks upon the Victorian society and their social repression; “Victorian literature’ intensity of grief and it’s apprehensions of despair rival some of that intensity derives from a paradoxical acknowledgment of uselessness and analytics from Sigmund Freud.” (Dunn 417) There are common characteristics concerning themes and settings used in literature published during the Victorian Era. “The Gothic element of The Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is represented via the theme of doubling. This is revealed to the reader by the horrifying transformation of Dr. Henry Jekyll into the atavistic murderer Edward Hyde.” (Writersinspire.org) The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde correlates the struggle between dealing with the impurity of human nature and dealing with moral

rigid conservatism, in which the English society was subject to specific rules and limitations. However, it is during the latter half of this period – after many advancements in biology, medicine, and psychology – that these works were actually written – Dracula (1897) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). They called into question the concept of evil and the true nature of man.

The term gothic fiction implies a British literary genre from the late eighteenth, and early nineteenth century. The modernized term seems to have been generalized into anything that is dark, gloomy, or depressing. Gothic novels often time posses an emphasis on portraying the terror, a prominent use of supernatural circumstances, the presence of highly stereotyped characters, and the attempt to display techniques of literary suspense. There are also other parallels among this vastly popular genre. Gothic novels often time describe the city of London in corresponding ways. Also a common theme amongst gothic literary works is the duality of human nature, or the quality or characteristic of being twofold. These mutual themes are apparent in