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Analysis Of The Book ' Where Dr. ' Jekyll '

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(Aronson 2) Being from Edinburgh, Stevenson was surrounded with the well-known tales of the past and a history of duality in his hometown. Deacon Brodie and Dr. Knox were both from Edinburgh and both lived “double-lives”, this undoubtedly had a major impact upon Stevenson’s imagination and later his writings. (Stefan 5)
“While growing up Stevenson had a friend and the son of Sir James Simpson, the developer of medical anesthesia, the two friends would “experiment” with chloroform, for the enjoyment of it.” (Stefan 5) This experimenting carries a familiarity with it that would later be found in the character of Dr. Jekyll in Stevenson’s novel, where Dr. Jekyll tells in the letter upon his death that he began turning himself into Mr. Hyde …show more content…

(Aronson 2) Stevenson and more so his parents, saw the duality in this. “Stevenson returned to Grez in 1877. He was not practicing law, nor was he earning much from his writing, having published less than ten essays in 1876. He was financially dependent on his parents, who were shocked to learn that he was courting a married woman.” (Aronson 2) Stevenson was showing love, but at the same time he was committing an act of evil. After difficult circumstances and chasing his love half way around the world, Stevenson married the woman and came back to his home in Edinburgh. (Aronson 2) One morning in the fall of 1885, Stevenson had a nightmare that his wife woke him from. He was upset that his wife had awoken him, but soon after began writing The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stevenson’s stepson, Lloyd Osborne said, “Louis would write feverously, then read for a while and then continue writing. I doubt if the first draft [of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde] took so long as three days. (Livesey 3)

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