The Gothic Novels of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The word 'Gothic', taken from a Germanic tribe, the Goths, stood firstly for 'Germanic' and then 'mediaeval'. It was introduced to fiction by Horace Walpole in 'Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story', and was used to depict its mediaeval setting. As more novelists adopted this Gothic setting; dark and gloomy castles on high, treacherous mountains, with supernatural howling in the distance; other characteristics of the 'Gothic Novel' could be identified. The most dominant characteristic seems to be the constant battle between the good and the dark side of the human soul and how that, given a chance, the dark side of human nature will
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By drinking a 'magical' potion, the second, evil personality of Dr Jekyll is actually given a physical form of its own, rather than just a mental hold over Dr Jekyll and is named Mr Hyde. Mr Hyde is even provided with a dwelling place of his own in Soho, the outcast area of London. When this creature of darkness is first brought into being, he is small and fragile, and appears to be warped, although nobody who meets this Hyde can put his finger on this abnormality. As Mr Enfield says, "he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn't specify the point." During the novel, however, the Hyde personality strengthens and develops, flourishing as a result of the fulfilment of his evil pleasures, which had previously been denied him without a body of his own, eventually overpowering the good side of Doctor Jekyll. This 'doppel-ganger' figure is typical of many other 'Gothic novels', including Confessions of a Justified Sinner, and is used when expressing the continual conflict in the human psyche. The setting of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde does not at first appear to be in keeping with the conventions of the Gothic novel, as there are no looming mountains and crags with deep forests and ruined castles. In fact, it is set in London, but when I examined the setting more closely, I saw that the components of the Gothic setting had been adapted to the modern buildings and surroundings. The laboratory in which Dr Jekyll spends most of his time is described as "a
Gothic literature is a literary genre that began in england in the late 1700’s that “Gothic” refers to medieval buildings, such as castles that were seen typically as dark, dreary, gloomy and mysterious which inspired a mood for many books. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a good of example of gothic literature because it had a gloomy tone commonly found in most gothic literature. This can be found in the first paragraph when the narrator says “ a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit”. This shows“The Fall of the House of Usher” is gothic literature because it sets up a gothic tone in the first paragraph.
Science plays an integral role in the development and findings of many great things that we can benefit from. Integrity along with a specific set of moral standards must always be followed in order to ensure the end result enables a healthy environment for all whom wish to benefit from such studies. Integrity must always play and be the most essential key role in scientific research. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1831) and Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) one is able to conclude that integrity must be maintained while conducting scientific research as a lack of can result in the creation of monsters.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one long social commentary. One of its main themes is breaking down the façade of perfection created by the upper class, and examining what lies underneath. In fact, the whole story is about a man in high society, whose private life is rather an opposite of his public one. In Dr. Jekyll’s letter, Stevenson writes, “I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold slave to my original evil… I was suddenly aware that I had lost in stature,” (Stevenson page 2273). The idea of a “loss in stature” holds a double meaning. Stature, meaning size, can allude to Hyde’s height which is understood to be much less than Jekyll’s own. Yet, stature, meaning stance in society, can also imply that Jekyll, when transformed, no longer hold’s his prominence in his culture. This speaks to the Victorian society’s habit of only portraying the high society as impeccable which Stevenson battles throughout this mysterious case. Another parallel of appearance is described by Nabokov as he states, “The relations of the two are typified by Jekyll’s house, which is half Jeykyll and half Hyde,” (Nabokov 186). The side facing the street filled with others in the upper class is neat, tidy, and welcoming; this is Jekyll’s half. The side facing a dimmer and more dangerous street is dark, looming, and mysterious; similar to Hyde’s
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two horrific tales of science gone terribly wrong. Shelley?s novel eloquently tells the story of a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a living monster out of decomposed body parts, while Stevenson?s novel describes the account of one, Henry Jekyll, who creates a potion to bring out the pure evil side to himself. Although the two scientists differ in their initial response and action to their creations, there are strong similarities between their raging curiosity to surpass human limitation, as well as their lack of responsibility concerning their actions. These similarities raise an
The house that Dr. Jekyll resided in from the front looked like a house of a wealthy man where every known man were welcomed to have dinners with Jekyll. But what the people of the town didn’t pay much attention to how it looked from the back door. It was the laboratory room where Jekyll was transformed into Hyde. Just like majority of the people, Jekyll was putting up a front to impress his friends and keep the uglier side of him in the hidden. Everyone has the dark side within us as they are connected to the person that we are, same as Jekyll’s house and how it was connected to his darker side of the house (the lab).
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written during the height of the Victorian era. In this period, there were huge debates concerning pursuing desire versus doing what was socially acceptable. There were also constant scientific discoveries being made. Stevenson 's piece, using a telescopic framework, is a product of romantic and Victorian traditions since it incorporates Victorian gentlemen, dark romantic subjects and duality within both Victorian and Romantic society. Being a gentleman and upholding your reputation in the Victorian era was the most important character trait, and seeing how a perfect gentleman like Dr. Jekyll could have such an evil side was a shock for society. The actions of Mr. Hyde went completely against social norms and expectations. Romantic topics like the subconscious, fears and nightmares/dreams are also depicted in this work. As well, there is something dark beneath the facade Victorian people wore. The contents of the story have an eerie vibe and demonstrate the potential dangers that people keep hidden. And finally, duality within Victorian and Romantic society is evident throughout the piece with self-control against desires and what’s on the surface against the subconscious. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde takes place during a time of large scale social
We are gathered here today for the trial of Mr. Creation and Victor Henry Frankenstein. The creation is charging his creator, Victor, with negligence, reckless endangerment resulting in the involuntary manslaughter of William Frankenstein, Henry Clerval, and Elizabeth Lavenza, malpractice, emotional, and physical distress. My client, Mr. Creation, has suffered many times at the hand of his creator, and we are here today to see that justice is served for the cruel actions of Mr. Victor Frankenstein. In the following trial, we will be proving the defendant guilty of all the above charges.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was wrote in 18th centuries, the times that were defined as ‘Gothic revival’. The literature in this times had similar thematic elements include supernatural or ‘fantastic’, violent crime (death and murder), passionate romance (often with death). The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was considered as typical Gothic literature. Particularly, repression and hypocrisy are highly emphasized in the novel. Repression is undoubtedly a cause of conflict between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The root of this repression can be found in Victorian England where there was no sexual appetites, no violence and no freedom of expressing emotion in the public sphere. Everything should be restrained and people in that times all behaved solemn and were not allowed to show their joys and sorrows. This repression can be well reflected within Dr. Jekyll in the novel. According to quotation of Stevenson’s description:
villainy in Stoker’s Dracula compare to that of Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This Extended Essay comparing the depravity in nature of the antagonists in these classic literary works will provide a better understanding of what constitutes ‘evil’ in society. Further analysis of the villains will reveal how the authors use them as representations of repressed human nature. My own fascination with the topic, as well as my rapport with gothic classic literature, led me to pursue this research topic.
Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ or ‘The Modern Prometheus’ is a known as a Gothic text. Although Frankenstein is indeed a gothic text, it does not include every element of Gothic text. However it is impossible to read the book without realising that there are a lot of Gothic techniques within. A major part of Gothic literature is mystery, and this is present from the very beginning of the book. We experience mystery firstly in the letters on pp. 15-31. The reader at this stage does not know who is writing the letters (He is soon revealed as Robert Walton) and who the Mrs Saville he is writing to is. This is the first mystery; the
Gothic literature has been popular since the 19th century and has given readers the opportunity to look at romantic movement that focuses on a darker horror like imagination. Some of these involve a combination of extreme landscapes, icy wastes, and extreme weather, horrifying events or the threat of such happenings, as well as supernatural manifestations, and presenting evil. Gothic literature gives us a way of looking more depth into a hero whose identity is identified at the end of a novel (Mullan). Some novels that have given us a chance to look more in depth with gothic literature just like Frankenstein. These novels include Horace Walpole’s Otranto
Throughout the novella there is a constant power struggle between Jekyll and Hyde, which Hyde eventually wins but Jekyll finishes by taking his and his counterpart's life. In the beginning Jekyll is in full control, all he has to do is drink the potion and "Edward Hyde would pass away like a stain of breath upon a mirror". Also another important discovery to know was that in the beginning there was only pain turning into Hyde but as committed more atrocities, Jekyll became more consumed by evil, finding it hard to become himself again. Jekyll soon comes upon the theory that Hyde is smaller in person because Jekyll's evil side has been "less exercised", but as Hyde commits more wrongs his stature becomes stronger. Two weeks before the murder of Sir Danvers, Jekyll is in bed in Sohowhen he falls back to
When Victor Frankenstein was in the two year long process of creating his monster you have to think about what his personal morals were, principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. Everyone has varying personal morals. Dr. Frankenstein goes against the morals of a medical doctor when he wastes his life away slaving over his experiment. He also tries playing God when he sparks the life back into the stitched together corpse. This corpse comes alive and is abandoned by his creator to roam the country without ever having the experience of growing up. Finally, Victor Frankenstein is burdened with the guilt of creating such a horrible creature, proving what he did was wrong. So, in the novel Frankenstein, the extension of life is the real moral question.
The term Gothic refers to a genre that came about in the late eighteenth century. It can be a type of story, clothing, or music nowadays. In this paper it will refer to a style of literature. A very good example of this type of literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is a sense of foreboding throughout the whole novel, which is one of the basic necessities of the Gothic. This theme of the Gothic has different characteristics that all fit into the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster and make this one of the first horror stories every told.
Where Dr Jekyll and Victor Frankenstein are characters who isolate themselves from society more than anything else, Hyde is a solid, living form consisting purely of Jekyll’s immorality, and is rejected from society evenwithout any isolation on his part. It is clear from the moment he is first mentioned in chapter 1, in the conversation between Utterson and Enfield, that he is not someone that is going to be well liked in the story, especially when Enfield describes Hyde as if ‘there is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked.’ Just from this one conversation it soon becomes clear that society has shut this ‘man’ out, particularly when it is revealed that the doctors and everyone in the crowd around the trampled girl in the story feels the same way Enfield does, as if ‘they want to kill him’. The treatment of the Monster in Frankenstein is also very similar to Hyde’s as they were both set around the same time period and the views of immorality were roughly the same, if not worse in Shelley’s earlier