evil" paradigm. However, unlike in earlier gothic works, there is no allusion to priests or monks as players on the side of "evil." In fact, the absence of religion and religious restraints appears to be an element of Stevenson's theme: Jekyll, acting on the doctrine of Rousseau, which is to follow one's "nature," unmoors himself from the restraints traditionally made available by religious conviction. Jekyll, being a man of science, rather than of theology, puts to test the doctrine that divorced the old world from the new, and what he finds is that the doctrine is not good. While the earlier works of gothic horror (like The Monk) pointed out corruption within the clergy, Stevenson's gothic work appears to do the opposite: it points out the corruption in Naturalism: "I not only recognised my natural body from the mere aura and effulgence of certain of the powers that made up my spirit, but managed to compound a drug by which these powers should be dethroned from their supremacy, and a second form and countenance substituted, none the less natural to me because they were the expression, and bore the stamp of lower elements in my soul" (63).
Stevenson's Jekyll ultimately learns that what had been deceptively identified as "natural" was nothing more than the attempt to legitimize fallen human nature. It is this fallen human nature that Jekyll believes he can legitimately embrace (without the "grasp of conscience" (67) as he says) through his transformation into Hyde. Just as Rousseau sought to transform fallen human nature into something untainted by what the medieval world had called Original Sin, Jekyll attempts to transform from a human with a conscience into a human without a conscience.
What Jekyll learns, of course, is that -- as Dostoevsky would write the same...
Curious Case of Filming Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: 1920 versus 2008 Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has evolved into one of the most acclaimed pieces of modern literature. One aspect of this phenomenon is a continual spark of interest with the novel is motion pictures. Various directors through the years have interpreted the book through their own eyes and the following is a depiction of that.
It more appears that Hyde takes his own life simply to stay in control of it, and not for any particular moral reasons. 3. This quotation truly underscores the duality that is the principle concept behind the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. What is of particular interest regarding this quotation is the fact that this duality exists on myriad levels. The most eminent of these, of course,
Scientist Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde This is a paper that outlines the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide as a cautionary tale. It has 6 sources. Novels or films often have several themes running simultaneously together, and authors or directors often highlight more than one theme so that they can portray a maximum amount of their thoughts to the reader. There are certain writers who portray these themes in almost
quintessential elements of grotesque and the burlesque in Edgar Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. The author opens the story with the description of a dreary environment. "DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens"(1846). This introduction is reason enough for an instinctive reader to pre-empt the nature of things
At times Northmour seems to lose control of himself and become almost uncontrollably violent for almost no reason. We encounter this facet of his character at the beginning of the story when the two friends part company. It is as if there is a dark side to his nature which he has to be kept under control. The following quotation from the story clearly shows this aspect of his
While the winner gets a huge amount of money for supposedly being the strongest human, in fact, the strongest human is merely the one that uses the greatest amount of self-centered cunning and brute strength. If one is going to define humanity, especially in the post-Darwinian age, then it would seem that humanity, to be set apart, would depend on altruistic feelings and use of intelligence rather than selfish
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now