Robert Louis Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson

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Dr Jekyll, a client and a friend of the lawyer Mr Utterson, has willed all his worldly possessions to Mr Hyde. Mr Utterson has heard terrible stories about Mr Hyde, and wants to preserve the reputation of the good doctor. The lawyer tries to obtain more information about Mr Hyde, a vile, depraved man who has been violent toward helpless, innocent people. Eventually, a letter from Dr Jekyll surfaces which explains his scientific experiments and shows the duality of human nature--a virtuous side and an evil alter ego. Mr. Hyde is the vilest parts of Dr. Jekyll; the side of himself that he refuses to acknowledge because he is afraid and disgusted with it.

Facts and Trivia

Robert Louis Stevenson's story ideas often came to him in dreams. He was awakened by his wife when he was thrashing around during a "fine bogey-tale." He developed it into this novella by writing straight through three days and nights. His wife suggested that he should add allegorical aspects to the horror story so he burned the first story, and rewrote it in another marathon writing session.

Stevenson uses wonderful Gothic descriptions of the dark London streets with fog swirling around in the moonlight whenever the story is centered on Mr Hyde. Written in 1885, the story has a Victorian feeling to it because of the dark descriptions, and the emphasis on good vs evil, civilized vs primitive.

"Man is not truly one, but truly two."

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