The introduction to the Oxford World’s Classics version of
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
concludes with the observation that “the lure is always to seek the final, authoritative interpretation… The better reader is the one who enters the dream-logic of the Gothic knowing its capacities to twist and turn and to elicit then collapse or invert meanings. A text like
Jekyll and Hyde
is over-determined by multiple and often contradictory elements: its final meaning will always be running ahead of us, ducking round the corner like Mr. Hyde, forever just out of reach.”
2
Indeed, researching Stevenson’s time and influences can feel somewhat like a fever dream; it offers a dizzying array of possible interpretations for this rather short tale. In addition, there have been countless adaptations created over the past hundred years, spanning a wide variety of styles and genres. It did not take long for me to realize that sharing such a staggering amount of information with my students would be counterproductive. Though I want to expose my students to the context, implications, and far reaching impact of Stevenson’s text, overwhelming them with information would detract from their ability to really engage with the story and pursue their own perspectives. With that in mind, I have been careful to select a limited amount of my research to actively write into the unit. What follows, however, is a more comprehensive review of what I have discovered. Some of this information may be useful to informally bring up throughout the course of the unit, in response to various student comments and questions.
Stevenson’s Personal Life
While being interviewed in 1887, Stevenson revealed that the idea for
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
came to him in a dream about a man “being pressed into a cabinet, when he swallowed a drug and changed into another being.”
3
Feverishly writing, he composed the tale in three days (or so his family claimed). He did however, rewrite the story entirely over the next several weeks, after throwing the first draft into a fire following criticisms from his wife.
The idea of the double nature of man was not new to Stevenson; he had experimented with this concept in several earlier pieces, but was never fully satisfied with the results. This preoccupation with human duality likely stemmed (at least partially) from Stevenson’s family life, particularly from his strained relationship with his father. Though the two had a close bond, they warred over Stevenson’s lifestyle. Stevenson’s father expected him to join the family profession, engineering, and was not prepared for a son with serious literary ambitions. The father-son relationship was only made more fraught by Stevenson’s opinions on religion, which, despite his pious upbringing, differed greatly from those of his devout parents. Though Stevenson subscribed to his parents’ teachings as a child, having “such a fear of sin and worldliness… that he was tormented by dreams of Hell, to the point where he was afraid to fall asleep lest he die and fall into eternal ruin,”
4
his later life suggests a loosening of these morals. In her article on the origins of
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
, Hilary J. Beattie observes, “Living at home and kept very short of cash by his father, Stevenson increasingly led two lives, one of respectable dinner and tea parties organized by his parents; the other, in the guise of an awkward, shabbily dressed, somewhat affected Bohemian, of high-spirited practical jokes and lowlife dissipations among the sordid public houses and prostitutes of the city.”
5
Stevenson’s own double life likely influenced the character of Henry Jekyll, as well as the ideas of repression that are central to the text. As a young adult, Stevenson no longer suppressed his desires in deference to his parents’ strict religious teachings; however, he still had to sever a part of his identity to maintain his standing in his parents’ home. It is not hard to imagine the guilt that must have come from this split life. Lingering childhood fear of sin, combined with the weight of his parents’ disappointment and anger? Sounds like a recipe for a conflicted and chaotic mind much like that of Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Despite numerous arguments and periods of brief rebellion, Stevenson remained close to his parents throughout his life (as well as being financially dependent on them). He even served as his father’s caretaker as the man aged and fell victim to dementia. Witnessing his father’s unstable condition likely contributed to Stevenson’s invention of Jekyll’s increasingly erratic mind. In fact, in letters, Stevenson even referred to his father as “Hyde” on days when his illness caused especially severe behavior. There is also evidence that Stevenson thought of himself as Hyde at times, as one of the letters he wrote to his mother was signed “Yours – (I think) Hyde – (I wish) Jekyll.”
6
Though critics suggest that Stevenson may have been depicting his relationship with his father in
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(viewing Hyde as the ostracized son who both loves and hates his father and struggles for acceptance), the letters imply more complexity, with Stevenson seeing qualities of both Jekyll and Hyde infecting both sides of the relationship.
Stevenson’s Cultural Influences
In the late nineteenth century, an English journalist, Richard Proctor, wrote extensively on dual consciousness, particularly referencing two case studies involving multiple personality disorder. His writings brought scientific theories about the “double brain” into public awareness.
7
Late Victorian scientists recognized differences between the left and right brain and hypothesized that these hemispheres could function independently. They posited that mental disorders, hysteria, and even criminal behavior were a result of an imbalance of brain hemispheres. Specifically, they believed that those who relied too heavily on the right brain, which was associated with feminine and “uncivilized” emotions and impulses, would exhibit deviant behavior. In an article that examines
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
through the context of the double brain theory, Anne Stiles gives a Victorian diagnosis of Dr. Jekyll: “Jekyll initially relies too heavily on his left hemisphere, and then shifts the balance too sharply toward the right. In each instance, he inadvertently creates the brain asymmetry that leads to his mental illness and criminality.”
8
Though this reading exposes the prejudices of Victorian society, as well as a preoccupation with socially correct behavior, it also sheds light on the true problem at the heart of the story. It is not the existence of Edward Hyde that ultimately leads to Jekyll’s destruction, but rather Jekyll’s own inability to
balance
his baser impulses.
Because Stevenson is not entirely specific about the “appetites” that Jekyll wishes to indulge, there has been much speculation about the true nature of Hyde’s crimes. Some critics suggest that the tale contains veiled references to homosexuality. In 1885, the Criminal Law Amendment Act was passed, outlawing “gross indecency.” Although this term was not specifically defined, it was used to bring criminal charges against men for homosexual activity and was referred to as the “Blackmailer’s Charter.”
9
Because Stevenson withholds the information that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person until the end of the novel, his contemporaries would be forced to speculate about the nature of this relationship. With a cast of characters comprised almost entirely of unmarried men and the suggestion that the unsavory Hyde may be blackmailing Dr. Jekyll, it is possible that Stevenson was writing, in part, about homosexual desire. Though this theory can never be definitively proved, it would be an interesting addition to our conversations about the repression of socially deviant behavior.
During the 1880s, London was experiencing a significant economic decline. As years of poor trade spiraled into a depression, a wide range of occupations and industries were significantly affected. The growing urban population and insufficient housing only exacerbated the problem. Living conditions grew so poor that social unrest began to threaten the status quo of upper and middle class life. In 1886, Henry James wrote, “Nothing of it appears above the surface; but there’s an immense underworld peopled with a thousand forms of revolutionary passion and devotion… And on top of it all society lives… In silence, in darkness, but under the feet of each one of us, the revolution lives and works.”
10
Prosperous Victorians lived in fear of a revolution that would threaten their way of life. This description, of an invisible threat seething under the surface of London, calls to mind the double nature of Jekyll’s soul. Outwardly respectable, Jekyll mirrors the everyday life of upper and middle class London, while beneath, Hyde lurks, threatening violence, much like the perceived threat of London’s poor. At this time, there was also a deeply rooted cultural anxiety about the poisonous influence of a large, degenerate lower class. In his book,
Outcast London
, Gareth Stedman Jones writes of how the poor were viewed: “Herded into slums where religion, propriety, and civilization were impossible, interspersed with criminals and prostitutes, deprived of light and air, craving for drink and ‘cheap excitement’, the ‘residuum’ was large enough to engulf civilized London.”
11
The word “engulf” speaks to the (perhaps irrational) fear that the moral vices of London’s lowest class would entice and eventually corrupt society’s betters. It is hard to read this quote in the context of Stevenson’s work without applying this description to Hyde, who would fit neatly into a slum offering “cheap excitements.” It is interesting to speculate about whether or not Stevenson shared his contemporaries’ fear of the lower classes. Regardless of the answer, Hyde could represent a physical manifestation of this culture’s anxieties about the various threats of London’s economic and social decline.
Stevenson’s Narrative Structure
The structure of
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
can be disconcerting, particularly for those who are already familiar with the concept of the
Jekyll and Hyde
story. Though today it is common knowledge that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, this information is not actually revealed to readers until the end of the story. Stevenson leads up to this revelation in a roundabout way, telling the story from the perspective of various narrators, including the observations of Jekyll’s friend and lawyer, Mr. Utterson, a letter composed by Dr. Lanyon, and Dr. Jekyll’s own “statement of the case.” Though the story itself fits neatly into the genre of Gothic literature, the detached, objective narrative style and presentation of the case evokes a feel of scientific writing. Anne Stiles speculates on the implications of this story that is at odds with its telling. She explains, “By mimicking the case study within a Gothic romance, Stevenson lays bare the limitations of scientific prose, particularly its inadequacy in light of complex moral and social realities impossible to relate in purely empirical terms… [Jekyll] struggle[s] to maintain scientific objectivity in the face of a terrifying subjective reality that threatens to overwhelm him.”
12
Scientific case studies of the 19
th
century would rely on narrative patient histories as data and evidence. Stiles argues that Stevenson deliberately styled
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as a case study in order to critique this type of scientific writing. By crafting a fictional story that could fit into the confines of a scientific case study, Stevenson may have been pointing out that narrative patient histories are far from objective fact. In addition, the character of Henry Jekyll blurs the lines between doctor and patient, because he acts as both. Stevenson may have been questioning the power dynamics between doctors and patients. Finally, it is interesting to note that the novel’s duality of form mirrors the duality that the story explores.
Transition to Stage and Film
Early adaptations of
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
, such as Thomas Russell Sullivan’s stage play and John Robertson’s 1920 film, make several adjustments to the story. The most obvious change is the addition of female characters, who serve as Jekyll’s love interest and Hyde’s sex object. This normalizes the story into the conventional expectations of bourgeois society. By spending too much time on intellectual pursuits, Jekyll threatens the domestic sphere; his losses relate to family life and social respectability, rather than to his own mind and soul. In addition, his sexual desires are shown to corrupt him, aligning the story with religious thinking. Stevenson did not approve of these changes, as he felt they deemphasized the true evil of the story. In an 1887 letter, Stevenson wrote, “The harm was in Jekyll, because he was a hypocrite – not because he was fond of women… The Hypocrite let out the beast Hyde – who is no more sexual than another, but who is the essence of cruelty and malice, and selfishness and cowardice: and these are the diabolic in man – not this poor wish to have a woman, that they make such a cry about.”
13
Other notable changes in these early adaptations are the shifting of the narrative structure so that the tale unfolds chronologically (the Jekyll/Hyde parallel is revealed early, with an elaborately staged transformation) and a concerted effort to valorize Jekyll. Rather than exploring hypocrisy and contradiction, these early adaptations set the precedent of realigning the story within the confines of classic tragedy. Henry Jekyll therefore becomes the hero. A respected member of society and an honorable man, he is shown to be caring and selfless, dedicating his life to providing medical treatment to the poor. His downfall does not result from evil per se; he instead falls victim to the bane of many classic heroes – hubris. As Brian A. Rose comments in his study of
Jekyll and Hyde
adaptations, these early versions of the story establish Jekyll as “the good man who went too far,” rather than delving into the complex narrative of Jekyll’s inner life and “enforced repression.”
14
Film Adaptation in the 1930s and 1940s
Though Freud was already published at the time of Robertson’s 1920 film, his theories had not quite yet entered into popular culture. Later adaptations however, reveal a cultural awareness of elements of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Most notably, adaptations from this era contain telling imagery during the iconic transformation scene. In Rouben Mamoulian’s 1931 film, the camera spins around the room, creating a dizzying effect. Interposed on this are various images – Jekyll telling his fiancé that he cannot wait any longer, other men speaking of things that are “indecent” and “not done,” and finally a woman’s sensually swinging leg. This focuses the audience’s attention on Jekyll’s sexual desires, as well as the pressure he feels to obey society’s rules of propriety. Victor Fleming’s 1941 film also takes us into Jekyll’s psyche during the moment of transformation. An image of flowers emerging from the water gives way to shots of two women – Jekyll’s fiancé and an alluring barmaid he had recently encountered. The vision ends with Jekyll whipping the two women, who have taken the place of horses on the screen. This version in particular calls to mind Freud’s ideas of repressed experiences and desires returning as perversions.
Though early critics and adaptors of Stevenson’s work also added female characters and associated Hyde with sex, the 1931 and 1941 adaptations reveal a cultural shift. These films showcase sexual satiation as Hyde’s primary obsession, rather than as only one of his many appetites. The transformation scenes in particular encourage a psychoanalytic reading; Freudian criticism often labels Hyde as the instinctive
id
and Jekyll as the rational
ego
.
In
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde after One Hundred Years
, Virginia Wright Wexman raises another point that gives insight to the
Jekyll and Hyde
adaptations of this era. In Mamoulian’s film, Hyde is presented with darker skin and stereotypically black racial characteristics. Wexman explains, “In Jekyll and Hyde, it is the monster’s determination to appropriate the sexuality of white womanhood that defines his malevolence… The abomination represented by Hyde’s sexual appetite is made palpable by his hideousness. While Jekyll’s handsome demeanor is often enhanced by backlighting and is set off by the grace of his carriage, the coarse, typically underlit features of Hyde are complemented by stealthy, apelike movements. Thus, the racial overtones inherent in the representation of Hyde are intimately associated with his physical repulsiveness.”
15
When seen in this way, the film serves to reinforce racial tensions and perhaps even relegates black sexuality to the realm of the socially unacceptable. This may be an interesting concern to explore with students.
Adaptation Theory
In the preface to the book,
Jekyll and Hyde Adapted: Dramatizations of Cultural Anxiety
, Brian A. Rose introduces two terms that work well for examining the impact of
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
, and thus will be particularly useful for students during this unit.
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
is an example of a “tracer-text.” Rose explains that tracer-texts “are adopted as the bases of adaptational families (group-texts) because they are viable tools for the transmission of weighty themes and potent iconographic imagery.”
16
Stevenson’s story speaks to an inherent human struggle. Thus, its themes can transcend its time period. There are countless
Jekyll and Hyde
adaptations because each new cultural context can reimagine Jekyll’s story and claim his central conflict as its own.
As defined by Rose, all these various adaptations comprise the
Jekyll and Hyde
“culture-text,” which “evolves from the… interaction between cultures of generation/reception, the original story (or seed text) upon which the adaptations are based, and the family of adapted versions that grows from it as the process of serial adaptation proceeds over time.”
17
What Rose stresses is the fact that adaptation does not just happen linearly; not all adaptations are based strictly on the original text, but rather, they often affect each other.
