Lack of Female Characters in The Strange Case of Dr....

Even the most casual reader can note the fact that there are very few female characters present in Robert Louis Stevensons 19th century novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Those that are found within the work hardly constitute as substantial ones none of the women have more than a few lines of dialogue and appear within the tale for longer than a chapter or two. A bevy of critics have pointed out the fact that such an egregious omission is hardly coincidental in fact, more than a few have cited the fact that this piece of literature functions as a protest regarding the degree of womens liberation that the New Woman possessed near the turn of the 20th century in Victorian England (Reed 2). When considered through this feminist lens, it becomes easily discernible to the prudent reader that Stevenson portrayed no female characters in a positive light and simply used them to reinforce negative aspects of femininity, which he believed were rapidly changing for the worse. Some critics have advanced the notion that one of the reasons there is such a paucity of women and of strong, beneficent women in particular within this story is due to what they represented in typical Victorian England society. Women were generally viewed as a social force or a source of authority which reinforces this fiction of coherent male identity (Doane and Hodges 63). This quotation suggests the fact that women were generally the keepers of morality and virtue within VictorianShow MoreRelatedComparing The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1599 Words   |  7 Pages‘The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’ And ‘Frankenstein’ When comparing the similarities and differences between Mary Shelley’s story of ‘Frankenstein’ and Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of ‘The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde’, it was found that although the characters in both stories suffer an unhealthy obsession/addiction to their scientific work and even though both Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll had good intentions for their creations, the outcome of the Monster and Mr. Hyde wereRead MoreDr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde2521 Words   |  11 PagesUncovering Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story is based on a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. This novel was composed as a shilling shocker. A shilling shocker is a short, graphic book. This whole novel is based in Victorian England. Noting the servants, differences between the rich and poorRead MoreDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: A View Into Societal Changes in the 19th Century1398 Words   |  6 Pages The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, based on a man with pure intentions, who ends up turning himself into a viscous murderer. Dr. Henry Jekyll is a well-known doctor and respected man, known for doing numerous acts of kindness and work for charities. However, since he was a young boy, he secretly engaged in wrongful behavior, and from then on, was determined to experiment and find a way to separate his good side from his bad. What would then be known as, Mr. Hyde. Mr. Edward Hyde is describedRead MoreA feminist reading of Doris Lessing’s ‘To Room Nineteen’ and ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ by Robert Louis Stevenson using ideas discussed in ‘The Second Sex’ by Simone de Beauvoir2446 Words   |  10 Pagesï » ¿A feminist reading of Doris Lessing’s ‘To Room Nineteen’ and ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ by Robert Louis Stevenson using ideas discussed in ‘The Second Sex’ by Simone de Beauvoir. The concept of Simone de Beauvoir’s myth of women discussed in ‘The Second Sex’ was still very much prevalent in the 1960s when ‘To Room nineteen’ was set and certainly at the time of ‘Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. In the 1960s, in accordance with the second wave of feminism, women were thoughtRead More Repressed Personality and Sexual Subtleties in Robert Louis Stevenson Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde1366 Words   |  6 PagesRepressed Personality and Sexual Subtleties in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Tragedies of repression In the reference book Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia Stevenson is noted for saying that fiction should render the truths that make life significant (760). We see this most closely in his Jekyll/Hyde experiment when Jekyll explains why he invented his infamous potion. Jekyll says: I concealed my pleasures; and when I reached years of reflection...I stood already committed to a profoundRead MoreDr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1887 Words   |  8 Pagesperson† when he consumes his particular poison. â€Å"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† is the story of an addict whose inebriated self just happens to have a different name. It does not matter what the solution he drinks for his transformation is supposed to represent, whether alcohol, opium, heroin, or some other substance—he checks off every box for addictive and self destructive behavior. There can be no clearer interpretation of â€Å"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† than that it is a polemic against the prevale ntRead MoreThe View of Human Nature Presented in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde3064 Words   |  13 Pagespresent in the novel The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Question: What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel â€Å"The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde†? Throughout Stevenson’s life he experienced things by looking at them in two different perspectives. He later went on to exhibit his experiences by writing a novel about split personality called â€Å"The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde†. This essay will commentRead MoreVictorian Literature Essay2858 Words   |  12 Pagesthe gothic thriller, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson adopts a similar vision to that of Dickens and Tennyson in aiming to reveal the apparent disparage of the working-class. Within the novel, the dissimilarity between Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde â€Å"Jekyll had more than a fathers interest; Hyde had more than a sons indifference† emphasises the vast gap between the lower and upper classes. Stevenson uses the word â€Å"father† to describe Dr. Jekyll, the sophisticated and mild-manneredRead MoreBackground of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay2077 Words   |  9 PagesBackground of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was published in 1886 and is one of the best known of Stevensons novels. It concerns the way in which an individual is made up of contrary emotions and desires: some good and some evil. Through the curiosity of Utterson, a lawyer, we learn of the ugly and violent Mr Hyde and his oddRead MoreMans Duality in R.L. Stevensons The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde1820 Words   |  8 Pagesmans duality in R L Stevensons The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde portrays mans duality to perfection. This story can be classified as Science Fiction. He scientist Dr Jekyll wants to have self-satisfaction that he can master two personalities with perfection. The Victorian Society is the backdrop of this novel and the moral code turns people into hypocrites because they lead double lives. Dr. jekyll is a renowned doctor and a scientist