Page 3 - R.L. Stevenson

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Plot and characters
The strange case of Dr Jekyll and M. Hyde is a Gothic tale by the Sco^sh writer Robert Louis Stevenson. The tale is mainly told from the perspecSve of Gabriel John U_erson, a London lawyer who invesSgates the singular relaSonship between his old friend, Dr Jekyll, and the evil Mr Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is a respected scienSst and a respectable gentleman, known for his charible work while Mr. Hyde is an ugly and deformed man, violent and cruel.
U_erson hears by chance the story of how Hyde, trampled on a girl and on this occasion was helped by Dr. Jekyll who gave him the money to pay the girl’s parents. When U_erson meets Hyde, he is shocked. He wonders why his respectable friend knows such a person. Later on U_erson discovers that Jekyll in his will has lea all his properSes to Hyde. A year later, Sir Carew is brutally murdered by Hyde. The murder weapon is Dr Jekyll's walking cane. Jekyll is upset by this and refuses to speak to anybody. Hyde disappers.
U_erson visits Jekyll’s old friend Lanyon on his deathbed because he is concerned about Jekyll. Lanyon refuses to speak about Jekyll and gives U_erson a le_er that must only be opened at the death of Jekyll.
One evening , Jekyll’s servant goes to U_erson and asks him to go Jekyll's house. They break down the laboratory door and find Hyde dead in Jekyll’s clothes. As Jekyll has disappeared, U_erson reads Dr Lanyon's le_er and Jekyll's confession and discovers the true nature of Jekyll's experiments and the true idenSty of Mr Hyde. We learn that Jeckyll’s has conducted secret experiments developing a drug that transforms him into his evil alter-ego, Mr Hyde. Jekyll has a dark, immoral side which is acSvated by the experiment. At first Jekill controls his evil double, but eventually, Hyde becomes stronger and takes over. This results in their death: Dr Jekyill has commi_ed suicide to eliminate Hyde.
A Gothic novel
Stevenson wrote D. Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the form of the Gothic novel - a literary genre originaSng from the 18th century, which describes a sinister, grotesque or mysterious atmosphere. Such novels are oaen set in dark places, castles or ruined buildings. Stevenson's choice of London as his se^ng suggests that the rapidly changing city was becoming to some of its inhabitants a strange and frightening place.
Themes
The key themes in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are:
§ the risks of scienSfic
development; its effect on the natural order of things and its relaSonship with religion and morality,
§ the ambiguity or duality of human nature, the idea that everyone’s personality has a good and evil side. but what is important is how you behave and the decisions you make. The choices people make determine whether a person is good or not.