context Flashcards
when was the book published?
5th January 1886
where was Stevenson from?
Scotland
what was he best known for writing?
pirate stories and children’s poems
what was his inspiration for the novel?
he had a very adult nightmare- he saw Hyde in his nightmare
what is important about Jekyll’s name being pronounced in a certain way?
meant to rhyme with seek-all
the Scottish accent of saying the name
what is Hyde’s name an aptronym for?
to “hide”
what was Stevenson’s childhood like?
joyless-filled with insomnia, fear, painful days
where did Stevenson grow up in Edinburgh?
17 Heriot Roe
what was significant about Heriot Roe?
it was the new town in Edinburgh
what profession was RLS’s dad involved in?
his father came from a family of engineers who built most of Scotland’s deep sea lighthouses
what profession was RLS’s mother involved in?
from a family of advocates and minister of the church
how did RLS grow up?
he was an only child that grew up to the Victorian rules of Edinburgh’s highest class- respectable being a honourable phrase
who was Stevenson’s closest relationship to?
his full time Calvanist nurse- she read the Bible to him many times
what did he said the idea of sin was like to him?
the idea of sin was “strangely attractive”- perhaps links to the idea of Jekyll’s sin (turning into Hyde) being attractive
what is the setting of where RLS grew up in comparisable to?
he grew up in Edinburgh- the city was clear and bright (like Cavendish Square)- the other side was a medieval old town- dark and dangerous (Soho)
what did RLS become fed up of?
the oppressive, presbyterian views of his parents- was drawn to the old town- symbolic of the setting of Jekyll’s lab
who built his wardrobe in his bedroom?
Deacon Brodie
what is symbolic about Deacon Brody?
he was a respected cabinet maker by day, burgular at night- just like Jekyll and Hyde
what idea began to take place in RLS’s mind?
the idea that behind a man’s eyes, there was an inner darkness
what did RLS break away from?
the established Edinburgh society
what did RLS study at university?
engineering- he was a man of science
what did RLS spend his days at university doing as opposed to his nights?
at uni- spent his days working in a surgical theatre and his nights climbing a never-ending circular staircase in the old town (was just a dream)
what happened due to his recurring dreams?
the doctor gave him a sedative
what was RLS’s recuring dream about?
the ambition that was expected of him- the “never-ending spiral staircase”
how was his guilt shown in his recuring dream?
the guilt of being such a privileged student- shown by the down and outs
what were people who stole bodies called?
resurrection men
what was RLS’s story of the “Body Snatcher”?
he adopted the story of Burke and Hare into a short story- RLS changed the story to make the professor and doctor (Dr Knox) the body snatcher- respectable doctor by day, body snatcher by night- the forerunner of J&H
why did RLS move out of Edinburgh in 1873?
he called it an “inclement city with its obsessive concern for respectability”
what did RLS want to write about?
man’s hypocrisy and man’s double being
how many words did RLS write in 3 days?
30,000
how many days did RLS take to write the novel?
6 days
what did Fanny know about her own husband?
he had a “heart of darkness”
what did everyone know about RLS?
J&H was an aberation of a sick and twisted mind
what did critics say the book was?
a morality case, not a horror
how many copies did the book sell in the next 9 months?
40,000 just in Britain alone
what was Sigmund Freud studying at the time?
the hypnosis and hysteria of man as a way of reaching the inner person
what was their a new science of that was beginning to take off?
the new science of sexual pathology
what do critics believe the story could be about?
a father son relationship
oppressed homosexuality
fear/hatred of women
the battle between the conscious and the unconscious mind
about RLS’s own divided personality- between the man of action inside his head and the disabled artist he saw inside the mirror
when did the Jack the Ripper cases take place?
between 31st August and 9th November- 5 women who had turned to prostitution were murdered by Jack the Ripper who was never found
what was significant about the timing of the first Jack the Ripper case?
happened at August 1888 at the same time of Richard Mansfield’s play in the West End AND J&H was on sale in the bookshops
and the new priesthood- was getting bad accusations of knife-happy surgeons taking advantage of vulnerable women to leering medical students
why was J&H remade?
to suit the public’s darkest interests- in every future adaption, Hyde was a serial killer of prostitutes- Hyde the Ripper
who was Stevenson more like- Jekyll or Hyde?
Mr Hyde
what did people say about his nightmares?
the gnomes in his nightmares had the names of Jekyll and Hyde although they would respond to the name “Stevenson”- the book is a memoir written for him
