Context Flashcards
Why did RLS insist that Jekyll was pronounced like ‘Jeekle’?
Because that’s how it would have been pronounced in a Scottish accent and also so that ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ rhymed with ‘Hide and seek’.
The Edinburgh that RLS grew up in was a city of great contrast because…
There was the new-town that made the city like a stylish European city and then there was the darker, medieval old-town that was grim and dangerous.
Who was the wardrobe in RLS’s room built by?
The legendary Deacon Brodie who was a respected cabinet maker by day and an old-town burglar at night. –> idea of duality
Who were Burke and Hare?
They were men that supplied corpses to the anatomy classes for money. They smothered their victims to supply the freshest corpses.
What short story of RLS was the forerunner of J + H?
The Bodysnatcher
What did RLS do after leaving Edinburgh?
He travelled for 10 years until his doctor told him to settle down in the seaside town of Bournemouth for his health.
What did his parents do when they found out he was marrying Fanny?
They were so thrilled that the bought them a house and gave Fanny £500 to furnish it.
What did Fanny do to the first manuscript of Jekyll and Hyde?
She pointed out that it was allegorical which caused RLS to go into a rage and throw the manuscript into the fire.
When was the book published?
In January 1886 and within 9 months had sold 40,000 copies in Britain alone.
What made people want to read the book more in 1888?
The rise of the serial killer ‘Jack the Ripper’ who killed prostitutes (The Whitechapel murders) . The book of Jekyll and Hyde was set in London where Jack the Ripper killed people so it made it all the more thrilling and frightening of a book.
Where in London is J+H set?
Soho
What was Soho like?
Crime-ridden, darker part of London
What is ‘Atavism’?
Lombroso’s theory of atavism presents that some people are born criminal
What similarities did Lombroso find between thousands of criminals?
That they shared physical appearances such as a sloped brow, pronounced jaw, large ears etc.
What atavistic traits does Hyde have?
He is pale and dwarfish
What kind of novel is J+H?
Epistolary
What was the structural theory of the mind by Sigmund Freud?
That a person’s personality is made out of three elements: the id, ego, superego.
What parts of the mind could Jekyll and Hyde be representing?
It could be interpreted that Hyde represents an individual controlled by the id, whereas Jekyll could symbolise the ego.
What did Stevenson achieve by setting up the conflict between the id and ego?
He is including information that is relevant to readers at the time of the publication as Freud’s work was very popular.
What is the id?
The primitive and instinctual part of the psyche that contains hidden sexual and aggressive desires.
What is the ego?
Represents the outward version of a person and is often the balance between the id and superego.
How did Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution have an effect on RLS’s writing?
RLS played on fears of degeneration and devolution by giving Hyde ape-like and caveman esque features.
What is graphology?
A method of identifying the traits of an individual through his/her handwriting.
What is physiognomy?
The art of judging character from facial characteristics.
What is phrenology?
The study of the conformation of the skull as indicative of mental faculties and traits of character.
