jekyll and hyde - threat of science on christian belief Flashcards
a new province of knowledge…
the unbelief of satan - metaphor - refers to jekylls desire to push the boundries of science to explore hidden areas of human nature - shows how unorthodox methods put chistian thinking at risk - hyde is tempting lanyon to watch the transformation just like satan does in the bible. lanyone stays which is what hyde wants as it shows jekyll was not ‘wrong in mind’, lanyon realises how strong and true science is and he would rather die than to live with that fear.
he began to go…
wrong in mind - uses euphemism to express his discomfort and moral disapproval of Jekyll’s scientific pursuits. about jekyll, this hints at jekylls obsession with unorthodox science which becomes his hamartia. The phrase “wrong in the mind” shows how Jekyll’s science goes too far, especially in messing with identity and the soul. This would have scared Victorian readers, as it challenges Christian beliefs about how God made humans. Stevenson is warning that trying to play God through science can lead to destruction, like it does for both Jekyll and Lanyon.
something troglodytic
Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged the Bible and the idea that humans were made in God’s image. the idea that man could devolve was terrifying to a christian audience, the idea of evolution suggests that it stips away the human soul and turn man into a beast, which directly threatens christian ideas of creation. the adjective ‘troglodytic’ describes Hyde as primitive. science shows Christians that man has a dual nature through showing Hyde as regressing to primitive forms of life.
