Religion Flashcards
“I incline to Cain’s heresy”
Stevenson references the biblical story of Cain and Abel in “I incline to Cain’s heresy”. Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve. In the story Cain murders his brother Abel as he is jealous that God prefers the sacrifices Abel makes to please God. Some people believe that Cain is therefore the origin of greed and evil. The comparison to the two brothers, one good and one evil, is symbolic of the duality found within Jekyll and Hyde. The story implies that evil is intrinsic to human nature - therefore Jekyll cannot truly ever get rid of his evil traits, and does not change as a person himself when he creates Hyde.
“law of life”
In Jekyll’s confession, the reader is shown the way in which he has considered and question the nature of existence. He refers to the “law of life”, the phrase is emphasised by Stevenson’s use of alliteration. The connotations of human dictated justice in “law” are juxtaposed with the natural connotations of “life” implying that he sees society to be at odds with God. By considering life this deeply, a contemporary reader may argue that Jekyll has earned his punishment by meddling with God’s business.
“dry divinities”
Christianity had a strong influence on many aspects of Victorian England. Evangelicals taught that humans were inherently evil - and that people needed to beg for forgiveness from God. To be offered repentance from god, people needed to live by a strict moral code to avoid sinning. All the characters in the novella demonstrate religious tendencies: Jekyll reads religious texts; Lanyon feels that science and God should be separate; Utterson reads "dry divinities" every night before he goes to bed; Hyde blasphemes Jekyll's book. Religion had permeated the lives of the characters, and religion was conventional in Victorian society.
“Original evil”
The characters have symbolic meanings. Utterson represents Evangelicalism and the ideals of focusing on your work and not focusing your attention on your social life. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde symbolise the good and evil, the angel and the devil. This internal struggle between two conflicting forces alludes to the biblical idea of the eternal struggle of the good and evil within human beings. In the last chapter, Jekyll confesses that his "original evil' emerged, again alluding to the idea of inherent evil within us.
“burden of his life”
“extraneous evil”
“secret sinner”
“spirit of hell”
Jekyll thinks of sin as the “burden of his life”. He creates Hyde as an attempt to rid himself of this extraneous evil’ that exists within him. But the process of purification and ridding himself of sin is unsuccessful in his experiments. Stevenson reminds the reader that Jekyll’s actions are sinful by using religious language. For example, Jekyll is a “secret sinner” and Hyde is the “spirit of hell”.
“For any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress of identity, might, by the least scruple of an overdose or at the least in opportunity in the moment of exhibition, utterly blot out that
immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change.”
This is a reference to the Israeli tabernacle, which was said to house
God. Jekyll uses it as reference to his body / soul, and it shows how he wants to use his body for experimentation. In many
ways, he is experimenting with God himself.
“Captives at Philippi”
After the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, the victors, Antony and Octavius, released the captives. The captives were those who had supported Brutus and Cassius (the defeated), Julius Caesar’s assassins. Hyde is unexpectedly freed from his prison and causes more trouble.
“This inexplicable incident… seemed, like the Babylonian finger on the wall, to be spelling out the letters of my judgment”
King Belshazzar was a Chaldean King. Because he did not bow to the Israeli (Judeo-Christian) God, a ghostly hand appeared and wrote out his death sentence on a wall with his finger. The kingdom was invaded that night. Jekyll alludes to this biblical scene because it explains his mental state of conflict, and how he has set himself up against god.
It also foreshadows Jekyll’s death and
evokes a feeling of doom.
