Essay 3

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Literature Analysis

When one talks about the Victorian period, it is the time period that is considered to be an era where lot of social changes took place. The time period from which this era lasted was about 1837 to 1901 and the England Queen Victoria is considered to be on the major influencers when it comes to most of the social changes and the lifestyle changes that took place in that area. During the given time period, the streets that were once quiet witnessed lot of crowd and there were lot of changes in terms of how the functionality of the economy changed as well as the way changes in the political system were witnessed. As is the case with any social changes, the literature also discussed how these social changes took place, what were some of the most prominent impact of these social changes and how the changes in the lifestyle were brought into fore by these changes. The novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tend to discuss some of these changes. In this paper, it is going to be seen that how the Victorian sensibilities were talked about in these novels and how the relevant social changes were discussed during the course of this time period.

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mplication Of The Changes In Science And Technology

Now, one of the major changes that tend to occur in this era is the advancement in the science and changes in the technology. Most of the times, if one talks about the literally fragments that are talked about in the novel, Mr. Hyde is presented to be someone who symbolizes how these changes in the scientific landscape had started to take shape. As the Victorian era was witnessing some of the broader changes in the society, the scientific changes meant that were considerable changes in the lifestyle of the people. For instance, how the time span changed and how the change in the communication methodology tend to have affected the whole process is one of the biggest takeaways from the character of Mr. Hyde and how the story takes place in the given point of time. In the same prevailing time period, the Dr Jekyll is one of the main characters that is being talked about during the course of the novel and how the description of his laboratory goes to be an important element as far as the way description of the story is supposed to be carried out. For instance, his laboratory is defined in the following words in the narration of the novel.

“In his laboratory, there were “tables laden with chemical apparatus, and the floor [was] strewn with crates and littered with packing straw” (Stevenson 69). It is precisely during the Victorian period that scientist “Thomas Graham “invented the “Graham’s Law" about the diffusion of gases, and [he] is widely considered the father of colloid chemistry” (“Thomas Graham” 1). Also, Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species in 1855, which would cause a major shift in the course of science.”

Commentary About The Social Behavior Of The People

One of the thing that is being portrayed in the novel is that how the effort is being made by both the protagonist to make sure that they are concealing the double behavior of the people at the particular point of time and how they have made sure that they tend to conceal their double identity in the given time period. The description of both the characters is pretty much in synch with some of the social values that were talked about in that era. For instance, Dr Jekyll is defined as somewhat a religious and wealthy man and he is showed to be someone who is involved in lot of charities. At the same time, the religious sensibilities of the main characters are showed that how the strong affiliation to the religion was considered to be the major sign of respect in that era. Now, at times, there is an impression given in the novel that how the social behavior that is being carried out by Dr Jekyll is somewhat contradicting to the social norms that are witnessed in that time period. The usage of the potion is a big symbolism that is being talked about in the narrative of the novel. It is being showed that how the usage of the potion tends to bring into fore the qualities of the person that are more socially acceptable and thus makes the person into a totally different entity. ‘The fact that the British economy grew three times during the late Victorian period meant that the infrastructure would also improve. In Stevenson’s short novel, there is a blending of new and old buildings. Furthermore, in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the city has light posts, banks, and police officers which are social indicators of a growing economy. In general, the Victorians were undergoing a significant change in their economic power.

Description And Imagery Of The London

Looking at how the Victorian era rolled out, one of the key things that was witnessed in that time period was that how city of London is defined as somewhat a center of the overall economic activities that were carried out in that time period. The idea is that how the changes that were happening in London were pretty much the manifestation of the behavior of the people int hat time period and how their own behavior tend inhibit the qualities of the city. Now, during the narration of the novel, London is talked about heavily as a city that is quite busy and hustling from activities all the time. The London is talked about as somewhat a city that is trying to build an economy and the construction of the economies is one of the strongest points of the cities in the given point of time. At the same time, the other thing that is being talked about during the narration of the novel is that despite the fact that some broader social changes are taking place in the society, the key attitude of the city and the sensibilities that it goes to show towards the other has remained the same with the passage of time. The Strangest Case of the Dr Jekyll is one of the prime examples that how the construction of the infrastructure does not at times warrant the change in the attitude and behavior of people. Mr. Haywood and other women and men like Dr. Jekyll, decided to be part of the starting change in morality view during the late Victorian period.

Attitude Of The People Towards Sexuality

One of the key things that is needed to be kept in mind is that how the people perceived sexuality at the given point of time and despite the fact that prostitution was a major cultural element of the era, people did not wanted to be talking about it. The division of the labor was one of the prime reasons that women who had no support turned into prostitution. The attitude of the society was such that people used to scorn the women who used to went out for the work and it made situation quite difficult for the women who were either divorced or widowed. So, they had to resort to these practices to make sure that they are able to survive in the economic terms. The other aspect that is needed to be kept in mind is the how in the long run it can be made The novel referenced the scandal that broke out in that point of time were lot of people who belonged to upper class of the society were involved in the prostitution racket. This hypocrisy is also discussed in the undertones of the book to make sure that the complete depiction of the time period is made possible.

Conclusion

The Victorian time period is an era where considerable changes were witnessed in the echelon of the history. Due to the societal changes, and the changes in the science and technology at that point of time, the era is marked as the time period where there was lot of disruption in terms of how people tended to behave on economic matters. During the course of the novel, it is talked about that how the moral standards of the people also changed as the broader changes were taking place in the society. Not only that, there was sizable growth in the economy and due to that, there were changes in the division of labor. The novel discusses these aspects quite well as the prevailing class dynamic that was seen in that era along with some of the broader changes that were seen in that point of time. The Victorian period marked a time in history during which the society in England underwent abrupt changes. Science played an important role during the nineteenth century because much of the aspiration for scientific knowledge was triggered at that time. The view of morality started to change, and people timidly started to engage into socially questionable behaviors.

Work Cited

Doane, Janice, and Devon Hodges. "Demonic Disturbances of Sexual Identity: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr/s Hyde." Novel: A Forum on Fiction. Vol. 23. No. 1. Duke University Press, 1989.

El-Amir, Ayman, and Steve Burt. "Sainsbury's in Egypt: the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?." International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 36.4 (2008): 300-322.

Fabbri, Muller, et al. "Regulatory mechanisms of microRNAs involvement in cancer: the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde." Expert opinion on biological therapy 7.7 (2007): 1009-1019.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde." Medicine and Literature, Volume Two. CRC Press, 2018. 105-118.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-With Other Short Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson (Fantasy and Horror Classics). Read Books Ltd, 2013.