The Strange (And Modern) Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: A Freudian Psychological Approach To The Victorian Novel

Deonya MooreProfessor SmithLIT 311 Modern British Literature11 August 2021The Strange (and Modern) Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: a Freudian Psychological Approach to the Victorian NovelPublished in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson is widely represented as Victorian literature. For the most part, the story is set during Victorian time, in which its themes, language, and structure is very apparent within the novella. One of these major themes are dualism, or doubling, in which the characterization is mostly based on; however, the psychology of personality and consciousness was not prominent during the Victorian period; in fact, it was not until the modernism period that the theories of Sigmund Freud became mainstream. According to the site “The Literary Network”, Josh Rahn explains “the Modernist Period in English literature was first and foremost a visceral reaction against the Victorian culture and aesthetic, which had prevailed for most of the nineteenth century”. The modern era wanted to break those traditions, involving a deeper analysis of inner consciousness. Stevenson unknowingly wrote a piece that will later transcend between two literary eras. Thus, the novella utilizes the modernist characteristic of individualism, and with Freud’s