45 minutes; 1 question; 40 marks; 20% of GCSE

“Shilling Shockers”, “Penny Dreadfuls”, Victorian Popular Fiction, Sherlock Holmes, Allan Quatermain, & Professor Challenger

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Robot Says…

• Victorian popular fiction, including "Shilling Shockers" and "Penny Dreadfuls", played a significant role in shaping the literary landscape during the time Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. These formats were known for their sensational, thrilling, and often morally complex narratives, reflecting the anxieties and fascinations of Victorian society. This context helps readers understand the novel's appeal to Victorian audiences.
• The duality of human nature explored in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde resonates with themes commonly found in Victorian popular fiction, such as the conflict between civilisation and savagery, as well as good versus evil. This is epitomised by Mr Hyde, whose "ape-like fury" and "troglodytic" appearance reflect fears of degeneration and the loss of humanity, themes often explored in "Penny Dreadfuls".
• Writers like Arthur Conan Doyle, known for Sherlock Holmes, and H. Rider Haggard, author of Allan Quatermain, often focused on puzzles, mysteries, and hidden truths. Similarly, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde centres on the unravelling of a mystery, with Mr Utterson acting as a detective figure. The text conveys this suspense through lines such as "If he be Mr Hyde, I shall be Mr Seek."
• Victorian readers were fascinated by the idea of science and its potential dangers, a theme also explored in works like Professor Challenger stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dr Jekyll’s experiments with his transformative potion delve into this fascination with science, as well as the moral implications of pushing scientific boundaries: "I stood already committed to a profound duplicity of life."
• The sensational nature of "Shilling Shockers" and "Penny Dreadfuls" often included grotesque and horrific elements, which are mirrored in the descriptions of Mr Hyde and his actions. For example, the violent murder of Sir Danvers Carew is described as a "storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered," evoking the graphic and shocking style of these forms of literature.
• The novel's exploration of Victorian anxieties about reputation and morality is contextualised by its connection to popular fiction. Victorian characters like Sherlock Holmes were admired for their moral clarity, whereas Dr Jekyll embodies the tension between maintaining a respectable public image and harbouring darker desires: "My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring."
• By understanding the cultural context of Victorian popular fiction, readers gain insight into how Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde both aligns with and transcends the conventions of its time. Stevenson uses the framework of a sensational, thrilling narrative to delve deeply into complex psychological and social issues, making the novel both a product of its era and a timeless exploration of human nature. </aside>

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Remarkable Revision

©️ Refa Munawar, 2024-2026

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Burke & Hare

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Robot Says…

• The story of Burke and Hare, known for their gruesome body-snatching and murders for profit in 19th-century Edinburgh, provides significant historical context for understanding the themes of morality and scientific ambition in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
• The Burke and Hare case reflects societal fears about the lengths to which individuals might go in the name of science and progress. In the novel, Dr Jekyll embodies this tension as he pushes ethical boundaries in his experiments: "I risked death; 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 inopportunity in the moment of exhibition, utterly blot out that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change."
• Similar to Burke and Hare's exploitation of human bodies for financial and scientific gain, Dr Jekyll’s experiments with his transformative potion demonstrate a disregard for moral and ethical consequences in pursuit of his ambitions. This aligns with the public's 19th-century unease about unchecked scientific advancement and its impact on humanity.
• The duality of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde mirrors the conflict between appearance and reality, a theme also present in the case of Burke and Hare, who maintained outward respectability while committing heinous crimes. This is encapsulated in Dr Jekyll's reflection: "Man is not truly one, but truly two."
• The novel critiques Victorian society's hypocrisies, much as the Burke and Hare case exposed the dark underbelly of scientific and economic systems. The commodification of bodies in both contexts underscores the dehumanisation inherent in the pursuit of progress.
• The public horror surrounding Burke and Hare also mirrors the fear and revulsion that Mr Hyde inspires in others. Stevenson describes Hyde as a figure of primal and uncontainable evil: "There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable."
• Awareness of the historical context of body-snatching and its moral implications enriches the reader's understanding of Stevenson's critique of ambition and the dangerous allure of scientific discovery without ethical restraint. This is central to the tragic downfall of Dr Jekyll. </aside>

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Remarkable Revision

©️ Jack Miller, 2024-2026

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Jack The Ripper

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Robot Says…

• The historical context of Jack the Ripper, a notorious figure active in Victorian London during the late 19th century, parallels the setting of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written in 1886. Both explore themes of urban fear and the darker side of human nature.
• The novel's depiction of London's duality, with its respectable façade and sinister underbelly, mirrors the environment in which Jack the Ripper operated. This duality is central to the novel’s message, as Dr Jekyll embodies outward respectability while Mr Hyde represents hidden depravity.
• Jack the Ripper’s crimes heightened public concern about the anonymity and moral decay of urban life, which is reflected in the novel’s setting. Stevenson describes London as a city of “fogged city moon” and “dingy streets,” evoking an atmosphere of secrecy and danger.
• The anonymity of the Ripper echoes the secret identity of Mr Hyde. Just as the Ripper’s true identity was never uncovered, Mr Hyde moves through the city largely undetected, highlighting fears of the unknown and unseen lurking within society.
• The violent crimes committed by Jack the Ripper resonate with Mr Hyde's brutality, such as his murder of Sir Danvers Carew, described as “bones audibly shattered” and “ape-like fury.” This reflects Victorian anxieties around uncontrolled, primal violence disrupting civilised society.
• The concept of duality in the novel is further contextualised by the public’s fascination with the Ripper’s ability to live a double life—appearing ordinary by day while committing atrocities by night. Similarly, Dr Jekyll is described as “a profound duplicity of life.”
• The Ripper’s crimes also brought attention to the plight of the urban poor, who lived in squalid conditions in areas like Whitechapel. Stevenson’s portrayal of Soho as Mr Hyde's domain, described as “a district of some city in a nightmare,” reinforces the novel’s social critique of class disparity.
• Finally, the novel’s exploration of the darker aspects of human nature aligns with contemporary fears about moral degeneration, spurred by the Ripper’s crimes. Dr Jekyll's assertion that “man is not truly one, but truly two” reflects a Victorian concern that beneath the veneer of respectability lies the potential for unspeakable evil. </aside>

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Remarkable Revision

©️ Alyah Salem, 2024-2026

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Deacon William Brodie

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Robot Says…

• Deacon William Brodie was a well-known figure in Edinburgh during the late 18th century, living a double life as a respected cabinet-maker and councillor by day, and a thief and gambler by night. This duality mirrors the central theme of duality in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
• Brodie’s story provides historical and cultural context for Robert Louis Stevenson’s exploration of the duality of human nature. Edinburgh, with its stark contrast between the affluent New Town and the seedy Old Town, embodies the same duality expressed in the novel.
• Dr Jekyll’s transformation into Mr Hyde can be seen as a fictional exaggeration of Brodie’s double life. The novel explicitly explores the idea of “man is not truly one, but truly two,” which is deeply aligned with Brodie’s concealed dual existence.
• The character of Mr Hyde represents the darker, hidden self that Dr Jekyll seeks to suppress but ultimately cannot control. This corresponds to Brodie’s inability to reconcile his respectable public persona with his secret criminal activities.
• The Victorian fascination with morality and respectability, as seen in Jekyll’s desire to maintain his reputation while secretly indulging in his darker impulses, is reflected in Brodie’s attempts to appear upright while committing crimes. This underlines the hypocrisy and repression prominent in Victorian society.
• Stevenson uses imagery and language to emphasise the physical and psychological division between Jekyll and Hyde, such as the description: “the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic.” This resonates with the idea of Brodie’s dual life, where his criminal actions would have rendered him almost unrecognisable to his peers.
• The novel’s setting in London, though fictionalised, draws on Stevenson’s experiences in Edinburgh and its connection to figures like Brodie. The labyrinthine streets and hidden alleys of the city reflect the secrecy and duplicity of both Brodie’s and Jekyll’s lives.
• The moral message of the novel – that attempts to separate or deny parts of one’s nature can lead to destruction – is exemplified by both Brodie’s downfall and Jekyll’s tragic fate. As Jekyll laments: “All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil.”
• By understanding Brodie’s story, readers gain insight into Stevenson’s inspiration and the cultural anxieties of the time, particularly the fear of hidden immorality beneath a veneer of respectability. This enhances the appreciation of the novel’s themes and its critique of Victorian society. </aside>

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Remarkable Revision

©️ Charlie Masterman, 2024-2026

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Gross Indecency & "The Blackmailers' Charter”

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Robot Says…

• The concept of "Gross Indecency" and "The Blackmailers' Charter" is relevant to the novel's context, as it reflects the Victorian era's anxieties about public morality and private immorality. The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 criminalised homosexual acts under the term "gross indecency," creating a climate of fear and secrecy, similar to the dual lives depicted in the novel.
• The duality of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde can be interpreted as a metaphor for the Victorian necessity to maintain a respectable public image while concealing private transgressions. This mirrors the secrecy surrounding individuals targeted under the "Blackmailers’ Charter."
• Blackmail plays a prominent role in the novel, both literally and figuratively. For example, Mr Utterson worries about Dr Jekyll being blackmailed by Mr Hyde when he says, “If it came to a trial, your name might appear.” This reflects the societal pressures and fears of personal ruin tied to exposure.
• The theme of repression is central to understanding Dr Jekyll’s experiments. His transformation into Mr Hyde allows him to indulge in behaviours that would be considered indecent or criminal by Victorian standards, much like how individuals suppressed their private lives to avoid persecution.
• The novella's setting in London, with its dark, foggy streets and hidden back alleys, symbolises the secrecy and moral corruption lurking beneath Victorian society's respectable surface. This imagery aligns with the clandestine nature of both gross indecency and blackmail during the time.
• Dr Jekyll’s confession in his final letter adds to the contextual relevance: “I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge.” This dual existence mirrors the societal pressures to hide aspects of oneself that could lead to public disgrace or blackmail.
• The story critiques the harsh moral judgments and legal constraints of the Victorian era, which forced individuals into duplicity and secrecy. This criticism aligns with the societal impact of the "Blackmailers' Charter," which heightened the fear of exposure and the consequences of deviating from societal norms.
• The novel’s enduring message about the dangers of repression and the duality of human nature is amplified when placed within the context of Victorian legal and moral attitudes, particularly those associated with gross indecency and blackmail. </aside>

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Remarkable Revision

⏱️ Coming soon…

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Cesare Lombroso, "Born Criminals", Atavism, & Phrenology

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Robot Says…

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Punch And Judy & Spring-Heeled Jack

Religion, Charles Darwin, “The Origin Of Species”, Rationalism, Science, & “The Enlightenment”

London, Smog, Soho, Gin Palaces, Handsome Cabs, Itinerant Workers, Syphilis, & Prostitutes

Crime & Victorian Policing

Freud, The Id, The Ego, & The Super-Ego