However, the power of religion was under threat during the
later stages of the era. The industrial Revolution and the rapid changes it
brought about meant that more educated people were ready to question the
religious doctrine they had been taught. There was also greater awareness of
new thinking from abroad. Darwin's The Origin of Species provided a serious
alternative to accepted thinking. The fruits of the industrial Revolution were
evident during the Victorian era when the age of modern invention was born.
Science not only improved daily life but challenged the established, religious
thinking of the time and the powerful hold that organized religious
institutions had on the people.
Select the correct word from below to complete the
text, which explains how The Origin of Species relates to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
• interpreted • conflict •
evolution • scientific • challenged
Stevenson__________________ the accepted idea that
God and God alone is responsible for the creation of mankind. This
____________________________ between the religious and the scientific was
already in, existence following the publication of Darwin’s 'The Origin of
Species' in 1851, which
put forward the theory of ___________________. In this context, Jekyll can be
__________________________ as an alternative to God as he creates another man, Mr Hyde.
Jekyll's
alter ego is the result of a process that can be explained and supported by
____________________ theory, although the novella never explicitly
does this.
Freud and psychology
There was much interest in the mind and how it worked during
the Victorian period, especially in the later stages. Sigmund Freud was a
psychoanalyst, who built on the work of earlier neurologists. He put forward
the idea that man pushed his most disturbing and unacceptable ideas and desires
far from his consciousness, into his unconscious mind. These repressed ideas
could be released, according to Freud, through various techniques such as dream
analysis, hypnosis and especially psychoanalysis. This approach involved a
highly trained therapist drawing out these unconscious thoughts and ideas from
the individual through intense conversations over a period of time. Freud's
1900 publication interpretation of Dreams emphasized that these suppressed
desires were often sexual in nature. Although published after Stevenson's
death, it is probable that he was aware of these ideas and theories. Some
critics argue that Hyde is the embodiment of Jekyll's repressed desires.
Write a paragraph
explaining how Freud's theory of repressed desires could relate to The Strange
Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Consider which character or characters best
exemplify 'repressed desires' and how this is represented in the novella. Do
any characters other than the protagonists hint at repressed desires?
