Group Work - Chapters 1 - 4

In your groups of 3/4, skim read chapters 1 - 4 looking for examples, references and quotes from the text that relate to the theme your group has been given.



1. Find examples of secrecy that is either explicit or implicit in the narrative or behaviour of the characters in the novel so far. Any ideas what Stevenson might be trying to say about Victorian society?


2. Look at the several descriptions of Mr Hyde. Find and list similarities between the descriptions. what aspects of Hyde's character are being foregrounded?


3. The opening chapters read like a detective story. What conventions of the detective story does Stevenson use? Remember when this novel was first published, the detective story was in its infancy, not even the Sherlock Holmes stories had been written.


4. An obvious main theme of this story is the sense of duality. Look for any references to actions, characters or plot points having two interpretations or two aspects or even just two interpretations...

Nightmare: The Birth of Horror - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (BBC 1996)

Christopher Frayling continues his exploration of 19th century literary horror classics. In this edition he goes to Edinburgh in search of the truth behind The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.