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What was England like at the time?
. In Victorian middle and upper-class society, it was important to look respectable - As a result. people hid their true feelings, especially if these were immoral or improper
. Reputation was very important to Victorian gentlemen - If they were seen doing anything which wasn't respectable, their reputation would be ruined
. To protect their reputation, people often kept their sinful behaviour and less respectable desires secret
. They didn't like to talk about anything that might damage their reputation or upset their apparently civilised society
Being a Victorian Gentleman
- Utterson and Jekyll are good examples of the Victorian gentleman
. The 'gentleman' was an important figure in Victorian society
. A man's social class was one part of being a gentleman - gentlemen were from the upper-classes of Victorian society
. His profession was important, e.g army officer, church ministers, doctors and lawyers - some middle-class men, e.g bankers and successful merchants aspired to be gentlemen
. Gentlemen were expected to have strong morals and be kind, particularly towards poorer people - but many saw this as less important
. Being a gentleman brought many benefits - if gave you a chance to enter well-paid professions, e.g medicine, law, and gain the respect of rich clients
Victorian Gentlemen - Reputation
. Gentlemen were determined to maintain their reputations - without a good reputation, a man couldn't be considered a gentleman
. They would often walk through public places, which helped keep up their appearance as a gentlemen, e.g Utterson and Enfield going on walks
. They were expected to keep their emotions under strict control - this forced them to hide their desires for things like sex and alcohol
. Some were publicly snobbish about disreputable places like public houses and brothels, whilst visiting them secretly at night
. They were prepared to pay large sums of money to keep secret activities private, which made them vulnerable to blackmail - Utterson assumes Jekyll is being blackmailed, Hyde also is prepared to pay money to avoid a public scandal
Working-class London - Overcrowded
. The Industrial Revolution meant that many working-class people migrated to large towns and cities to live and work
. Housing had to be built rapidly to accommodate workers and their families - Large areas of slums, heavily populated areas of poor quality housing, came from London's East End
. They were of poor quality as they were built so quickly and whole families would live in one or two rooms without proper sanitation - This lead to widespread outbreaks of diseases like cholera
. The streets in the slums were narrow and poorly lit - The East End slums were built close to factories so that people could easily work long hours, the area suffered greatly from pollution
- This type of area, shown as describing Soho, is said to be nightmarish
Working-class London - Not Respected
. There were some parts of London where most respectable men wouldn't want to be seen, such as the working-class slums or public houses or brothels
. Hyde is associated with these less respectable parts of London - His house is in a "dismal quarter of Soho" where "ragged children" huddle in doorways
. Some gentlemen would travel to these 'dismal' areas to satisfy the desires they hid - Jekyll actually changed who he was entirely before going to these areas
. Jekyll sets up a house for Hyde in Soho and furnishes it in "luxury and good taste", which ties a respectable man to a disreputable part of London
Religion in Victorian Society
. Christianity had a strong influence on many areas of everyday life in Victorian England - one particularly influential branch of Christianity was Evangelicalism
. The Evangelicals taught that all people are naturally sinful and that it's up to individuals to seek forgiveness from God - They should do this by living according to a strict moral and religious code - with and emphasis on total morality and avoiding sin
. Jekyll creates Hyde in order to rid himself of this "extraneous evil"
Darwin's Theory was Controversial
. Darwin's theory went against the Christian idea that man's nature was different from other animals
. It's an unsettling idea that there may be an animalistic side to everyone, capable of uncivilised acts and violent crimes
- At many times, Hyde is referenced to be animalistic, e.g Hyde is the "animal within" Jekyll, "seems hardly human", lets out a scream of "animal terror"and Poole says he is "like a monkey
- Also Hyde is shorter than Jekyll, which could suggest that he's a less evolved version of Jekyll - this relates to him being more animalistic
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