Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) is the story of the well-respected Dr. Jekyll who brews a concoction that when imbibed, allows him to become the embodiment of his repressed sinful nature. As Mr. Hyde, the man into whom Dr. Jekyll transforms, slowly takes more and more control over their body, Dr. Jekyll must face the consequences of his actions. The story is highly complex, interweaving themes of the duality of human nature, morality and immorality, and a developing Victorian interest in scientific experimentation. Within the pages of a fictional story, Stevenson focuses on themes of repression and resistance within the context of a disciplinary, or panoptic society. Stevenson creates a claustrophobic
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According to the theory of panopticism, the individual “who is subjected to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon himself; he inscribes in himself the power relation in which he simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes the principle of his own subjection” (Foucault 202). In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll embodies duelling halves of his own psyche, both of which fall under the unblinking gaze of a panoptic society. One half of this psyche is Dr. Jekyll himself, a man who on the surface, conforms to all social expectations by all accounts; he is clean-shaven, athletic, well-spoken, a professional and a prominent member of his community. By contrast, the other half of his psyche, Mr. Hyde, is a manifestation of everything that Dr. Jekyll represses in order to adhere to social codes. As such, when Dr. Jekyll allows himself to become Mr. Hyde, he transforms into a gross corruption of himself; Mr. Hyde is bald, he is troglodytic and dwarfish, has a broken, husky voice and a displeasing smile. Recognizing that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are in fact two opposing natures of the …show more content…
Much like the panopticon where “the major effect [is] to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power” (Foucault 201), Stevenson's London is a city where there is little to no relief from societal surveillance, whether it comes from the police or civilians. Stevenson constantly reminds readers that everyone in the novella is at risk of being seen at any given time. For example, as Mr. Enfield relays his first encounter with Mr. Hyde to Mr. Utterson, he mentions that he was travelling “through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps” (Stevenson 257) and further goes on to say that the streets were “all lighted up as if for a procession” (Stevenson 258). Like the panopticon, the streets of Stevenson's London are always described as being brightly lit, with little chance of anyone being able to stay hidden within the shadows. It is no surprise then, that Mr. Hyde is witnessed on the very same street as he “trample[s] calmly over [a] girl's body and [leaves] her screaming on the ground” (Stevenson 258). Where in his unaltered state Dr. Jekyll is normally the picture of control, as Mr. Hyde he is the epitome of the unrepressed individual. Without the potion, Dr. Jekyll maintains appearances, interacting with those of his social class and observing the socially prescribed rules of how
According to the theory of panopticism, the individual “who is subjected to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon himself; he inscribes in himself the power relation in which he simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes the principle of his own subjection” (Foucault 202). In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll embodies duelling halves of his own psyche, both of which fall under the unblinking gaze of a panoptic society. One half of this psyche is Dr. Jekyll himself, a man who on the surface, conforms to all social expectations by all accounts; he is clean-shaven, athletic, well-spoken, a professional and a prominent member of his community. By contrast, the other half of his psyche, Mr. Hyde, is a manifestation of everything that Dr. Jekyll represses in order to adhere to social codes. As such, when Dr. Jekyll allows himself to become Mr. Hyde, he transforms into a gross corruption of himself; Mr. Hyde is bald, he is troglodytic and dwarfish, has a broken, husky voice and a displeasing smile. Recognizing that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are in fact two opposing natures of the …show more content…
Much like the panopticon where “the major effect [is] to induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power” (Foucault 201), Stevenson's London is a city where there is little to no relief from societal surveillance, whether it comes from the police or civilians. Stevenson constantly reminds readers that everyone in the novella is at risk of being seen at any given time. For example, as Mr. Enfield relays his first encounter with Mr. Hyde to Mr. Utterson, he mentions that he was travelling “through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps” (Stevenson 257) and further goes on to say that the streets were “all lighted up as if for a procession” (Stevenson 258). Like the panopticon, the streets of Stevenson's London are always described as being brightly lit, with little chance of anyone being able to stay hidden within the shadows. It is no surprise then, that Mr. Hyde is witnessed on the very same street as he “trample[s] calmly over [a] girl's body and [leaves] her screaming on the ground” (Stevenson 258). Where in his unaltered state Dr. Jekyll is normally the picture of control, as Mr. Hyde he is the epitome of the unrepressed individual. Without the potion, Dr. Jekyll maintains appearances, interacting with those of his social class and observing the socially prescribed rules of how