Robert Louis Stevenson

biographers have claimed that Robert Stevenson had a history of cocaine and ergot use. Ergot is produced by a fungus that grows on rye and its compounds were used to create synthetic LSD. If the rumors of his ergot habits are true, his psychedelic experiences under the influence could have inspired him to write the “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Psychedelic hallucinations can force an individual to witness their own lack of self-control. If Stevenson had lost himself to the…

themes about the struggle of man, both present them in different ways. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, presents its struggle of man as a society where each class of peoples is against each other, being thoroughly influenced by politics of the time. Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde details the duality that many people lived their lives as during the Victorian age. Both of these literary pieces are classics, but The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…

Heart of Darkness is a modern novel written by Joseph Conrad. It is one of the finest works of Conrad which shows his power as a writer of great luminosity, passion and complexity. The story Conrad depicts in ‘Heart of Darkness’ is based on the real backdrop that happened during the time of ‘Leopold II of Belgium’. The second king, Leopold II set an eye on Congo and colonized Africa. He brings out the sufferance of the people of Congo under the rule of Leopold II. People were enslaved, exploited…

Introduction Morality is one who conforms and follows the moral standards. The main protagonist named Jean-Batiste Grenouille in the novel Patrick Süskind, Perfume: the story of a murderer, defies such standards. The character is a man obsessed with scent and strives to acquire what he identifies as the “master scent”. In order to obtain such scent Grenouille commences murderous behavior upon young victims, specifically virgin girls as he is lured by the purity in their aroma. Set in 18th…

Singh and Subho Chakrabarti (2008) have opined, “….Stevenson seems to make a comment on the theories of evolution and that he considered Hyde that is savage, uncivilized, and given to passion: poorly evolved. Edward Hyde represents a regression to an earlier, less civilized and more violent phase of human…

The Serpent and the Rope, winner of the Sahitya Academy Award in the year 1963, is considered a milestone in Indian-English fiction, its form showing a successful orchestration of Indian and Western methods. The Cat and the Shakespeare, a metaphysical comedy, is an exemplar of theoretical fiction. The Chessmaster and His Moves are characterized by a range of momentous symbols. Here ‘The Chessmaster’ himself and his ‘moves’ are what he makes man do. Raja Rao’s place in the empire of Indian…

What happens when an adorably entertaining dog combine with the gothic wonder of Robert Louise Stevensens novel “The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde? The real question is “how does one strategically adapt a version suitable for kids?” Knowing what is necessary material to give acknowledgement to the source text is essential. The chapter “The Ethics of Infidelity” in “Adaptations Studies New Approaches” edited by Christa Albrecht-Crane and Dennis Cutchins perfectly explains the infidelities of…

Published in 1868, Wilkie Collins’ detective novel The Moonstone is unique in the mystery genre in that it does not have one primary detective. Instead, the story unfolds through the writings of eleven distinct characters. Approximately half of the story is narrated by Gabriel Betteredge, a man who is decidedly Anglocentric. Throughout the story, biases play a role in its deeper meaning with regards to India and its relationship with Britain. Gabriel Betteredge’s biased narration, Mr.…

A Visionary Madness: The Case of James Tilly Matthews and the Influencing Machine was written by the author Mike Jay and tells the story of James Tilly Matthews. The story provides us with a vivid picture of the psychiatry, political and social aspects of the late eighteenth-century and shows the importance to present incidences of madness, conspiracies, mind control and manipulation. Matthews was introduced to the audience reading the book by interrupting a debate in the House of Commons. He…

Henry Jekyll, a highly regarded doctor, struggles to repress his darker side. In Robert Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll is faced with the archetypal theme of struggling between the two forces of good and evil. From early on in his life he chooses the former, but his mind is still tempted by dark urges. It’s this suppression of his second nature that causes him to go to extremes to escape the life he feels trapped in. Despite this, he is still internally torn…