Using Context (AO3):

No text exists in a vacuum. It is a product of everything happening around its production (the life of the author, the “trends” in literature at the time, social and historical factors, and more) as well as its reception (how audiences would receive it at the time, and now – and every year between). Because of this, examiners think you should be able to talk about context when you talk about the text. Remember: Con = with; Text = text. 

Because the focus is on the relationship between text and context, there is no point in mentioning anything in this study note unless you are linking it to the text. This is not a History exam! If you are talking about Lady Macbeth as a woman wrestling with femininity and power, then by all means bring in Queen Elizabeth I. If not, save that contextual knowledge for another essay. Avoid a “brain dump” of all the knowledge you have; be picky and precise.

Try and bring some contextual knowledge into each analytical paragraph, but you shouldn’t need more than a sentence or two to explain it. Use a signpost phrase like “In the 17th Century”, or even “Contextually speaking” to alert your examiner to the AO3 opportunity, and then link your analysis to the contextual insight with a phrase like, “It is perhaps unsurprising, considering”, or “This factor may be explained by”. 

Respectability and Repression in Victorian England

When Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886, Victorian society placed immense importance on respectability, morality, and self-discipline. Public behavior was expected to conform to strict social codes, particularly for gentlemen, who were supposed to uphold values of decency and rationality. However, beneath this respectable exterior lay a world of secrecy, hypocrisy, and hidden desires. London, in particular, was a city of contrasts—grand houses and well-mannered elites coexisted with crime-ridden streets and illicit pleasures.

Jekyll embodies this conflict between outward respectability and inner temptation. He longs to indulge in his darker impulses but fears the damage it would do to his reputation. His scientific experiment allows him to live a double life, appearing as the respected Dr. Jekyll while secretly transforming into the immoral Hyde. This reflects the reality of Victorian society, where many outwardly respectable men led secret lives of vice. Stevenson’s novel serves as a critique of this hypocrisy, suggesting that repressing one’s desires only leads to eventual self-destruction.

Science, Evolution, and the Fear of Degeneration

The late 19th century was a time of rapid scientific progress, but also deep anxiety about the implications of new discoveries. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) had revolutionised ideas about human origins, proposing that humans evolved from lower animals. This led to growing fears about degeneration—the idea that, rather than progressing, civilization might actually be regressing, and that within every refined gentleman lurked something primitive and bestial.

Hyde represents these fears. His unnatural, almost inhuman appearance—"pale and dwarfish"—suggests regression rather than progress. His animalistic behavior and lack of morality reflect the anxiety that civilization is merely a thin veneer over humankind’s savage instincts. Jekyll’s transformation into Hyde is not just a scientific experiment gone wrong; it is a terrifying vision of what happens when the darker side of human nature is unleashed.

The novel also reflects concerns about the limits of science. The Victorian era saw great advancements in medicine, chemistry, and psychology, but there was also widespread fear that some knowledge was too dangerous to pursue. Jekyll’s experiment, rather than liberating him, becomes a warning about the dangers of playing God. His fate echoes the tragic downfall of figures like Frankenstein, reinforcing the idea that scientific ambition, when taken too far, leads to ruin.

The novel’s setting in London is crucial to its themes. Stevenson presents the city as a place of stark contrasts: wealthy, orderly neighborhoods exist alongside dark, fog-filled streets teeming with crime and vice. Jekyll’s home, with its well-kept front entrance and neglected backdoor leading to the laboratory, symbolises this duality.

The contrast between Jekyll and Hyde reflects the broader divide in Victorian society between the wealthy and the underclass. Hyde moves through London’s darker corners, a world of violence and secrecy that polite society pretends does not exist. Yet, he is still protected by Jekyll’s wealth and influence, showing how the privileged can hide their immoral behavior while maintaining a respectable image.

This hypocrisy is at the heart of the novel’s critique. Stevenson suggests that Victorian respectability is often a façade, concealing the darker impulses that lie beneath the surface. The story forces readers to question whether true morality is about appearances or actions, and whether everyone—no matter how respectable—has a hidden Hyde within them.

Crime, Punishment, and the Fear of Scandal

Victorian London was obsessed with crime and morality. The era saw a rise in sensational crime reporting, and the public was fascinated by stories of respectable figures leading double lives. One of the most famous real-life examples was Jack the Ripper, who terrorised London’s East End just two years after Jekyll and Hyde was published. The idea that an apparently normal man could commit horrifying crimes in secret mirrored the fears explored in Stevenson’s novel.

Hyde’s violent actions—trampling a child, murdering Sir Danvers Carew—reflect the era’s anxieties about crime and the breakdown of social order. Yet, Hyde is not a typical criminal. He does not steal or act out of necessity; his crimes seem almost pointless, driven by pure cruelty. This reflects contemporary fears about "criminal psychology"—the idea that some people are simply predisposed to evil.

At the same time, the novel explores the Victorian fear of scandal. Jekyll is more terrified of his secret being exposed than of the crimes themselves. He does not fear punishment by law but rather the loss of his social standing. This reflects the reality of Victorian society, where reputation was everything, and disgrace could be worse than death.

Stevenson was influenced by both real-life events and earlier Gothic literature. The idea of the double life was particularly relevant in Edinburgh, where he had grown up. The city, like London, had a dual nature—respectable professionals lived alongside hidden criminal networks. This contrast may have inspired the theme of duality in Jekyll and Hyde.

Stevenson was also influenced by Gothic novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Edgar Allan Poe’s horror stories, which explore themes of science, identity, and the supernatural. However, Jekyll and Hyde took these ideas further, presenting not an external monster but a transformation from within—a terrifying suggestion that evil is not an outside force but something hidden within every individual.

The novel remains one of the most famous explorations of duality in literature, shaping later psychological and horror fiction. Its themes—repression, hidden desires, and the dangers of unchecked ambition—continue to resonate, making it a timeless reflection on human nature.