Victorian Era

1. Victorian Era By: Tanner, Maddie, Allie, Kiah, Avery and Katie

2. Definition • Period of dramatic change that brought England to its highest point of development as a world power. It was a time of prosperity, optimism, and stability. • 1837-1901 (When Victoria became queen to the year of her death) • Victorians were considered prudish, hypocritical, stuffy, and narrow-minded • The upper class people were concerned the lower class was going to take over

3. 1st Reference • “I found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public.”~ Dr. Jekyll • During the Victorian Era the people who were considered the upper class were expected to act in a certain way. They were expected to be polished, formal, and traditional. Dr. Jekyll struggled with the person he was expected to be. He used to be a wild child, and he had to let that part of himself go. Dr. Jekyll wasn’t happy with just being one version of himself. Which resulted in the creation of Dr. Jekyll’s evil side of Mr. Hyde.

4. 2nd Reference • Stevenson was aware of the new ideas about economics, science, and the workings of the mind. In fact, science was becoming more popular. An aspect of the Victorian period that is quite evident in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the advancement of science. As the Victorian Era was unfolding, the scientific community was enhancing new discoveries. Dr. Jekyll was a scientist who was well established in the community. In his laboratory, there were “tables laden with chemical apparatus, the floor strewn with crates and littered with packing straw” (Stevenson 18). Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory is classified as “a large room, fitted round with glass presses, furnished among other things, with a cheval-glass and a business table” (Stevenson 18).

5. 3rd Reference • “London was startled by a crime of singular ferocity and rendered all the more notable by the high position of the victim” (Stevenson 68). • During the Victorian Era people in status such as doctors were looked up to in society as respectable individuals. This quote illustrates the importance of the upper class because Sir Danvers Carew’s murder was highlighted because of his position in society and the fact that one would not expect someone in such a position in society to be taken out of the world in such a way.

6. Answering The Question How does knowing more about this topic help a reader to better understand The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? • The Victorian Era plays a huge role in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and literally sets up the whole plot. It is crucial for the story to take place during this timebecause if it didn’t it would have less of impact on the reader. A common perception of the era was that most people were stuffy, prudish and narrow-minded. It was socially unacceptable for a person of status like Dr. Jekyll to let his hair down and have a wild side, which contributes to him creating Hyde. The story being placed in the Victorian Era helps the reader understand the overall plot and why Dr. Jekyll created Hyde.

7. Continued….. • It also illustrates the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because the Victorian Era was a time of many changes, where science was becoming more popular and the caste system was changing. Dr. Jekyll in the story represents the upper, religious class where Mr. Hyde represents the middle class, science taking over in this era; much of how Hyde was taking over Jekyll.

8. Works cited Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dover Publications, Inc. New York. 1886.1-54. Print Victorian England." Victorian England. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.