Dr Jekyll And Mary Reilly Analysis

The stories of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Mary Reilly were both written during the Victorian era and were both related to one another, with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being written first. One could consider the Mary Reilly story as the behind the scene story of what is going on in Dr. Jekyll’s home during this time. Similarities and difference can be found in both stories. The main theme in both of these stories is the dual nature of human beings. Both stories are centered on the main characters thoughts. One of the differences in these stories is the narrator’s points of views with each author giving significance to certain characters which were different in each book. Although both books have characters

This story was told from a wealthy man’s prospective and woman was rarely mentioned, they were only ambiguously referred to. This shows how the class structure of society during that time controlled people, especially women. The protagonist in this story was Dr. Jekyll while the antagonist was Mr. Hyde. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story was focused on an unsettling battle going on inside Dr. Jekyll mind with his dual personalities. The doctor had become captivated with the thought of man having two separate identities . He began to spend countless amount of time devoting his scientific studies to finding a way to make his vision reality. The altered ego Dr. Jekyll imagined would allow him to act on his unrespectable actions under a different identity while still allowing him to sustain good standing in his community under his original self. Because of Dr. Jekyll’s scientist experience he was able to develop a transformation drug that transformed him into his alter ego who had come to be known as the wicked and evil Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll stated this potion made him feel better inside saying, “I feel younger, lighter, happier in body…” (44). His

Jekyll were both experiencing struggles with their inner self; they both struggled with what was expected of them in their societies and what they were secretly longing for in their own lives. Both stories present characters whose actions are determined by their social class in life. Dr. Jekyll is the most significant character in both Stevenson and Martin’s books with Dr. Jekyll being the protagonist in both stories and Mr. Hyde being the antagonist in both of them. However, Dr. Jekyll is represented differently in each book. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, presents Dr. Jekyll as a kind doctor who was wealthy and content with his life which abruptly turned cold, and he became a scientific man engrossed in metaphysics, who becomes obsesses over the principles of dual human nature. His behavior became so radical, he seemed insane at the end of the book. In Mary Reilly’s story Dr. Jekyll seemed like a like a nice man who was struggling with his health. Her story could make one feel sorry for him. Mary on the other hand does not give in to her desires and represses them trying her best to stay within the boundaries of what society expects of her. Even though she seems content with her life as it, at times she secretly longs for something more. The Mary Reilly story was a more realistic story. The struggles that Mary experienced developed from real emotional abuse she endured as a child by her alcoholic father. She would often have flashbacks and