ByRobert Luis Stevenson
Originally written in 1866. Yeah I don't know why but I'm a fan of late 19th Century literature. Notice the title of this book. There is no The at the beginning of the title. Well thank you Amazon, the book actually lacks the The but Amazon went ahead and included it, how nice. The theory is that Robert Luis Stevenson wanted to emphasis just how strange the case was.
The version of the book that I read was the Norton Critical Edition. The text is the 1st British edition which is the only edition which was set directly from Stevenson's manuscript and for which he read page proofs. It also includes a wealth of extra information. Hey, the story in only some 62 pages long but the book is 200+ pages. The extra information includes manuscript variations, letters to/from Robert Luis Stevenson on the background and early reception, a short story Markheim and an essay he wrote about how he became a student of our penny press. Essays on literary contexts, scientific contexts (edited down for content), notes on performance adaptations over the years, criticism and a chronology of his life.
Whew! It got to be a little bit too much for me.
I think I first became acquainted with the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde story from Bugs Bunny. Before reading the actual story if you would have asked me I would have told you I knew what it was about. Well I would have been wrong. (I've had this same experience when I read Frankenstein
and Dracula
a few years ago.)Most adaptations simplified or changed the story. The strange case follow Dr. Jekyll, a man in his 50's, a prominent Victorian gentleman who desires freedom from the constraints of his class. He willingly becomes Mr. Hyde and enjoys the thrill of being free to experience the evil side of life, namely violence. Mr Hyde is pure evil. his is belligerent, knocks down a little girl and commits murder. Dr. Jekyll is at first excited at his new freedom but quickly worries about the crimes Hyde commits, worries he will be found. But he is not necessarily remorseful of what he has done. At the beginning Dr. Jekyll needs a potion to transform to Mr. Hyde and back again to Dr. Jekyll. By the end he transforms to Mr. Hyde without taking the potion and only turns back to normal by taking a dose. Unfortunately he stays normal for shorter and shorter periods of time. His supply of potion runs out. Ultimately the only thing left is to commit suicide.
The books is divided into 10 chapters. The flow of the story keeps you turning the pages, excited to see what happens next. They were written to be serialized. Oh how awful. A story written for pure entertainment. Critics at the time complained of the penny dreadful for just this reason. What rubbish I say.
The extra material in this edition helped me to understand the book in the context of the time it was written. The essays on the literary and scientific contexts were not so interesting. One thing that stood out was how many people look at Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and see an allegory in the story, that needs to be interpreted. Robert Luis Stevenson is quoted when asked for a key to his allegory: "I conceive I could not make my allegory better, nay, that I could not fail to weaken it if I tried. I have said my say as I was best able; others must look for what was meant." He goes on to say: "the allegorist is one, the commentator is another; I conceive they are two parts." He could be trying to say that the burden of the interpretation falls on the reader. I say read and enjoy the story. Don't worry about what it is supposed to mean, judge for yourself and just keep turning the pages.
