Insanity seemed to be a matter of great fascination to those of the Victorian Era. Mental illness was the subject of many novels and scientific journals published during the second half of the 19th century, many of which went on to become quite popular. Amongst the most famous of these works is Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, which depicts an individual suffering from a personality split and extreme impulses towards evil. Even to a modern reader who has never picked up a psychology text, Jekyll’s and Hyde’s mental instability is painfully obvious. However, it an insight into Victorian perceptions and attitudes towards mental health, not a modern one, is required in order to properly understand these characters
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Utterson surpasses Victorian expectations, both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fall flat. In fact, between the two of them, they fail in nearly every regard to obtain normalcy. Dr. Jekyll fails to uphold the “well tried maxim” that is “Heaven helps those who help themselves” (Smiles 33) by being “sold a slave to [his] original evil” (Stevenson 78). Jekyll also fails in the Victorian expectation for sociability throughout much of the novel, instead becoming “confined to the house” (Stevenson 55). In Hyde, physical health is clearly goes unattained, as he is described as having “left on that body an imprint of deformity and decay” (Stevenson 78). Altruism and integrity seem to be nowhere to be found in Mr. Hyde, either, for “tales came out of the man 's cruelty, at once so callous and violent; of his vile life, of his strange associates, of the hatred that seemed to have surrounded his career” (Stevenson 55). When comparing Jekyll and Hyde to Mr. Utterson, Smiles, Baden-Powell, and Craik, it seems clear that neither of these men can lay claim to normalcy or …show more content…
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were mentally ill by Victorian standards, an exploration into the Victorian mindset on mental health issues can begin. Although modern society still holds a stigma against mental health, as well, professionals in the field have determined that many mental illnesses are out of an individual’s control, caused by chemical imbalances, trauma, genetics, etc. During the Victorian Era, this understanding had not yet been reached. Instead, Victorians thought that individuals had a strong degree of control over their mental states, as “each individual can perfect and utilize his natural gifts; by rigorously training them in the first instance, and then by exercising them only in the manner most cited to expand and elevate, while restraining them from all that would limit or debase” (Carpenter 540). This makes a great deal of sense, given how much importance Victorian society placed in self-reliance. In an attempt at fairness, it should be noted that not all Victorians thought the insane could be held fully responsible for their condition, and thus there is not “a unified interpretation of how Victorians drew and interpreted the line between insanity and responsibility” (Clark 403). Still, the belief that becoming mentally ill was a failure, though not a choice, most likely had a strong influence on how Victorians treated and perceived those they deemed
Utterson surpasses Victorian expectations, both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fall flat. In fact, between the two of them, they fail in nearly every regard to obtain normalcy. Dr. Jekyll fails to uphold the “well tried maxim” that is “Heaven helps those who help themselves” (Smiles 33) by being “sold a slave to [his] original evil” (Stevenson 78). Jekyll also fails in the Victorian expectation for sociability throughout much of the novel, instead becoming “confined to the house” (Stevenson 55). In Hyde, physical health is clearly goes unattained, as he is described as having “left on that body an imprint of deformity and decay” (Stevenson 78). Altruism and integrity seem to be nowhere to be found in Mr. Hyde, either, for “tales came out of the man 's cruelty, at once so callous and violent; of his vile life, of his strange associates, of the hatred that seemed to have surrounded his career” (Stevenson 55). When comparing Jekyll and Hyde to Mr. Utterson, Smiles, Baden-Powell, and Craik, it seems clear that neither of these men can lay claim to normalcy or …show more content…
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were mentally ill by Victorian standards, an exploration into the Victorian mindset on mental health issues can begin. Although modern society still holds a stigma against mental health, as well, professionals in the field have determined that many mental illnesses are out of an individual’s control, caused by chemical imbalances, trauma, genetics, etc. During the Victorian Era, this understanding had not yet been reached. Instead, Victorians thought that individuals had a strong degree of control over their mental states, as “each individual can perfect and utilize his natural gifts; by rigorously training them in the first instance, and then by exercising them only in the manner most cited to expand and elevate, while restraining them from all that would limit or debase” (Carpenter 540). This makes a great deal of sense, given how much importance Victorian society placed in self-reliance. In an attempt at fairness, it should be noted that not all Victorians thought the insane could be held fully responsible for their condition, and thus there is not “a unified interpretation of how Victorians drew and interpreted the line between insanity and responsibility” (Clark 403). Still, the belief that becoming mentally ill was a failure, though not a choice, most likely had a strong influence on how Victorians treated and perceived those they deemed