Since the early beginning of literature the double motif has served in its different models to trace the features of the ego, individuality and perception. The double plays an important role in literature: it portays confusion and transformation, reflects inner desires and spreads anxiety. But the phenomenon is not just an invention of literature. Again and again people claim to see oneself like some famous persons such as Catharine the Great and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
This term paper will analyze the Double-motif in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with regard to psychoanalysis. While citing secondary literature it became obvious that a good portion of these examinations use psychological criteria which offer a wider range of insight into the oddly logic of Stevenson’s text which he to no purpose named The Strange Case.
Three texts from Freud lend themselves to work with the novel: “Die ‘kulturelle’ Sexualmoral und die moderne Nervosität” (1908), “Das Unheimliche” (1919) and “Das Unbehagen in der Kultur” (1930). In “Das Unheimliche” Freud deals with the background of the double motif. He interprets the phenomenon from its probable beginning in mythology till the masterly usage of it in E.T.A Hoffmann’s “Sandman”.
In section two of this term paper I will give an overview of the double motif in literature. For this, I will explain the development of the term and its psychological implications. The third section will constitute the main part of the paper: I will first discuss two moments which can be interpreted with the help of psychology and then I will try to apply Freud’s theorems to the primary source which is full of repressed drives and desires.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Double motif
3. The Double motif in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
3.1. The puzzling description of Dr. Jekyll’s drives
3.2. The realization of Jekyll’s drives
3.3. Psychological approaches to The Strange Case
4. Summary
5. Bibliography
Research Objectives and Themes
This academic paper examines the "double motif" in Robert Louis Stevenson’s "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. The primary research goal is to demonstrate how the character of Mr. Hyde serves as a manifestation of repressed drives and desires that conflict with Victorian moral standards, ultimately leading to the protagonist's psychological disintegration and demise.
- Historical and literary development of the double motif.
- Psychoanalytic interpretation of the "Jekyll and Hyde" transformation.
- Connection between sexual repression and the emergence of the "id."
- Symbolism of architectural spaces as reflections of the human psyche.
- The clash between societal expectations and natural human drives.
Excerpt from the Book
The realization of Jekyll’s drives
A second important fact which a thoughtful reader might notice while reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the ongoing correlation of the evil to the character of Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll and all the other well-off men (Utterson, Lanyon and Enfield) describe him as a “Juggernaut” (p.7) and “Satan” (p.8), “ugly” (p.7), “dwarfish” (p.21) and “hardly human” (p.22). There is one key scene in which Jekyll describes his first usage of the chemical and what he felt while doing it:
The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside, and I came to myself as if out of a great sickness. There was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably new, and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, happier in body; within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a current of disordered sensual images running like a mill race in my fancy, a solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul. I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked, tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil; and the thought, in that moment, braced and delighted me like wine. (p. 85/86)
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: The introduction outlines the research focus on the double motif and establishes the psychoanalytic methodology, referencing Freud’s key works.
2. The Double motif: This chapter defines the historical development of the double in literature and mythology, categorizing it into three distinct levels of evolution.
3. The Double motif in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: This main section applies psychological frameworks to the text, analyzing how Jekyll's repressed nature manifests as the evil persona of Hyde.
3.1. The puzzling description of Dr. Jekyll’s drives: This sub-chapter examines the vague and ambiguous language used to describe Jekyll’s "pleasures" and the underlying sexual undertones.
3.2. The realization of Jekyll’s drives: This section details the physiological and psychological experience of the transformation and the ongoing struggle with the "id."
3.3. Psychological approaches to The Strange Case: This part utilizes Freud’s "Dreiinstanzenmodell" to explain the structural conflict between the ego, the super-ego, and the id.
4. Summary: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, confirming that the story reflects the dangers of extreme societal repression of natural drives in the Victorian Era.
5. Bibliography: A list of literary and psychological academic sources used to support the analysis.
Keywords
Double motif, Doppelganger, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, Id, Super-ego, Repression, Victorian Era, Sexuality, Sublimation, Split personality, Mythology, Literary criticism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on the literary "double motif" and its psychoanalytic interpretation within Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel.
Which central themes are discussed?
The main themes include the conflict between societal morality and base human instincts, the repression of desires, and the psychological concept of the "double" or alter ego.
What is the core research question?
The research explores how and why Dr. Jekyll creates his alter ego, Mr. Hyde, as a mechanism to externalize repressed drives that he cannot reconcile with his professional identity.
What methodology is used for the analysis?
The paper utilizes a psychoanalytic methodology, primarily relying on Sigmund Freud's structural models of the human psyche (id, ego, super-ego) to deconstruct the literary characters.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body investigates the ambiguity of Jekyll's "pleasures," the physiological aspects of the transformation, the symbolic meaning of the house's architecture, and the broader cultural context of the Victorian Era.
Which keywords define this study?
Key terms include "Doppelganger," "Psychoanalysis," "Repression," "Id," "Jekyll and Hyde," and "Victorian Era."
How does the author interpret the house of Dr. Jekyll?
The author interprets the building as a "Traum-Symbol" (dream symbol) or a manifestation of the unconscious, where the prestigious front represents Jekyll's public ego and the neglected back represents his repressed, monstrous id.
Why does Dr. Jekyll ultimately choose suicide?
He chooses suicide because he loses control over the transformation process and the chemical needed for his transformation runs out, leaving him unable to escape the criminal consequences of his alter ego's actions.
How is the concept of the "sedulous ape" applied to Mr. Hyde?
Tom Hubbard's term is used to highlight Hyde's animalistic, primitive nature, suggesting that the novel reflects 19th-century anxieties regarding human descent and evolutionary regression.
- Quote paper
- Julia Diedrich (Author), 2009, The Double motif in literature using the example of Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/139385
