Victorian Realism

Victorian realism has adjusted the way literature exists because of the influence it has had. Although The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a tale that seems rather exaggerated, the first time I read it I did not think it fit into the category of Victorian realism, after rereading it and further analyzing the definition of Victorian realism I decided that  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an example of Victorian realism. 

In The Broadview Anthology it mentions that Victorian Realism “tended to center on the everyday experiences, moral progress, and inner struggles of an ordinary individual, while giving a sense of the connections between that individual and his or her broader social networks”(pg.615) this can be seen through the strange relationships between Mr. Utterson and Enfield, through the story that is told this is an example of “everyday experiences”. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it mentions that Hyde beat to death an older man who went by the name Sir Danvers Carew- this act alone is an example of Victorian Realism because it centered on “inner struggles of an ordinary individual”. (pg. 615) In the Broadview Anthology it mentions that “Many victorian readers sought moral and ethical guidance from their authors” (pg. 615) I believe this applies when Utterson visits Jekyll and Jekyll explains that he has cut all relations with Hyde. If Hyde was the murderer this would be the right thing to do, by cutting ties, Victorian readers can interpret “ethical guidance” from this scene.

The story I chose is a reflection of Victorian realism because in the Broadview Anthology it says that “in the nineteenth century people longed for a sense of verisimilitude in their literature in order to guide them through the changes and upheavals both private and public, which they themselves faced.” I believe that this can be applied to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, because the story is somewhat random, it is fair to say that readers could turn to this novella to take their minds off of reality. However this story also can give moral guidance, so in both of those ways it can be thought of as an honest reflection of Victorian Realism. 

While reflecting on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and reading through the definitions set by the  Broadview Anthology I can confidently say that the novella,  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be thought of and considered a work of Victorian realism.