In looking at Victorian Realism, there are many attributes that come with it. Those attributes are that they focus on “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) In the story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it exemplifies a couple of these points that do make it a piece of Victorian Realism while also not being totally realistic at the same time.
Within the story and the legends surrounding Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there is nothing but fantastical elements that surround these characters in our popular culture. In terms of this story, that is the same with Mr. Hyde being this disfigured creature that is understood to be a threat in the eyes of the law and of science. In the elements of Victorian Realism that is listed above, this story does touch on a few of those as well. One of the key ones is “inner struggle.” Whenever someone gets diagnosed as bipolar or to have a behavioral situation between split personalities, sometimes it can be mentioned that the patient is acting as if they were Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Those two characters are two sides of the same coin. It is more of an inner struggle between these two characters. With that split personality, it also affects the social networks surrounding the characters within the story. Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield are the ones that are the main focal points of this story and their worlds are shaken by what Jekyll and Hyde are doing.
Another way that this story follows Victorian Realism is that it follows the everyday experiences of its main character and goes through what this character does in terms of his work and relationship with Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson was a lawyer and dealt with the final dealings of Dr. Jekyll while also the story gives insights into his common routines with others in his social circles.
This story is one that can be described, I feel, on terms of the realistic and unrealistic. It does check some of the boxes necessary to classify it as Victorian Realism, but there are also elements that deem it as a horror tale. As this tale and character of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have moved throughout the times, it is still relevant to talk about these two characters when discussing split personalities and the effects of multiple personas. So in a way, there is connectivity there to reality while also being fantastical.
Brit Lit 2020 