The Factors which Potentially Led to Victorian Duplexity in R.L.Stevenson’s ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ and Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

Abstract

The treatment of the theme of duality, a distinctive feature of the Victorian period of literature and the possible reasons for it emerging at that time, are studied in this paper using R.L.Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest. The concept of duality derives from the Latin word duo, meaning two. It applies quite often to two elements, one different from the other and in opposition to each other. This theory being applied to men of the Victorian period, it unmasks the dual face of their behaviour demonstrated in the works concerned. One wonders whether this duality could have largely originated from their desire for escapism from societal norms or moral hypocrisy: a psychological phenomenon. To respond to these questions, an understanding of the Victorian period and also the story lines of the literary works are essential. The qualitative research approach used in the study enables a brief narrative analysis of the works which enlightens us on the plot and the characters. The issue as to whether Victorian societal duality results from the constraints brought about by the moral standards of society or the rapid changes sweeping across the population during that time is discussed here. Keywords: Victorian Literary period, Duality, Escapism, Moral hypocrisy