Comparrison of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and the Picture of Dorian Grey

The term gothic fiction implies a British literary genre from the late eighteenth, and early nineteenth century. The modernized term seems to have been generalized into anything that is dark, gloomy, or depressing. Gothic novels often time posses an emphasis on portraying the terror, a prominent use of supernatural circumstances, the presence of highly stereotyped characters, and the attempt to display   techniques of literary suspense. There are also other parallels among this vastly popular genre. Gothic novels often time describe the city of London in corresponding ways. Also a common theme amongst gothic literary works is the duality of human nature, or the quality or characteristic of being twofold. These mutual themes are apparent in two of the genre’s classic works: Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both novels entertain the common theme of duality of the main characters in the book, and also correspondingly go about depicting the vast city of London, England.




Both The Picture of Dorian Grey and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde go about depicting London in the same manner. The persistent theme of duality
shows the indisputably dismal city, in terms of class, and the vast differences geographically from the East and West sides of the city. Representations of the poor quality of life in London were apparent in both novels. The portrayal of the city which is “dark like the back-end of evening” (Stevenson 30). at nine in the morning, and is littered with gin palaces, shops selling penny dreadfuls, “and many ragged children huddled in doorways, and many women of different nationalities passing out, key in hand, to have a morning glass”( Stevenson 31). The location of Hyde’s house in Soho, which is amongst the higher class of London, is almost symbolic of the location of Hyde within Dr. Jekyll. While Hyde is described as “something displeasing, something... [continues]

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