Comparing The Paris Morgue By Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

As the cities in the nineteenth century grew and expanded, more and more people moved from the countryside to said cities. With an increase in the size and population of the city an individual's anonymity increased as well. Both the Paris Morgue and the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Lewis Stevenson portray the anonymity of modern city life. While middle class men often appreciated the anonymity of the city, because it allowed them to escape social class restrictions, they also feared some of the negative implications. The working class, on the other hand, might have enjoyed the new found entertainment options, however they also had to fear being victims of crime and ending as nameless corpses. Women, both from the middle
An example of this was the Paris Morgue. Schwartz, in her writing on the Paris Morgue, depicts it as a popular form of entertainment, especially in the nineteenth century, until it was closed in 1907 (Schwartz 85). People from all kinds of different social classes would come and view the anonymous corpses that were on display. From time to time certain cases, like the bodies of two little girls, would appear, and further fascinated the public. In these cases the newspapers would sensationalise the stories and draw an even larger crowd to the Paris Morgue (Schwartz 45-46). While this provided a different kind of entertainment for the middle class men, it also created a concern for their type of lifestyle. Not only men would visit the Paris Morgue but also women. In the case of middle class women this created a conflict for the men. Since middle class women were supposed to take care of the house and family and were thought to be too delicate for this kind of sight, it disturbed the men that they would choose to go view the bodies at the Paris Morgue. Not only was the sight thought to be too disturbing, but the fact that the bodies were displayed in the nude with only a cloth covering them, also made this form of entertainment not suitable for women. However, considering the accounts form this time, many middle class women did visit
They were more likely to become the victims of crimes and end up as an anonymous body in places like the Paris Morgue. Compared to members of the middle classes , it was more common for bodies of working class people to end up in the morgue. So while it did serve as a form of entertainment for people from the working class, especially because it was one of the few free entertainment options in the city (Schwartz 61), it also showed them what could possibly happen to them after their death. Therefore, even while it entertained, it also highlighted the negative aspects of anonymous city life. Another example of the negative aspects of anonymity can be found in Stevenson's novella. While Stevenson did not often depict the working classes in his novella, it still has some instances where it shows how the anonymity of the modern city affected the working class. In the beginning of the novella, Enfield tells Utterson about a strange incident he witnessed. He was walking home one evening when he witnessed a man and a young girl running into each other. The man trampled over the girl and continued on his way. Enfield stops him and Enfield and the other people at the scene force him to pay money to the girl's family as compensation (Stevenson ). While Enfield knows the name of the man that trampled down the girl, this name being Edward Hyde, he never mentions the names of the girl