Why does Stevenson’s London here not include women? What does this masculine urban space reveal about the text? About the modern world it seeks to represent and/or criticize?

Question

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Why does Stevenson’s London here not include women? What does this masculine urban space reveal about the text? About the modern world it seeks to represent and/or criticize?

Irving S. Saposnik points out that critics of Stevenson’s text “have complained that the London of the story is singularly devoid of women” (718). We are instead presented with a narrative in which “[t]he major characters are all professional gentlemen” whose “respectability provides the façade behind which their essential selves are allowed to masquerade” (715)

Asked by tasha p #338818 on 10/2/2013 4:57 PM

Last updated by jill d #170087 on 10/2/2013 5:31 PM

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Answered by jill d #170087 on 10/2/2013 5:31 PM

I am not at all familiar with this critique of Stevenson's text, and I'm not able to open a full text on the internet. I did however find the following snippet right here on Gradesaver.

"Many critics have mentioned the undercurrent of homosexuality in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The men in the novel have very close personal relationships, women play no role in the story or in the men's lives, and at times, it seems that outsiders believe Dr. Jekyll and the mysterious Mr. Hyde's relationship is sexually deviant in nature. However, this notion is never directly expressed. Interestingly, in every stage or film version of the story from 1920 to the present, both Jekyll and Hyde's involvement with women has been an essential part of his/their image. Stevenson's 1886 narrative contains no focus on women or romantic relationships, and is instead an "intellectual" horror story that examines the fundamental nature of man."

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http://www.gradesaver.com/dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/study-guide/about/

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