Religion & Sin

Christianity in Victorian Society

At the beginning of the 19th century, most people in Victorian society believed that the world was created by God. Christianity taught that everyone was sinful.

Christianity in Victorian England

Christianity had a strong influence on many aspects of Victorian England.
Evangelicals taught that humans were inherently evil - and that people needed to beg for forgiveness from God. To be offered repentance from god, people needed to live by a strict moral code to avoid sinning.

Religious tendencies

All the characters in the novella demonstrate religious tendencies: Jekyll reads religious texts; Lanyon feels that science and God should be separate; Utterson reads “dry divinities” every night before he goes to bed; Hyde blasphemes Jekyll’s book.
Religion had permeated the lives of the characters, and religion was conventional in Victorian society.

Religious symbolism

The characters have symbolic meanings.
Utterson represents Evangelicalism and the ideals of focusing on your work and not focusing your attention on your social life.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde symbolise the good and evil, the angel and the devil.
This internal struggle between two conflicting forces alludes to the biblical idea of the eternal struggle of the good and evil within human beings.
In the last chapter, Jekyll confesses that his “original evil” emerged, again alluding to the idea of inherent evil within us.

Illustrative background for Sin ?? "content

Sin

Jekyll thinks of sin as the “burden of his life”. He creates Hyde as an attempt to rid himself of this “extraneous evil” that exists within him. But the process of purification and ridding himself of sin is unsuccessful in his experiments.
Stevenson reminds the reader that Jekyll’s actions are sinful by using religious language.
- For example, Jekyll is a “secret sinner” and Hyde is the “spirit of hell”.

Religious References and Definitions

Here's an explanation of some of the biblical references Stevenson makes:

Israeli tabernacle

"For any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress of identity, might, by the least scruple of an overdose or at the least in opportunity in the moment of exhibition, utterly blot out that immaterial tabernacle which I looked to it to change."
This is a reference to the Israeli tabernacle, which was said to house God.
Jekyll uses it as reference to his body / soul, and it shows how he wants to use his body for experimentation. In many ways, he is experimenting with God himself.

“Captives at Philippi”

After the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, the victors, Antony and Octavius, released the captives. The captives were those who had supported Brutus and Cassius (the defeated), Julius Caesar's assassins.
- Hyde is unexpectedly freed from his prison and causes more trouble.

The Babylonian finger

“This inexplicable incident… seemed, like the Babylonian finger on the wall, to be spelling out the letters of my judgment”.
King Belshazzar was a Chaldean King. Because he did not bow to the Israeli (Judeo-Christian) God, a ghostly hand appeared and wrote out his death sentence on a wall with his finger.
The kingdom was invaded that night. Jekyll alludes to this biblical scene because it explains his mental state of conflict, and how he has set himself up against god.
It also foreshadows Jekyll’s death and evokes a feeling of doom.

1Plot Summary

1.1Chapters 1-10

1.1.1Chapters 1 & 2

1.1.2Chapters 3 & 4

1.1.3Chapters 5 & 6

1.1.4Chapters 7 & 8

1.1.5Chapters 9 & 10

1.1.6End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-6

1.1.7End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-10

2Characters

2.1Jekyll & Hyde

2.1.1Dr Henry Jekyll

2.1.2Jekyll - Name & Quotes

2.1.3Mr Edward Hyde

2.1.4Jekyll/Hyde Quotes - Chapters 1-9

2.1.5Jekyll/Hyde Quotes - Chapter 10

2.1.6End of Topic Test - Jekyll & Hyde

2.1.7Exam-Style Questions - Mr Hyde

2.2Other Characters

2.2.1Mr Gabriel John Utterson

2.2.2Dr Hastie Lanyon

2.2.3Minor Characters

2.2.4End of Topic Test - Other Characters

3Gothic Genre

3.1Gothic Elements

3.1.1Gothic Conventions

3.1.2Gothic Settings & Symbolism

3.1.3End of Topic Test - Gothic Conventions

4Key Themes

4.1Key Themes & Quotes

4.1.1Science

4.1.2Dual Nature of Man

4.1.3Religion & Sin

4.1.4Violence & Horror

4.1.5Victorian Gentlemen

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes & Quotes

5Context & Author

5.1Context & Author

5.1.1The Victorian Era

5.1.2Deacon Brodie & Freud

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Context & Author

6Literary Techniques

6.1Literary Techniques

6.1.1Language

6.1.2Structure & Form

6.1.3End of Topic Test - Literary Techniques

7Grade 9 - Key Character & Theme Questions

7.1Key Character & Themes - Linked Questions

7.1.1Grade 9 - Key Characters & Themes

7.1.2Extract Analysis - Jekyll

7.1.3Extract Analysis - Duality

Jump to other topics