DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE

Transcription

1 Teaching pack: Patrícia de la Sierra 1

2 NOTE TO TEACHERS On our website () you will find the entire script of the play. Download it! You can work on this play with your students before going to the theatre. Enjoy! 2

3 BEFORE GOING TO THE THEATRE 1. Who is the author of the novel? Robert Louis Stevenson (13 November December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet and writer. He was born in Edinburgh. In 1867, he went to Edinburgh University, but he really wanted to be a writer. His parents suggested studying law and he did. But he continued to write. In 1875, Stevenson went to live in northern France. There he met an American woman called Fanny Osbourne. Fanny was married with two children, and she was 10 years older than Stevenson. She came from Indiana in the United States. Fanny and Stevenson fell in love. Fanny left her husband and, in 1880, she and Stevenson were married. In 1888, he and Fanny went to live in Samoa. He died there in 1894, at the age of 44. Stevenson wrote a number of books. 3

4 2. Outline the most relevant facts in his biography.... 4

5 3.The story. Read our summary of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It features the double lives of Dr Jekyll, a well-respected chemist, and Mr Hyde, a criminal who is wanted for murder. Mr Utterson, our narrator, is a London lawyer who is a friend of Dr Jekyll. Jekyll gave up his regular practice to experiment with non-traditional medicine. One day, Dr Jekyll locks himself into his laboratory. He yells to the servant through the door, Mary, the girl who dances in a club, telling her to gather chemicals for him. He creates a potion that releases his evil side, Mr Hyde. For a while Jekyll enjoys his two selves. He can do whatever he likes without fear of discovery. Gradually, Hyde s acts of cruelty become worse and worse, culminating in the murder of a famous man. Finally, we learn the truth about the two men. They are one and the same. Jekyll has been conducting experiments to release the evil man inside his good self, but the experiments have gotten out of control. Mr Hyde emerges at will and he takes stronger and stronger doses of chemicals to return to the form of Jekyll. Finally, Jekyll runs out of chemicals and both he and Mary get killed. 5

6 4. In pairs, write five questions about the story and then ask your partner the questions What was the Victorian Era?... 6

7 6. In the play our main characters explain the revolutionary theory called psychoanalysis. In pairs answer these questions: a. What is psychoanalysis? b. Who was Sigmund Freud? c. Explain the following idea: conflicts between the conscious and the unconscious or repressed thoughts can materialise in the form of mental or emotional disturbances, such as neurosis, neurotic traits, anxiety, depression, etc. 7

8 7. In pairs define the following words from the play. a. lawyer:... b. neurologist:... c. subconscious:... d. repression:... e. psyche:... f. sickness:... g. atheist:... h. unhealthy:... i. doomed:... j. madness: Links to work with before going to the theatre:

9 AFTER GOING TO THE THEATRE 9. Write a short summary of the play

10 10. Define the following characters from the play: Dr. Jekyll: Mr. Hyde:

11 11. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the importance of freedom of conscience vs. the importance of repression. 11

12 12. Do you know any films about the play? Write about them Dr Jekyll says there is good and bad in everyone. Do you agree or disagree with him? Discuss it in small groups. 14. Did you enjoy Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Discuss it in small groups. 15. Links to work with after going to the theatre:

13 TEACHERS NOTES AND ANSWERS 5. The Victorian Era is generally agreed to extend through the reign of Queen Victoria ( ). It was a tremendously exciting period when many artistic styles and literary schools flourished, as well as social, political and religious movements. It was a time of prosperity, widespread imperial expansion and great political reform. It was also a time that we associate today with prudishness and repression. Without a doubt, it was an extraordinarily complex age that has at times been dubbed the Second English Renaissance. It is also the beginning of Modern Times. St Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England a. Psychoanalysis is a specific mind investigation technique and the therapy inspired by this investigation. Psychoanalysis designates three things: it is a method of mind investigation, especially of the unconscious mind; it is a therapy of neurosis inspired by the above method; and a new stand-alone discipline that is based on the knowledge acquired from applying the investigation method and clinical experiences. b. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist best known for developing the theories and techniques of psychoanalysis. 13

14 10. a. Dr Henry Jekyll, a well-known London physician who was born into a wealthy family. He is a large man. His primary personality characteristic is that although he appears solemn and serious in public, he has always felt an inner gaiety that he conceals. Although he does not consider himself a hypocrite, he calls himself a double-dealer, insisting that both sides of his dual self are in earnest. Jekyll says that he is no more himself when he labours in the light of day to further knowledge and relieve suffering than he is at night when he lays aside restraint and plunges into what he calls shameful behaviour. Realizing that, like himself, all human beings have dual natures, he seeks a chemical method of separating these dual personalities in order to allow one side to seek pleasure without guilt and the other side to remain steadfast and not be tempted by the pleasure-seeking half. He discovers that once the two personalities are separated, the pleasure-seeking side dominates and the socially responsible side cannot control it. In Freudian psychoanalysis, Dr Jekyll is the superego, that part of the human personality that represents social order. b. Dr Jekyll s evil side. Although Hyde gives a strong sense of deformity, no one can specify the precise point of deformity. Although characters describing Hyde say that they can see him in their mind s eye, they cannot find the words to account for his appearance. He is pale and dwarfish, with a smile that is a murderous mixture of timidity and boldness. Utterson says there is something troglodytic about Hyde and that he seems hardly human. Whereas other human beings are commingled between good and evil, Hyde is the one person in the world who is pure evil. Dr Jekyll begins to turn into Hyde even without the chemical he has created; moreover, he finds it more difficult to return to being Dr Jekyll again. In Freudian psychoanalysis, Hyde is the id force, the human drive that knows only I want. 14

15 12. For example: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908) -- Selig Polyscope Company, one-reel. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913) -- Universal, with King Baggot. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) -- John Barrymore, tarantula-like. The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) -- Hammer, Hyde looks better than Doc. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968) -- Jack Palance. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) -- Kirk Douglas, musical. Dr. Jekyll s Dungeon of Death (1980) -- James Mathers. Edge of Sanity (1988) -- Anthony Perkins. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1989) -- Anthony Andrews. Jekyll and Hyde (1990) -- Michael Caine. Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical (2001) -- David Hasselhoff. 15