Why did Stevenson write Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Answer 1

coz he did, he had a brainwave and put it to paper.

Answer 2

Stevenson wrote "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in very short order; I think over the course of about 10 days. RLS was a sick little boy and grew into a bit of a strange man. He spent much of his youth in bed, reading, drawing and playing with small soldiers. I think he had TB or some other lung ailment. When he wrote Jekyll and Hyde he locked himself in his study and power wrote the story. He refused food and is alleged to be drinking and taking some form of drug while in his isolation. People in the house heard yelling and things crashing in the study for the time he had locked himself away. I think by the time RLS was in his early adulthood he was suffering from depression and possibly some other illness like schizophrenia. He left his native Scotland for warmer climes and died in the south Pacific after living as a king on a tropical island. The people on the island treated him very well and he lived in a grand bamboo style house. As to "why" he wrote the story I'm not sure. It is a violent sinister kind of story but set a standard in its day and later for other alter ego stories of the genre. I think RLS had a compulsion to write and was somehow telling a story that could be interpreted as an account of what a madman must go through. There was nothing like it when published in the late 1800s. There are an abundance of themes to explore in this book: good vs evil; an allegorical account of the declining British Empire; an exploration of the disparities in Victorian society; also that age old "living the secret life" idea, too.

I love RLS stories. If you like Jekyll and Hyde, try Kidnapped, of course Treasure Island and The Black Arrow. His Garden Verse Book of poems is great.

Answer 3

I happily endorse the previous answers, but there's an important element as to the "why" that no-one's mentioned yet. To wit: the book was published fifteen years after the publishing sensation of the age; Darwin's "Descent Of Man".
This is clearly Stevenson's inspiration for his novel. We tend to think of Hyde as a large man these days, probably because of film interpretations over the years, but in the novel he's described as a small man, almost apelike.
So it's not really about good and evil or mental states so much as a discussion about the idea of survival of the fittest.
Hope this is of help.

Answer 4

I feel he was journeying into the schizophrenic nature of man, a side of nature we all have, in varying degrees. In Dr. J and Mr. H, the schizrphrenia reached a height. The novel is a deeply phychological book.

Answer 5

The inspiration for the story came from a disturbing dream he had and it went on from there. Sometimes writing down things that disturb us can help ease the distress; he was in financial straits at the time too so that probably was a factor.

Answer 6

as a warning to all of us about the dangers of taking on a avatar and going on line answering questions from strangers.....but am I good or evil? Even poor old Mr Stevenson could not see that one coming!!!

Answer 7

I have not read the book but a talk on the radio I heard some time ago suggested that he may have been describing the effect of taking cocaine to which he would have had access with his medical training.

Answer 8

If in the process the binge RLS had killed a pair abortionists interior the technique, what could you be waiting to assert ? you have divorced purpose from result, the mother of all evil -- that divorce I mean.

Answer 9

what kind of Q is this ??

its a story. lots of people write all kinds of stories about everything and anything.

why was the bible written
why was any book written

Answer 10

i have no source on this, and i may be very wrong, but i have always assumed it was a parable about alcoholism.

Answer 11

Maybe it's a coded message from aliens.....