Victorian Hypocrisy and Dualism in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson and The Importance of Being Earnest by Wilde
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of English
Abstract
This has examined the prevalence of hypocrisy and dualism in the late
Victorian society as reflected in the two literary works of that time, namely the novel
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and the play
The Importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde. The research has explicated the
meaning of hypocrisy and dualism and how they have been reflected in these two
works. The individual roles of hypocrites and dualists of Victorian society have been
recognized via the main characters in the novel and the play to establish a hypocritical
society in general. The main problem of the research was to find the solution to the
question why the major characters with so called good social images practiced
hypocrisy and dualism. The main objective of the study was to identify the
hypocritical and dualist behaviour of the characters and explore the reasons behind
exercising hypocrisy and dualism. Hypocrisy and dualism have been used as the tools
of analysis. The study has concluded that the novel and the play represent the
Victorian society in which people exercised hypocrisy and dualism to secretly escape
the strict social decorum and to cheat people for personal benefit, as reflected by the
major characters in these two works.