Victorian Hypocrisy and Dualism in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson and The Importance of Being Earnest by Wilde

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.